President Buhari's senior special
assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu has shared an article to explain
to Nigerians what his boss really went to do at the OIC summit that held in
Saudi Arabia recently
Below is his explanation...
On Friday, President Muhammadu
Buhari delivered the address of 16 African nations who are members of
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), making it the third time a Nigerian
leader will speak at the OIC. Late President of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua
and his successor, Dr Good luck Jonathan had attended previous meetings.
The just concluded 2019 meeting
held in Makka, Saudi Arabia, is significant as it marked the 50th anniversary
of the organization.
As with most issues in Nigeria,
there will always be individuals and groups who will disagree with the
President. For some, there are good reasons for doing this while for others it
is like sports; they enjoy going the opposite direction. And for another set,
it is personal. No matter what President Buhari does, they will never be
pleased with him.
When the President decided to
attend the OIC meeting, he knew some people will raise dust. But guided by the
overall national interest, which always governs his actions, he preferred not
to worry about the storms. The criticisms of his attendance by some, including
cultural organization, Ohaeneze and Christian Association of Nigeria are not
new or unexpected. For those who know President Buhari, these tantrums don’t
make him angry, in the full understanding that when the critics take time to
read or see the outcomes, they too will be glad that the decision taken to be
present at the key strategic gathering.
Interestingly, the major
takeaways from this meeting were concerns expressed daily by Church leaders and
Imams. The issues deal directly with safety, peace and prosperity of the nation
and its citizens.
It is noteworthy that President
Buhari, leading other African leaders, got key support for many issues of
concern or interest to Nigeria and African continent at the meeting. Top on the
list is strong condemnation of terrorist acts. The meeting agreed that fighting
terrorism is a major priority, resolving to work together to “prevent and
suppress terrorist acts through strong international solidarity and cooperation
in full recognition of the UN’s central role in that regard.”
In the specific case of countries
of Lake Chad Basin facing “grave security challenges and vicious insurgency
arising from Boko Haram terrorism and insurgency,” members agreed to increase
humanitarian aid. To this end, the regional humanitarian office of the OIC in
Niamey, Niger Republic will be upgraded to a Regional Representative Mission to
“mobilize political commitment and undertake development and humanitarian
activities.”
President Buhari equally got
reassuring support for recharging of Chad Basin, a goal he has consistently
promoted on the global stage. The Lake had shrunk to 10 per cent of its size
due to effects of climate change, with dire economic consequences for many. The
OIC members assured that they will support the ongoing project of recharging
the lake, in view of the socioeconomic benefits to neighbouring countries.
Reducing poverty and hunger was
also discussed extensively. Members saw the need, and made strong commitments
to assisting less privileged member-countries to tackle poverty and hunger. To
this effect, members that had not pledged to the Islamic Solidarity Fund for
Development were asked to do so and those that pledged contributions deemed to
be low in view of current reality were requested to increase.
The solidarity fund aims to
reduce poverty among member-states by “promoting pro-poor development and human
development.” The Islamic Organisation for Food Security was charged to address
challenges of agriculture, rural development and food insecurity. Soon, there
will be a framework for development of OIC renewable energy in terms of both
access and distribution.
Another important achievement by
the African group in particular was by way of establishing an economic
assistance program for them and other less privileged OIC countries to cope
with economic development challenges. In area of finance, development and
trade, the meeting commended the Islamic Development, IDB, for the model it
operates that promotes competitive development among members, developing
infrastructure and promoting the private sector.
Going forward, OIC members agreed
to boost trade with a target of 25 per cent trade exchange. To push this, a
frame work for Trade Preferential System will be worked out.
Another vision of President
Buhari which got attention and support at the 14th Summit in Makkah is on
environment. Members will promote environmental education because it will help
countries to deal with degradation. The meeting agreed that this will also
raise health standards.
The OIC meeting encouraged members
to take necessary steps in promoting science, technology and innovation “with
the aim of addressing global challenges linked to issues of environment,
climate change, human health, energy sources and water resources.” The summit
agreed to hold a second science and technology summit in 2020 at Uzbekistan.
At the conclusion of the meeting,
there was a resolution to support the “G5” Sahel countries (Niger, Chad, Mali,
Burkina Faso and Mauritania, established in 2014) in their efforts to fight
terrorism and ensure development.
In an age in which the leading
religious establishments are fighting moral decadence and collapse of marriage
institution, the OIC meeting, understandably agreed “to promote family welfare,
preserve values of marriage and family institutions. To achieve this, new
strategies will be worked out for marriage and family institution empowerment
and value preservation.”
Nigeria, a country with bubbling
and versatile cultural heritage, stands to gain from measures that will support
cinematic productions, including a planned launching of an OIC film festival.
In this regard, the leaders commended the Secretariat for the initiative of the
OIC Film Award for Peace and Co-existence which debuted in February this year
at the African Film and TV Festival at Ouagadougou, Mali.
The leaders accepted a
recommendation by the Council of Foreign Ministers for the setting up of a unit
for youth issues that will focus mainly on their empowerment.
There was a landmark adoption of
a plan for women advancement with implementation mechanisms. There will be an
OIC Women Consultative Council that would, among other issues, seek to
strengthen the marriage institution, and discourage marriage of underage girls.
The robust, and well attended
meeting, touched economic and social issues affecting members, relying on the
strength of collective efforts to find immediate and lasting solutions. The
meeting agreed to come together and end terrorism; support members that are
behind in economy and development; empowerment of youths through knowledge and
entrepreneurship, and advance the cause of women.
Other significant gains include
discouraging marriage of underage girls; increasing trade and investment;
promoting science, technology and innovation; promoting culture; financing
development and preserving the marriage institution. Arresting climate change,
sustaining advocacy on the issue of Palestine, and working together for peace,
security and co-existence were also addressed.
Given their antecedents and
predispositions, critics weren’t prepared for these laudable outcomes. With the
facts now made available, they should withdraw accusing finger and accept the
President’s participation as important for the country, and the continent. It
is not late to reverse their merciless criticism. Surely, the outcomes have
justified the journey in so many ways, and time will tell.
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