The President, Muhammadu Buhari, on
Thursday, admitted that despite his regime’s recent closure of land borders,
arms and ammunition continued flowing illegally.
He attributed the problem to the situation in Libya, saying
that once the country remains unstable, illegal arms and ammunition will
continue to flow in the Sahel region of Africa.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and
Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President spoke at the Presidential Villa, Abuja
while receiving in farewell audience the outgoing Special Representative of the
United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West
Africa and the Sahel, Mohammed Ibn Chambas.
The statement was titled “An unstable Libya remains a
problem for the Sahel region, says President Buhari.”
Nigeria shut its land borders in August 2019 to crack down
on smuggling.
They were however reopened in December 2020 ahead of the
January 1, 2021 implementation date of the African Continental Free Trade
Agreement
The President was quoted as saying on Thursday that “We
closed our land borders here for more than a year, but arms and ammunition
continued to flow illegally.
“As far as Libya remains unstable, so will the problem
remain.
“We have to cope with the problems of development, as we
can’t play hop, step and jump. But we will eventually overcome those problems.”
Buhari said Muammar Gadaffi held a grip on power in Libya
for 42 years by recruiting armed guards from different countries, who then
escaped with their arms when the Libyan strongman was killed.
“They didn’t learn any other skill than to shoot and kill.
So, they are a problem all over the Sahel countries today,” the President said.
He described Chambas, who spent many years in Nigeria in
different capacities, from ECOWAS to UN, as “more of a Nigerian than anything
else.”
He wished him well in his future endeavours.
The outgoing Special Representative thanked the President
“for personal support I received from you, and from Nigeria as a country,”
adding that the country would continue to play a leadership role on the
continent.
On terrorism and violent extremism in the Sahel and the Lake
Chad Basin area, Chambas said Nigeria was playing a yeoman’s role, particularly
in giving support to the Multinational Joint Task Force.
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