President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed concern that the development and growth of the African continent is increasingly being seriously challenged by insecurity.
He stated this at the 8th summit of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8), held in Tunisia.
Represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, President Buhari explained that in Nigeria, the activities of terrorists, bandits and kidnappers have led to the displacement of several communities, disrupting the productive activities of the people.
He said the various security mechanisms supported by the African Union such as the MNJTF, the G5 Sahel and the African Standby Force all need to be recalibrated to meet the current objective of definitively eliminating violent extremism, terrorism and banditry from the continent.
He expressed optimism that the 8th TICAD summit would rise to the occasion by expanding the security cooperation and operations between Africa and Japan, within the framework of the New Approach for Peace and Stability in Africa (NAPSA), and for Africa to benefit from the use of Japanese technology in the fight against insurgencies on the continent.
President Buhari expressed gratitude to the Japanese Government for the support it has continued to extend in different areas especially through the Japanese International Cooperation Agency JICA, saying TICAD has continued to provide a constructive platform for strategic partnership between Africa and Japan for development cooperation.
The president also appreciated support by the Japanese and other partners in the ongoing efforts aimed at improving maritime and border security .
RN
