President Muhammadu Buhari has called on countries around the Lake Chad Basin to upscale collaboration to stop the consistent inflow of weaponry being used in Ukraine and Libyan wars.
The President made the call in Abuja at the opening of 16th Session of the Summit of Heads of State and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.
President Buhari warned that unless an expedited actions were taken to stop the spread of such hi-tech weapons, the sacrifices made and the successes attained so far in thwarting the advances of terrorists in the region would be meaningless.
He also stressed the need for countries in the Sahel to evolve additional ways of implanting confidence in the people in the region rather than deploying military might alone in restoring peace and security.
“Although terrorists’ threats have been significantly decimated in the region, it is worthy of note that military actions alone cannot effectively win the war against terrorism.
There is the overriding need to complement military operations with the provisions of sustainable development that will ameliorate the living conditions of the affected people in the region.
Government presence must be positevly felt in the area to restore the confidence of citizens in the ability of the state to protect them and provide basic infrastructure to all.” President Buhari emphasised.
President Buhari, who is the out-going Chairman of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, drew attention to the devastative effects of climate change to the region, and called for urgent solution to them.
” The Lake Chad Region is indeed faced with a complex security situation that is highly dynamic,, constantly changing, and increasingly influenced by the effects of climate change, and other variables, including, sadly, some external factors.
These factors have made it imperative for 7s to regularly review the development and counter-terrorism strategies that are operational in the region.
We must continue, together, to proffer ingenious solutions to the challenges confronting us.
We must continue to make concerted efforts to provide the desired leadership, ownership, and ensure that our experts and troops are adequately motivated and supported to achieve our objectives”, he advised.
The President urged countries in the Sahel to thrive to view the region through the lens of equity, fairness, diversity, and inclusion.
He told them to contribute to the success of the Commission, and rise up against the challenges of the region if the envisaged bright future for its population was to be attained.
President Buhari commended the gallantry of troops deployed to counter terrorism, and paid tributes to troops who paid the supreme price in the war to restore peace.
The summit will deliberate on documents submitted by the Lake Chad Basin Commission Executive Secretariat, and submitted to the technical committee of experts of the Commission for necessary action.
Member countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission are Niger, Chad, Libya, Central African Republic, and Cameroun.
Bello Wakili