Ime Akpan
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that a situation in which some individuals experience increasing opportunities for prosperity while others struggle to eke out a living fuels tension.
The special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina said in a statement that President Buhari stated this yesterday at the World Economic Forum on Middle East and North Africa taking place in Jordan.
Buhari, according to the statement attributed the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria to lack of socio-economic inclusion.
The President, who honoured an invitation by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan said: “It is at this point that we must ask ourselves how we, as a region, got to this point. The answer, at least in the case of Nigeria, is the lack of social and economic inclusion.
“As Nigeria celebrated being the largest economy in Africa and one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Nigerians were migrating in droves through harsh desert conditions and across treacherous seas to seek what they believe would be a better life in Europe.
“I strongly believe that lack of social and economic inclusion was the root cause of many challenges we are experiencing,” he said.
Buhari lamented that in spite of the rich natural endowments, Africa, particularly the North and sub-Saharan had been the hotbed of deadly terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Boko Haram, in the last one decade.
“It is my view that no region of the world has felt the full impact of these dramatic shifts and shocks like the Middle East and Africa – North and Sub-Sahara.
“On one hand, our region is blessed with a very young, vibrant, enterprising and dynamic population. We also have valuable natural resources that are the envy of many nations.
“These assets and endowments contributed to our region experiencing some of the highest economic growth rates in the world. On the other hand, however, we have also been hosts to some of the deadliest conflicts in recent history. The deaths, damages and destruction caused by terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, ISIS and Boko Haram over the last 10 years will take decades to repair,” he said.
However, the president said terrorism around the world, including the activities of Boko Haram, had been significantly degraded.
He said while insurgents were no longer in control of any part of Nigeria, the country had borne the burden of rebuilding the devastated territories.
He therefore called for cooperation among nations as a necessary element in overcoming the enemies, especially in the digital age.
“In this digital age where physical borders no longer exist to protect even the most secured nations, the only way to overcome predatory and divisionary forces is for all well-meaning nations to work together for the greater good of mankind.
“Simply put, cooperation amongst sovereign nations is no longer a choice. It is an absolute necessity.
“We are extremely grateful to the many countries that have stood with Nigeria to confront this global scourge and, in particular, the Kingdom of Jordan under the leadership of His Majesty, the King.
“Furthermore, our economic diversification and social inclusion policies are also yielding positive results. Our country has now returned to the path of growth. We are making gains in the ease of doing business indices,” he said.
Buhari announced to the Forum that Nigeria had achieved moderate and inclusive growth in the last four years and stressed that both Africa and the Middle East must focus on policies predicated on shared economic prosperity for all citizens and pay attention to investment and trade.
“Opportunities exist in key job creating sectors, such as agriculture, health, tourism, ICT, infrastructure as well as textile and garmenting, to mention a few. Our new, inclusive and diversified Nigeria is definitely open for business. Our population, resources, policies and programmes make it the most attractive investment destination in Africa,” he added.
