Buhari Rallies International Support against Terrorism

Deji Elumoye in Abuja and George Okoh in Makurdi

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit to provide concrete support to help defeat terrorism and insurgency on the African continent.

The president who made the call yesterday while speaking at the third edition of the summit in Istanbul Turkey admitted that the Boko Haram terrorist group, though fragmented by internal strife and degraded by Nigeria’s defence forces, is still active and preying on soft targets.

Benue State Governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, also yesterday again drew the attention of Buhari to the fact Nigeria is collapsing due to terrorists’ activities.

President Buhari also expressed delight that the Summit convened by Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has given due consideration to the issue of terrorism, while also focusing on development and infrastructure in Africa.

This is coming as Erdogan has stated that Turkey would send 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Africa, adding that the low vaccination rates there was a blot on humanity.

Buhari advised that the partnership should also focus on the global challenge of climate change which is impacting Nigeria, Turkey, and indeed the world at large.

According to him, it has become a catalyst for conflict through food insecurity, drying up of lakes; loss of livelihood, and youth migration, among others.

He said: “The trend is the same around the world where communities are overwhelmed by forest fires, rising sea levels, flood, drought, and desertification. I want to seize this opportunity to appeal for support for initiatives such as Africa’s Great Green Wall on Environment and Land Management, which is designed to fight the effects of climate change and desertification in Africa. The initiative aims to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land in the 11 countries of the Sahel-Sahara strip, capture 250 million tons of carbon and, create 10 million green jobs by 2030.”

On the global coronavirus pandemic, Buhari urged nations to follow the example of Africa-Turkey cooperation, which emphasises solidarity and support in tackling the challenge.

The president noted that given the increasingly unpredictable nature of contemporary global challenges facing mankind, world leaders must continue to put the wellbeing of humanity at the centre of the agenda for the common good and prosperity of all.

While applauding President Erdogan for initiating the Turkey-Africa Partnership in 2008, Buhari urged the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCTA) to assist in further increasing the level of Africa-Turkey trade, leading to a win-win for all countries.

He said: ‘‘The pandemic is a global challenge which calls for global solidarity and solutions and the Africa-Turkey cooperation model has proved to be an example to the world. Not only has there been mutual support to respond to the pandemic but also mutual support to build resilience and sustainable development in other sectors. We also commend the African Union for the excellent role it has been playing in coordinating the implementation process of the Partnership.

We must therefore promote science, technology, and innovation and share knowledge from research and development to better equip us to address present and future challenges more equitably and sustainably.

“In this regard, Nigeria strongly endorses the Summit Declaration as well as the 2022-2026 Joint Action Plan. We are confident that given the level of openness, trust and commitment manifested in the Africa–Turkey Partnership, this cooperation mechanism will be a game-changer for our countries and set us on the path of sustainable development for our peoples”

Nigeria is Collapsing, Ortom Tells Buhari in Birthday Message

Meanwhile, Benue State Governor, Ortom, yesterday again drew Buhari’s attention to the fact Nigeria is collapsing due to the activities of terrorists.
Ortom said the president is a grandfather who should understand that people are dying daily unnecessarily in the hands of terrorists.

In a message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Nathaniel Ikyur, yesterday, to congratulate Buhari on his 79th birthday, the governor was quoted as saying that the insecurity affecting citizens was not what the president promised when he assumed office in 2015.

According to the statement, the governor, who said he loves Buhari, urged him to take urgent action to secure the country before he leaves office.

Ortom pleaded with the president to use his 79th birthday, not as a member of a political party or any religious bias, but as a grandfather and a nationalist, to address the obvious imbalances in the nation now before he hands over power in 2023.

“I join your family, friends, political associates, and all Nigerians to congratulate you on the occasion of your 79th birthday,” he said.

“To some, the president is a father, to others, grandfather while yet to others, he is a great grandfather who should understand that Nigeria at the moment is collapsing due to the activities of terrorists who have continued to destroy the very foundation of the unity of this country.”

The governor said the security architecture in the country has collapsed and the citizens now live in perpetual fear as strangers in their own country is not acceptable.

“Daily, people are slaughtered like animals either on their farms, at home, or roasted to death while travelling from one destination to another with video clips showing the faces of the killers. Yet, no one has been arrested.

“The roads have become booby traps where the citizenry are scared to travel on, for the fear that they may be kidnapped for ransom or in some cases killed outrightly. It is an open secret that no one is safe in this country any longer.”
The governor said the security architecture in the country has collapsed and the citizens now live in fear.

“The president should not listen to sycophants who may not be telling him the truth that all is well,” he said.

“All is not well with Nigeria right now, Mr. President. You must therefore take urgent steps now to pull the nation back from the precipice before it is too late.”

The governor urged every citizen not to sit on the fence but join hands with governments at all levels as patriots to assist in redeeming the nation from the hands of bloodthirsty terrorists so that Nigeria can gradually move into political stability and economic prosperity for all.

Turkey’s Erdogan Pledges 15m COVID-19 Vaccine Doses for Africa

Also speaking yesterday, at a major summit of the continent’s leaders, President Erdogan said Turkey would send 15 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Africa, adding that the low vaccination rates there was a blot on humanity.

“We are aware of the global injustice in accessing the Covid-19 vaccine and Africa’s unjust treatment,” Erdogan said.
“It is disgraceful for humanity that only six per cent of Africa’s population has been vaccinated.”

Turkey is developing its vaccine, known as Turkovac, which is in the process of receiving emergency use approval.

It was not immediately clear from his remarks whether Turkey would first send some doses of the internationally approved vaccines it was currently using, including those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech.

“To contribute to the resolution of this issue, within our means, we plan to share 15 million vaccine doses in the period ahead,” he said.