L-R: President Paul Biya of Cameroon,
French President Francois Hollande and
President Muhammadu Buhari at the
Second Regional Security Summit in
Abuja on Saturday, May 14, 2016.
PHOTO: Philip Ojisua
• Boko Haram Remains A Threat, Says
Hollande
Nigerian President, Muhammadu
Buhari, yesterday, reiterated that Boko
Haram has been decimated. His French
counterpart, Francois Hollande,
however, noted that despite the
acclaimed successes recorded against
the terrorist organisation, it still poses a
huge threat to international security.
Hollande, who is in the country for the
second Regional Security Summit,
arrived State House 10.30am and
inspected a guard of honour mounted
by the Guards Brigade.
Discussions at the summit are expected
to focus on the formal deployment of a
new regional force, comprising troops
from Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad
and Niger.
The two leaders discussed bilateral and
economic relations. “We also discussed
other matters and signed agreement in
technical, scientific and cultural
cooperation, as well as agreement on
development. As you may know, the
French Development Agency invests a
lot in Nigeria, which is the first
beneficiary of its loans,” said Hollande.
In his remarks, Buhari expressed
gratitude to the French President for
his support for Nigeria, saying it has led
to effective tackling of the Boko Haram
menace.
During a question and answer session,
the French leader stressed:
“Terrorism is feeding on the
weaknesses of the global financial
system. We, therefore, have to fight
corruption, dwindling economy, as well
as tax havens. This has an impact on
terrorist groups and their ability to
finance arms trafficking, as well as
terror attacks.”
Asked to explain the current stage of
the fight against Boko Haram in the
country, Buhari said: “When we came
in, they were controlling 14 local
governments, but now they are not
holding any. They are, however,
exploiting available technology in terms
of using improvised explosive devices
on soft targets, like mosques, churches,
markets and motor parks.”
Buhari said €916m was required for the
effective implementation of the Lake
Chad Development and Climate
Resilience Action Plan (LCDCRAP).
According to him, the long-term
development of the Lake Chad region is
crucial to reducing the high poverty
rate in the basin, a major factor in the
recruitment of terrorists.
“The long-term development of the
Lake Chad Region is crucial to reducing
the high poverty rate in the basin, a
major factor in the recruitment of
terrorists. Implementing the Lake Chad
Development and Climate Resilience
Action Plan (LCDCRAP), which was
submitted to donor countries and
organizations at the conference of
Parties (COP 21), Side Event on the Lake
Chad, therefore, remains a vital
challenge. The total cost of the short
and medium term development of the
Lake Chad region is estimated to be in
the region of €916m. As LCDC Member
States, we seek the cooperation and
support of our partners to implement
this plan,” he said.
He stressed the need to articulate a
plan for the critical post-conflict
development phase, saying it was only
by bringing development to the areas
affected by the insurgency, and by
protecting the victims and the
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and
refugees that genuine recovery for
conflict devastated areas could be
achieved.
While expressing the hope that the
summit would be a turning point for
the collective efforts to achieve a
conflict-free, peaceful and stable
region, Buhari, said: “Against this
backdrop, our task is to review how
well we have achieved our objectives
since the Paris Summit.
“We must seize the opportunity this
summit presents to evaluate the
successes we have achieved,
consolidate our achievements, identify
any shortcomings we have experienced,
and then draw important lessons on
which to build further progress,” he
added.
The President reassured that Nigeria
would continue to work tirelessly to
strengthen regional collaboration and
expand international partnership.
He said Nigeria had diligently
implemented several proactive
programmes in furtherance of the
decisions of the Paris Summit.
“Today, we have achieved significant
outcomes. Boko Haram is no longer a
cohesive force, but a group of self-
seeking individuals pursuing personal
glory.”
President Buhari enumerated some of
Nigeria’s achievements at both bilateral
and multilateral levels, since the Paris
Summit to include the recovery of all
territories occupied by the Boko Haram
sect in Nigeria and the establishment of
Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF)
to prosecute the war on terror.
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