Nigeria 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 while speaking at the third edition of the summit in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday 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 on Saturday 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”
Dejo Elumoye
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