By Nanji Nandang
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria says his country is recording considerable success in the fight against terrorism.
‘‘As a result of the renewed vigour of Nigeria’s military, many terrorist fighters are voluntarily surrendering to our security forces,’’ Buhari said, while addressing 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, adding that Nigeria will continue to work closely with UN Counter-Terrorism bodies and entities with a view to ending the act.
“While terrorism continued to dominate security discourse worldwide, in Nigeria, Boko Haram terrorists’ group, though fragmented by internal strife and weakened by our defence forces, is still active and preying on soft targets” he added.
According to the president, Nigerian government would spare no effort in addressing the challenges of terrorism posed by activities of Boko Haram in North-east and the Lake Chad region, as well as banditry in the North-West and North-Central Nigeria.
‘‘I and three other [former] Nigerian Heads of State served actively as peacekeepers and Nigeria continues to support peacekeeping efforts. We know the sacrifice involved; we also know how important peacekeeping is for those in vulnerable situations.
‘‘Nigeria will continue to play its part fully in supporting UN peacekeeping operations within Africa and beyond,’’ he said.
Buhari’s appeal
Buhari further appealed to” rich nations” and international financial institutions for outright debt cancellation for countries” facing the most severe challenges in the wake of the COVID-19”.
“We have seen that developing countries have been faced with unsustainable debt burdens even before the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk of new wave of deepening debt, where vital public financial resources are allocated to external debt servicing and repayments at the expense of domestic health and financing for critical developmental needs” he said.