President Muhammadu Buhari late Friday in Malta called for the
establishment of a Commonwealth Committee to oversee the rendering of
greater assistance and support to Nigeria and other member-countries which
have been adversely affected by the scourge of terrorism.
Speaking at a banquet hosted by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II for Heads
of State and Government participating in the Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting, President Buhari expressed the hope that the committee
would have been established before the next meeting of the organisation.
The President said that he also expects the committee to visit
member-countries of the Commonwealth where terrorist organisations have
established a foothold with a view to evolving practical strategies for
more meaningful assistance to the affected countries.
President Buhari urged the Commonwealth to show greater resolve in helping
Nigeria and other developing nations in its ranks to overcome the
challenges of economic development, security, terrorism and corruption.
“With the improvement of global communications, terrorism has no borders
now. What happened recently in France had a profound effect on all of us,
but very few countries realize that Nigeria has suffered terrorist
casualties of over 10,000 killed in the last six years.
“Right now, we have over two million internally displaced persons, most of
whom are women and children, and most of the children are orphans,” the
President told the Queen and Commonwealth Heads of State and Government.
President Buhari who informed the gathering of efforts by Nigeria and
other members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission to curb the menace of Boko
Haram, noted that the problem of terrorism in West Africa had been
aggravated by the collapse of the Gadhafi regime in Libya.
“We have agreed to a joint task-force for the elimination of Boko Haram,
but it may not be easy, especially after the events in Libya when trained
people with weapons moved back to Sahel region from where they were
recruited by the former Libyan leader.
“Those weapons and expertise in their use are now aggravating the
situation in the Sahel and further south,” the President said.
While calling for greater international support for Nigeria and other
countries affected by terrorism, President Buhari expressed his
administration’s appreciation of the assistance already being received
from the Commonwealth, Britain, the Group of Seven Industrialized Nations,
France and the United States.
“I am grateful to Britain, France and the United States. They have already
sent teams to train the Nigeria Military and Police in the control of
terrorism.
“The Commonwealth has helped us in so many ways by the visible support
they have been giving to help us overcome the problem of terrorism.”
The Queen’s Banquet at which he spoke was also attended by the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon