President Mohammadu Buhari is to host a regional security summit of Heads of States in the Sahel to develop a joint strategy to combat increasing insecurity in the region.
Speaking during the Democracy Day celebration in Abuja, President Buhari said the ECOWAS and Sahel regions, starting from Chad all the way to Mali, are also experiencing adverse impacts of drought and desertification, which have triggered waves of human displacement; conflicts between farmers and herdsmen; terrorism; and a fundamental socio-economic change to our way of life.
“These issues are regional and not unique to Nigeria alone. The problems call for increased regional and international cooperation in developing a sustainable solution.”
The President who acknowledged the strong correlation between economic inequality and insecurity, attributed the disturbing increase in rates of kidnapping, banditry and other criminal activities to the decades of neglect and corruption in social investment, infrastructure development, education and healthcare.
He added that this issue is further compounded by the impact of our changing climate and ecology.
He further pointed out that” when economic inequality rises, insecurity rises. But when we actively reduce inequality through investments in social and hard infrastructure, insecurity reduces.”
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