Insurgency : Buhari calls for bilateral, multinational platforms at Lake Chad

President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday requested for the revamping of bilateral and multilateral platforms of engagement by Heads of State and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, LCBC, so as to stamp out the remnants of the terrorists from the region.

President Buhari in a consultation with the Heads of State and Governments LCBC in N’djamena, capital of the Republic of Chad, also blamed poverty and the shrinkage of the Lake Chad as the main reason for the renewed insurgent activities in the region.

A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina in Abuja last night stated that the Nigeria President called for concerted efforts from the Heads of State and Government to make the region safe.

According to him, “There is no gainsaying that also fueling the crisis are the twin menaces of poverty and the continued shrinkage of the Lake Chad, which have rendered the people of the region vulnerable to terrorist activities. Attention is drawn to the Lake and its resources, which have always been the source of livelihood for the millions of people that live within and around the basin.”

He charged the Presidents and Heads of Governments in attendance to make concerted efforts to ensure the actualization of efforts to recharge the Lake, through Inter-Basin Water Transfer, from the Congo Basin.

President Buhari stressed that if meticulously pursued, the project “has the capacity to unlock the economic potentials and provide solutions to the myriad of interrelated challenges confronting the region.”

As Chairman of the Summit of Heads of State and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, President Buhari assured of his commitment to providing the required leadership and direction for the actualization of peace and security in the area.

The meeting the statement noted was called to address the recent upsurge in terrorist activities in the region, and the Nigerian President rallied his colleagues from Chad, Niger Republic, and Republic of Cameroon to a fresh onslaught against insurgents, particularly the Boko Haram group.

“Times as these call for quick interventions and measures,” President Buhari stated, adding:

“As you are aware and have witnessed in recent times, there are new developments of security concern in our sub-region. The region in the recent past has witnessed increasing attacks, particularly on military formations by elements of the Boko Haram terrorists as well as the renewed kidnapping of people. These activities are aimed at weakening our collective resolve to eradicate them from the region.

“We must not cave in. The group’s renewed strategy of increasingly mining the general area as well as its recent deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance activities have proved to be critical factors in the resurgence of attacks in the region.”

Commending what he called the “untiring efforts” of the leadership of the LCBC, and officers and men of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), President Buhari noted that the efforts of those who strive to bring peace and stability to the region would never be forgotten.

“We are committed to ensuring that the ideals of restoring peace, stability and viability of the Lake Chad Region to its glorious state, for which some of you have paid the ultimate price is attained,” he vowed. President Buhari submitted:

“We must not relent and allow the enemies of the region to succeed in their quest to destabilize the area. We must reinvigorate our collective will and commitment towards eradicating terrorism from our region. We must remain focused and true to ensuring sustainable development.