President Muhammadu Buhari is a prophet who is not without
honor except in his hometown and in his own household.
The above statement was made by Femi Adesina while praising
his principal who recently received the Africa Award for Strengthening Peace.
The Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and
Publicity said his principal won the peace award and other awards despite that
some trenchant critics never saw anything good in their country and its
leadership.
He added that those criticisms never reduced the worth of
his principal in the eyes of the majority of countrymen and women, as well as
the international community.
Please read the full article by Adesina titled ‘PMB:
REFLECTIONS ON AFRICA AWARD FOR STRENGTHENING PEACE’ below:
A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country,
says the Good Book. This was on display once again in Nouakchott, Mauritania,
early this week when President Muhammadu Buhari stood ramrod straight to
receive the Africa Award for Strengthening Peace, given at the 3rd edition of
the African Conference for Peace, organized by the Forum for Promoting Peace,
based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Was this not the same Buhari daily derided at home,
excoriated and flagellated by some trenchant critics, who never see anything
good in their country and its leadership? Again and again, that same leader has
been receiving plaudits outside the country, celebrated and applauded by those
who know the value of gold. No wonder the Good Book urges us again not to cast
our pearls before swines, lest they trample them under foot, and turn round to
attack us. That’s how some vocal minority in Nigeria treat their President, but
it by no means reduces his worth in the eyes of the majority of countrymen and
women, as well as the international community.
Was he not sometime in recent past declared the Champion of
Anti-Corruption in Africa by the African Union? Yet some caterwauling people
never stop to assault the anti-graft battle at home. Oh, it’s selective. It’s
ineffective. Blah, blah, blah. Didn’t ECOWAS make him Champion of the fight
against COVID-19, with roaring success? Yet septics and cynics said nothing was
done, even when Nigeria and West Africa defied the dark auguries that had been
made about the pandemic.
And has he not been invested with highest National Honors
and garlanded in many countries, including Portugal, and many other African
nations? Yes, for those who believe, no evidence is needed, and for those who
don’t believe, no evidence is possible. They remain marooned in unbelief, so we
leave them to their fate.
Why was President Buhari given the African Award for
Strengthening Peace, handed to him by world revered Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah
from Abu Dhabi?
President El-Ghazouni of Mauritania said he was singled out
among other African leaders for providing good leadership and promoting peace
in a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multi-linguistic country like Nigeria, and
extending his experience and wisdom to other African countries.
Now, that’s the same Buhari that our so-called activists and
political priests claim has divided the country more than at any other time.
They simply see what they want to see, and say what suits their fancy, no
matter how untrue.
In a private meeting with Shaykh Bin Bayyah later in the
day, the renowned cleric said the Nigerian President, who has just about four
months to the expiration of his second and final term in office, “will remain a
symbol and icon, even out of power.” He invited Buhari to visit Abu Dhabi,
whether in office or out of it, submitting that his wide experience would be
appreciated in any society. Do the inveterate critics hear that?
On combating religious extremism as represented by Boko
Haram in Nigeria, the Shaykh said President Buhari had done extremely well,
“and it is something we must all do wherever such rears its head round the
world.”
Yet, some armchair security experts, activists and those
consumed by lust for power, impugn the war back home in Nigeria. They never see
anything good in their own country.
President Buhari used the opportunity of the award to give
some recipes for a safer Africa.
On religious extremism, he said: “This event is taking place
amidst growing armed conflicts, exacerbated by extremists’ ideology rooted in
misinterpretation of religious precepts, and of course widespread deprivations
of the citizens of Africa and other parts of the world. These sad developments
have, for many decades, become worrisome that they preoccupy all governments
and well-meaning organisations, as well as individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa
and beyond.
“Global terrorism, banditry and other trans-national crimes
continue to pose enormous challenges not only to Africa but to global peace and
security. These phenomenon have become perennial threats to sustained economic
development and growth. Nigeria and other regional bodies in Africa and the
rest of the world are working assiduously to deal with these threats to the
very existence of humanity. For us in Nigeria, we continue to engage
bilaterally and multilaterally to comprehensibly win the war against the Boko
Haram insurgency and other related terror groups through kinetic and
non-kinetic approaches.
“When I assumed power in 2015, Boko Haram held about two
thirds of Borno State, half of Yobe State, and a couple of Local Government
Areas in Adamawa State, all in the North-East of Nigeria. We have been able to
retrieve these swathes of territories by investing over a $1 billion dollars to
acquire hard and software weaponry from the US and other friendly countries to
carry out sustained operations against insurgency since 2015.”
On climate change and impact on insecurity: “Similarly, the
shrinking of the Lake Chad has resulted in dire consequences for people of the
region losing their traditional source of living which culminated into the
youths being recruited by the terrorist groups who are seeking for means of
livelihood occasioned by difficult economic conditions. This scenario created
serious instability and served as a litmus test for member countries of the
Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) in devising means to restore the livelihoods
within the region.
“As a corollary to containing this development, the LCBC has
begun implementing programmes to safeguard the ecosystem of the basin,
including seeking global support to return the lake to an economic hub it was
known for in the past.”
On other external impacts: “Although, we are winning the
war, however, as a country and sub-region, we continue to be negatively
impacted by events in Libya, Central Africa Republic, the Sahel and the war in
Ukraine. Our region, is awash with all sorts of small and light weapons that
continue to be freely in circulation, orchestrated by the impact of foreign
fighters. We must, therefore, support peace initiatives to bring political
stability in crisis ridden areas such as Libya, Central Africa Republic and
other parts of the Sahel region in order to discourage the spread of
insurgency, other criminal groups, as well as arms and foreign fighters in
these locations and continent-wide.”
To conclude his address, President Buhari aligned himself
with the Declarations reached at the two previous editions of the Conference
and enjoined the Forum, to give premium to the following:
i. that youth development, particularly skills acquisitions,
should be taken seriously to discourage idleness that could lead to religious
fundamentalism and extremism;
ii inculcate values and principles of tolerance and peace in
educational institutions, and particularly, by our youths;
iii. African leaders and decision makers should ensure that
democratic principles and good governance form the basis for management of
affairs in every country in Africa, noting that peace, security and good
governance are inseparable;
iv. there is need also for African stakeholders, that is,
the government, private sector and the Civil Society Organisations, to make
concerted efforts to support existing mechanisms and initiatives to build
strong and virile institutions that effectively support good governance which,
inter alia, lead to the development and progress of our countries and
continent;
v. African leaders must reaffirm their commitment by
demonstrating political will required for ownership of African Peace and
Security Architecture and in the implementation of African Governance
Architecture;
vi. We must also adjust the effectiveness of early warning
system and conflict prevention and adopt policies aimed at resolving the crisis
of de-radicalisation through continuous dialogues and negotiations;
vii. Concretise efforts towards the curtailment and possible
prevention of the circulation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, as well as the
festering of foreign fighters into the African continent;
viii. the imperatives of the next Summit of the African
Union, to take a holistic review of the challenges that continue to fester in
Libya with the hope of finding pragmatic African approach to resolving the over
a decade-old instability in Libya that has made that country a safe-haven for
all kinds of weapons and foreign fighters whose profound impacts stare us all
in the face in our sub-regions and Africa.
His final words: “It is my strong belief that if we are able
to re-commit ourselves to going in these directions with our strong political
will, Africa would be the better for it.”
Our President did us proud in Nouakchott. Winner of Award
for Strengthening the Peace. And truly, he will remain a symbol and icon, in
and out of office.
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