The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has said countries in the Lake Chad Basin, in collaboration with Nigeria, were working together in dealing with insurgency in the region and the consequent humanitarian crisis.
According to the Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande in a press release made available to newsmen on Monday, Osinbajo made the remarks while receiving a delegation from the African Union Peace and Security Council which has been visiting countries in the region.
He said that he was pleased with the level of synergy among countries in the region against the menace of insurgency and extremism.
He cited the progress of the Multi-National Joint Task Force set up to address the terrorist insurgency.
Osinbajo noted that unlike in the past when there were difficulties when the militaries of the 4 countries tried to work together, the MNJTF surmounted the challenges and had succeeded.
He disclosed that the Buhari administration is “extremely pleased with what we have seen, and we like to see more,” of such cooperation.
He, however, observed that the humanitarian consequences of the insurgency were compounded by deep poverty, making the costs of dealing with the situation “huge and enormous.”
He recalled that “there are for instance about 2.4m displaced persons, extensive destruction of property, infrastructure, schools, homes and farmland. In some cases the situation required the rebuilding of whole societies.”
The Acting President expressed satisfaction with the work of the Peace and Security Council of the AU, saying “I am extremely pleased and encouraged by the work of the PSC, the time and attention paid to this issue. These are matters we must address now and in the future.”
Meanwhile, the PSC delegation, led by its Chairperson for the month of July, Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, who is also Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and to the AU in his remarks, said the PSC delegation had been visiting the 4 countries in the Lake Chad Basin in the past 5 weeks, and had specifically visited 7 cities in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
“This visit is the high point of our mission,” Adeoye stated, adding that Nigeria’s commitment to peace in Africa has been well demonstrated.
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