
President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Paris, France, stressed the need for European countries and global financial institutions to consider reducing devastating effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on African economies.
He said could be achieved through restructuring their debt portfolios, opting for complete reliefs, including releasing vaccines to the continent, which is still behind in protecting majority of its citizens.
He spoke at the Financing Africa Summit held at Grande Palais Ephemere with the theme: “External Financing and debt Treatment”, where he maintained that the fall in commodity prices as Covid-19 took a toll on the global economy further slowed down growth in some countries and strained health facilities.
“It is in this vein that we solicit the support of the French government with its influence in the European Union to lend its voice to the efforts being made to mobilize additional resources for developing economies most especially Africa in order to strengthen the quantum of investments to our economies. This financial support should also be extended to the private sector,” he said.
According to him, the European Union should encourage fair and equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines in less developed countries, and promote the establishment of manufacturing facilities.
He said many African countries were already experiencing debt distress and the Debt Service Suspension by France and G-20 does not go far enough, adding that there was need for more sustainable and affordable financing solutions, including debt relief and further debt restructuring.
He spoke on the Paris Agreement for Climate Change, President Buhari noted that African countries would need financial support for green energy investment and COP-26.
He said Nigeria will refocus on gas, while adopting a Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative.
On the theme of “Africa Private Sector — Reforms – Infrastructure’’,the President said Public Private Partnership (PPP) will be fully explored to ensure more precision in development, cutting down waste and reducing chances of corruption.
“The government intends to leverage on Public Private Partnership to bolster its job creation, and anti-corruption drive. In terms of job creation, Nigeria has an abundant labour force since 30.5 percent of its population is between the ages of 25 and 54.’’
He also advocated the need for France and Nigeria to deepen collaboration in taming the effects of cross border terrorism, including socio-economic ties.
He said,while Covid-19 continues to take it toll on economies, terrorism has evolved into a global pandemic that must be dealt with rigorously.
Buhari said leaders from across Africa are meeting in Paris to discuss plans to recover from the impact of a common enemy – COVID-19.
He added: “But for African nations from across the Sahel region and beyond, the issues are inseparable from the fight against another common enemy which is terrorism. Like the war against the Coronavirus, it is one we are fully united with France in our strong determination to overcome”
He said across the world, conflict and Coronavirus have not been far apart, noting that while governments have struggled to contain COVID, jihadists have taken advantage in the Sahel – the vast arid stretch of territory that lies between the Sahara and Sub-Saharan Africa.
He lamented that terrorist incidents have become tragically common across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, noting that around the Lake Chad Basin, Boko Haram terrorism have taken advantage of the pandemic and pushed back into Nigeria, whilst still launching raids and attacks in Chad, Cameroon, and Niger.
President Buhari said: “We have seen more than once how Boko Haram – which in French means “l’éducation occidentale est un péché” – can regroup, morphing in form and tactics. A matter of only a few years ago, they were reduced to a territory-less group, where once they had controlled an area in Nigeria three times the size of Lebanon.
“It has demonstrated why pushing against one front can prove futile if groups can simply migrate to ponds of insecurity across porous borders. Yet as instability has spread, so the networks that sustain it have strengthened – whether that be weapons supply chains from Libya, ideological imports of Al-Qaeda and ISIS from the Middle East, or trafficking networks that take money from those escaping instability and feeds it back into the system that generates it”.
Buhari also said that while the infection is spreading further afield and reaching into the heart of Europe and France, they are not being spared the malignant, with innocents murdered on its streets.
“Paris has been active in this common fight. The French Operation Barkhane has provided critical boots on the ground in shoring up security across our region. Though challenges remain, it has ensured a wide expanse of territory has not descended into lawless playground where terrorists masquerading as fighting for Islam groups can freely flourish and multiply. That assistance has been profoundly appreciated in the region.
“Now Nigeria and France should deepen our anti-terror cooperations if we are to overcome this scourge – particularly in the aftermath of the murder of the late President of Chad. Where for historical ties, support came to Nigeria from the UK, and to the G5 from France, the terrorists do not recognise these border-aligned distinctions. We must be agile and flexible, cooperating cross our borders to cut the head off their groups.
“Indeed, we have already done much to strengthen our bond. Intelligence sharing is well developed, along with training against improvised explosives. But there is more we can do in cross-border military exercises and coordinating strategy. At the same time, we know France has borne much of the strain for combating terrorism of the region, and we – the leaders of Sahel countries – must also do more to present a unified front to lobby other Western nations, particularly Great Britain and the United States and the European Union for further military and humanitarian assistance, Buhari stated.
He added that military gains do not provide the whole solution.
According to the President, the solution must therefore be two pronged. If we do improve those conditions, it leaves our people vulnerable to indoctrination, as one is vulnerable to COVID-19 without a vaccine.
“In the Sahel, crises converge. Traditionally, this vast arid land has been poorer than its Mediterranean neighbours to the north and fertile land to its South.
“Now, climate change and environmental degradation squeeze the region of water sources, draining opportunity and increasing competition amongst various groups for scarce resources. The fallout from Libya has flushed the whole region with weapons, making any disputes and competition far more destructive. And it is upon these conditions, the lies and propaganda of terrorists who falsely claim to be Islamists promising salvation can find an audience. Islam is a religion of peace.
“To counteract these, we must focus on initiatives that sustainably spread opportunity far and wide across the Sahel. Transport links across the Sahel have become dilapidated, much of it still the remnants of the colonial era.
“For the region’s burgeoning young population, reinvigorating these links or building anew is critical. It allows for efficient allocation of labour; the movement of inputs such as seed, fertiliser or equipment to the areas that need it; and freight to take produce or extractives to market or value-add factories.
“Now, as the world emerges from the pandemic, we have the chance to build back better. Though we always knew it, COVID-19 underlined how interconnected and interdependent the world is. With that shattering reminder, we can create a world with that idea at its forefront – one that provides security and opportunity for both of us, “Buhari appealed to the conscience of the French government.