President Muhammadu Buhari said the Federal Government spent $1 billion to regain some northern parts that terrorists had captured since 2015.
Buhari said this on Tuesday January 17 at an award ceremony in his honour at the Abu Dhabi Peace Forum in Nouakchott, the Mauritanian capital, shortly after the ‘Award for Strengthening Peace in Africa’ was conferred on him.
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He regretted that Nigeria’s security and that of the Lake Chad Basin remained unstable despite spending over $1 billion to reclaim Boko Haram-held territories in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina.
Adesina quoted the President as also noting that Nigeria would continue to engage bilaterally and multilaterally to comprehensively win the war against insurgency and other related terror groups through kinetic and non-kinetic approaches.
Buhari urged leaders to place a dividend on youth development, with more seriousness and actionable ideas in promoting skills acquisition, while preventing idleness.
“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 $1 billion to acquire hard and software weaponry from the US and other friendly countries to carry out sustained operations against insurgency since 2015,” the President said.
According to him, these monies would have been better spent on critical infrastructure such as healthcare and education.
Buhari said that despite the difficult times confronting the country, it would continue to spend its very scarce and lean resources to ensure that the military is well equipped for the task.
Also at the event, the President of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, said the 2023 conference theme was based on the recommendations of the ‘Nouakchott Declaration’ that emerged from the inaugural conference.
He added that the award was given to Buhari for providing good leadership, and promoting peace in a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multi-linguistic country like Nigeria.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance