President Muhammadu Buhari Monday said he has mandated his Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Gambari, to meet with traditional rulers across the nation with a view of addressing some of the demands being made by the youths.
While responding to the recent #EndSARS protest and the mayhem and destruction of public and private property that came in its wake, Buhari tasked Nigerian youths to embrace peace, saying it’s in their own interest ultimately.
The President spoke at State House in Abuja, while receiving in audience the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, who’s Nigeria’s former Minister of Environment.
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Buhari said: “Our own generation is on the last lap, we are exiting.
“It is in the interest of the youths to keep the peace. They want jobs, infrastructure and development. I have sent a team led by the Chief of Staff (Professor Ibrahim Gambari) to go round the country, talk to traditional rulers, who will then talk to the youths.
“The views of the youths have been heard.”
He added that the current administration inherited severe infrastructural deficits, “and that is what we are fighting to correct. We can’t just sit, fold our hands, and do nothing. We are doing our best within the limits of resources.”
Buhari rued the fact that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has shrunk the global economy, noting that “this is something you can’t see, smell, or hear,” but which has wrought devastation on lives and livelihoods round the world.
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On climate change, the President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said Nigeria was concerned about the recharge of the Lake Chad, which has great implications on security, irregular migration, and livelihoods.
In her remarks, the UN Deputy Secretary-General said she was on a courtesy call with her team to flag interest on challenges that concern the global body, particularly COVID-19, climate change, security, and humanitarian responses to the diverse challenges.
Idowu Sowunmi
