Jutha Gupah, Maiduguri
President Muhammadu Buhari has attributed Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda and ISIS to lack of economic and social inclusions of Africa Sub-Saharan and Middle East nations. Buhari spoke on Saturday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) held at the Jodanese capital, Amman. “I strongly believe that the lack of social and economic inclusion was the root cause of many challenges we are experiencing,” he declared. He said in the last decade, the world has completely changed, as the affected countries experienced significant shifts on many fronts that affected people’s lives. Such change and shifts, according to him; are in technology; population and migration; trade and geopolitics and climate change. He said that these trends in some nations had positive impacts on their economies and living conditions of people in Africa and the Middle East. Buhari noted that despite the positive impacts, several nations had “negative and destructive” outcomes of these trends. According to him, no region of the world has felt the full impact of these dramatic shifts and shocks like the Middle East and Africa –North and Sub-Sahara. He said the region is blessed with a very young, vibrant, enterprising and dynamic population, and natural resources, which are the envies of many countries. He said that this has contributed to the region’s highest global economic growth rates. He however noted that the regions have been recently hosts to some of the deadliest conflicts. Speaking on terrorism in the regions, he said: “The deaths, damage and destruction caused by terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, ISIS and Boko Haram over the last decade; will take many years to repair. He said most of these terrorist organizations have been significantly degraded, but the world must join forces to restore peace. He told participants at the forum to face the “challenges and tasks” of rebuilding insurgency affected countries in the two regions. He strongly believed that the lack of social and economic inclusion was the root cause of many challenges the countries are facing. He warned that; “Today, our population is one hundred and ninety million people. By 2050, it is estimated that we hit three hundred and ninety million making us the third most populous country in the world.” He said Nigeria and other affected countries must start working now to ensure their population is productively engaged. He said that in the last four years, Nigeria focused on security; while implementing inclusive policies. Continuing, he added: “On the security front, we made significant gains in fighting Boko Haram. We have recaptured all territories held by Boko Haram in 2014. “We have liberated thousands of Nigerians held against their will. “Today, I am pleased to say no territory in the Federal Republic of Nigeria is held or controlled by Boko Haram. 20. “We are grateful to the many countries that have stood with Nigeria to confront this global scourge and in particular, the Kingdom of Jordan under the leadership of His Majesty, the King. He claimed that the economic diversification and social inclusion policies are also yielding positive results with a return to economic growth and development. He believed that the lack of social and economic inclusion was the root cause of many challenges the countries are facing. On regional economic cooperation, Buhari said: “In the spirit of “Building New Platforms of Cooperation”, we partnered with the Kingdom of Morocco to domesticate fertilizer production in Nigeria and revive over two million tons of abandoned fertilizer blending plant capacity. This he said, created tens of thousands of jobs in agriculture, logistics, manufacturing and retail sectors to achieve moderate growth and inclusiveness He said Africa and the Middle East must focus on policies that will deliver shared economic prosperity for all citizens. He said Nigeria’s resources, policies and programs make it the most attractive investment destination in Africa.
