President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday underscored the need for greater cooperation among neighbouring countries with Nigeria to better combat escalating volatilities and multiplicity of threats across West Africa and the Sahel.
He spoke in Niamey, Niger Republic, at the launch of the French version of his biography, ‘Muhammadu Buhari: the Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria’, after inaugurating a 3.8km length and 160m wide Boulevard named after him by the Government of Niger Republic.
‘‘My remarks will not be complete if I did not mention the escalating volatilities and multiplicity of threats across our region of West Africa and the Sahel.
‘‘The ever-evolving nature of the threats we face underlines the need for enhanced coordination. There is no doubt that we have made incremental progress in our collective fight against terrorism and other trans-border crimes.
‘‘However, a lot remains to be done, especially in the face of renewed efforts by violent extremist groups to expand their operations and footholds in West Africa,’’ he said.
Noting that ending terrorism and trans-border crimes in the region is achievable, he restated Nigeria’s commitment to bilateral as well as multilateral initiatives, with neighbouring partners such as Niger, Chad and Cameroun towards realising this objective.
On the launch of the French version of his biography, he expressed hope that it ‘‘would serve as a clarion call to emerging leaders across Africa, and inspire them to always be guided by the core values of hard work, integrity and patriotism.’’
The book reviewer was Prof. Abdallah Adamu, former Vice Chancellor, National Open University of Nigeria.
The Niger president decorated four Nigerians for their roles in fostering excellent bilateral relations between both countries.
They were Hadi Sirika, the Minister of Aviation, Mohammed Indimi, Chairman of Oriental Energy Resources, Sayyu Dantata, Chief Executive Officer, MRS Holdings Limited and Aliyu Farouk, APC chieftain.
