Nigerian youth would do well to keep the peace, as it is in their own interest ultimately, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Monday.
The president said this at the State House in Abuja while receiving in audience the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Ms Amina Mohammed, Nigeria’s former Minister of Environment.
“Our own generation is on the last lap, we are exiting,” the president said in response to the recent EndSARS protest, and the mayhem and destruction of public and private property that came in its wake. “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 said the present administration inherited severe infrastructural deficits, stressing that “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.”
The president said COVID-19 has shrunk the global economy, stressing that “this is something you can’t see, smell, or hear,” but which has wrought devastation on lives and livelihoods round the world.
On climate change, the president 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 Deputy Secretary-General said she was on a courtesy call with her team to flag interest on challenges that concern the UN, particularly COVID-19, climate change, security, and humanitarian responses to the diverse challenges.
