President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerian youths to keep the peace, saying that it is in their own interest to do so.
Receiving in audience the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), MS. Amina Mohammed, on Monday in Abuja, Buhari acknowledged that this era belongs to the youth and that his own generation is gradually disappearing.
“Our own generation is on the last lap. We are exiting,” Buhari told Mohammed, while responding to the recent #EndSARS protest, and the consequent destruction of public and private property across the country.
A statement by Mr. Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, said the agitations of the youth had been heard and that
he had dispatched a presidential team to engage traditional rulers on the need to appeal to the youth, whose desires, he said, bordered on job creation and infrastructure development.
“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,” Buhari said.
Buhari, who claimed that the current administration inherited severe infrastructure deficits, added that it is such deficits that his government is “fighting to correct.”
“We can’t just sit, fold our hands, and do nothing. We are doing our best within the limits of resources,” he added.
He lamented the devastating effect of COVID-19 on the global economy, adding that the pandemic has destroyed lives and livelihoods around the world.
On climate change, President Buhari 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 over challenges that concern the UN, particularly COVID-19, climate change, security, and humanitarian responses to the diverse challenges.
GIK/APA