President Muhammadu Buhari said though the Boko Haram crisis in the North East might take a bit longer to resolve, the nation will surely overcome and move ahead.
He stated this Friday in Abuja while receiving the European Union (EU) Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, at the State House.
“If we were capable to fight a 30-month civil war and reorganise our country, I wonder why people are thinking that Nigeria cannot do it.
“I assure you of Nigeria’s commitment to enhance and deepen cooperation with the EU in all areas. Our priorities in the next level is to ensure that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are rehabilitated so that livelihood should be established and the children should not lose the opportunity to go back to school, which is very important for the future of that area and Nigeria generally,” he said.
President Buhari also appreciated the recent meeting in Germany which deliberated on the happenings in Libya.
President Buhari further assured that the newly created Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, will do a splendid job of managing the various humanitarian issues evolving from the North-east.
“I assure you that we are aware of these problems and we will continue to do our best. The newly created Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs is coordinating NEMA and others, to make sure that whatever resources we get are well utilised. The ministry will be accountable to the government instead of having too many bodies doing the same thing. We are also reaching out to foreign countries explaining to them our position, and we are confident we will get over it.”
“We would like to support your efforts. We believe all relevant actors; military, civilian as well as humanitarian should come together. The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs is suggesting such high level dialogue.
“In situations such as what we have in the northeast, international law and international humanitarian law should apply. We believe in your efforts to end the conflict; military effort alone probably will not be sufficient without identifying and addressing the socio-economic factors causing it,” he said.
