- Guterres Calls for International Support for Borno
PRESIDENT Muhamamdu Buhari on Wednesday afternoon received the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Antonio Guterres, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The UN Scribe, who arrived at the Presidential by 3pm, was welcomed by the President and the two leaders immediately went into a closed door session where they are expected to extensively deliberate on issues surrounding security and the humanitarian crisis troubling the North-East and some parts of Nigeria.
After their meeting, Buhari and Guterres briefed journalists on the forecourt of the State House. At the briefing, President Buhari stressed the importance of the visit at a time the world’s attention is focused on the Russia-Ukraine war. He also noted the effort to deal with terrorism and the role of the world body.
On his part, Guterres said his visit was a solidarity with victims of terrorism. He said he was forced to postpone his visit to Nigeria because of the war in Ukraine, noting that he was keen to carry on his habit of the last two years of identifying with Ramadan.
Guterres, who was earlier in Borno State, said with what he had seen, Nigeria would be able to defeat terrorism. The UN Scribe, who paid a working visit to Maiduguri, Borno State on Tuesday, had earlier paid similar visits to neighbouring Niger Republic and Senegal.
Guterres calls for international support for Borno
While in Maiduguri on Tuesday, Guterres urged the international community to support humanitarian action in Borno State to enable it to recover from the impact of the insurgency.
While in the state, the UN scribe interacted with displaced persons, repentant Boko-Haram members and government officials led by Governor Babagana Zulum.
“I want to congratulate the Governor for what I see today. I want to strongly appeal to the international community to understand Borno as a state of hope, to support humanitarian action in Borno, to recognise the enormous challenges that Borno faces with climate change and Boko Haram activities, and to invest in Borno of hope.
“The community should provide support to the project of the Governor of Borno and civil society of Borno in order to create condition for real development. So, I want to be your (Zulum) advocate within the international community to support and to invest in Borno of hope,” Guterres said.
While noting that terrorism can’t be totally defeated with military force, Guterres lauded the policy of reconciliation and reintegration adopted by the state, saying that it would facilitate the process.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that during the visit, Governor Zulum briefed the Secretary General of challenges facing the state. The state has already commenced reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced persons.
