Chidi Samuel
President Muhammadu Buhari has informed the international community that normalcy is gradually returning to the north-eastern part of Nigeria and that his administration is fully committed to reintegrating Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) with their families. The President made the commitment during his address at the opening of the sixth Tokyo International conference on African Development (TICAD) in Nairobi, Kenya. This was contained in a statement issued by Mallam Garuba Shehu, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity.
The president stated that when he took over office in 2015, the north-east was completely ravaged by Boko Haram insurgents but his administration was able to tackle the situation with the help of Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Benin and Japan.
“As I speak, the terror group has been decimated and life is beginning to return to normal in the affected region,” Buhari said.
“The challenge we currently face, which is also being addressed, is that of the IDPs, which number over two million to get them reintegrated with their families and their original homes.”
The President especially, appreciated Japan for its contribution of $800 million to the fight against malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases on the African continent.
He reiterated the importance of the strategic partnership of Africa with the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in view of the challenges the continent is facing.
“Today, many countries in Africa, including the oil-producing ones, are wisely seeking to diversify their economies away from mono-cropping,” Buhari added.
“In Nigeria, our administration has already taken concrete steps to diversify the economy by making agriculture not just a development programme but a thriving business.
“Investing in the economies of this continent, especially through Public-Private-Partnership, can contribute to building capacity for our
economies.”
The two-day summit with the theme “Advancing Africa’s sustainable Development Agenda-TICAD Partnership for Prosperity”, is being held outside of Japan for the first time since inception in 1993.
It is co-organized by the Government of Japan, the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, the United Nations Development Program, the African Union and the World Bank.
It focused on promoting structural economic transformation through diversification and industrialization; promoting resilient health system for quality life and promoting social stability for shared prosperity.
This will be the first time TICAD is being held in Africa since its inception in 1993.