President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigerian youths will do well to keep the peace as it is in their own interest ultimately.
Mr Femi Adesina, the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, quoted his principal as saying this when he received Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, who paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja on Monday.
The Nigerian leader, who was reacting to the recent #EndSARS protest and the mayhem and destruction of public and private properties that came in its wake, said: “our own generation is on the last lap; we are exiting.”
“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, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, to go round the country to talk to traditional rulers who will then talk to the youths. The views of the youths have been heard.’’
He said that the current administration inherited severe infrastructural deficits, “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.”
Buhari rued the fact that COVID-19 had shrunk the global economy, noting that `1this is something you can’t see, smell, or hear,’’ but which has wrought devastation on lives and livelihoods round the world.
On climate change, he said Nigeria was concerned about recharging of Lake Chad, “which has great implications on security, irregular migration, and livelihoods’’
Responding, Amina who was Nigeria’s Minister of Environment in the past, said she was on a courtesy visit to flag interests on challenges that concern the UN, particularly COVID-19, climate change, security, and humanitarian responses to the diverse challenges.
