President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed the lack of social and economic inclusion for the increase in conflicts, especially terrorism, across the globe.
This is as he urged world leaders to work towards bringing an end to the factors that trigger the problems.
Buhari who was on the invitation of King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, spoke on Saturday in Dead Sea, Jordan, where he participated in the World Economic Forum on Middle East and North Africa.
His words: “It is at this point that we must ask ourselves how we, as a region, got to this point. The answer, at least in the case of Nigeria, is the lack of social and economic inclusion.
“As Nigeria celebrated being the largest economy in Africa and one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Nigerians were migrating in droves through harsh desert conditions and across treacherous seas to seek what they believe would be a better life in Europe.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I strongly believe that the lack of social and economic inclusion was the root cause of many challenges we are experiencing.’’
Buhari pointed out the need for more collaboration among countries of the world to be able to reduce the level of conflicts.
He said without doubt, the increasing technological development, population, migration among other things, had both positive and negative effects, adding that a lot should be done to harvest the good sides.
“It is my view, that no region of the world has felt the full impact of these dramatic shifts and shocks like the Middle East and Africa – North and Sub-Sahara.
“On one hand, our region is blessed with a very young, vibrant, enterprising and dynamic population. We also have valuable natural resources that are the envy of many nations.
“These assets and endowments contributed to our region experiencing some of the highest economic growth rates in the world. On the other hand, however, we have also been hosts to some of the deadliest conflicts in recent history. The deaths, damages and destructions caused by terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, ISIS and Boko Haram over the last ten years will take decades to repair,’’ he added.
The president also pointed out that in the digital age where physical borders no longer existed to protect even the most secured nations, the only way to overcome predatory and divisionary forces was for all well-meaning nations to work together for the greater good of mankind.
“Simply put, cooperation amongst sovereign nations is no longer a choice. It is an absolute necessity,’’ he declared.
