BY TAIWO FAROTIMI
We can report authoritatively that come June 12 this year the much expected Democracy Day celebration will not be the only highlight of events in the country. Nigeria will also be leading other countries in the region on efforts to adequately address the issue of terrorism in the West Africa.
In the light of this development President Muhammadu Buhari will on that day host his counterparts from the Lake Chad Basin Commission, LCBC. A statement from the presidency states that a decision towards this end was arrived at at a bilateral meeting between Presidents Buhari and Idris Derby Itno of Chad Republic in Makka, Saudi Arabia during the summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference, OIC in that country. The meeting, according to the statement, is expected to discuss new strategies to end the menace of terrorism in the region. President Buhari said the proposed meeting will address “a new way forward that completely removes the threat of terrorism from the Lake Chad sub-region.”
The two leaders, at their meeting in Saudi Arabia, agreed on the need for a new strategy “for a more sustained operation” aimed at flushing out the threat of terrorism in the area. Another area of concern for them is the challenge posed by rainy season to military operations against the terrorists.
Apart from the leaders’ efforts addressing the issue of Boko Haram, it will also go a long way to tackle the infiltration of the Islamic State, ISIS in West Africa.