Kingsley Kanayo
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has called on the French government to be more decisive in supporting war against terrorism, particularly the Boko Haram insurgency plaguing the North-Eastern part of Nigeria and its neighbouring West African countries, colonised by France.
Saraki, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu, made the appeal during a two-hour bilateral meeting with the President of the French Senate, Senator Gerard Larcher at the on-going COP 21Globe Parliamentary meeting in Paris.
The statement, issued on Sunday also explained that Saraki, on the occasion, also urged France to strengthen the existing trade relations with Nigeria.
He also pleaded with the France parliamentarians to support the on-going efforts of the Buhari administration to rebuild the Nigerian economy and improve on the state of infrastructure.
Apart from this, Saraki canvassed French government’s support for the completion of the Lake Chad project aimed at battling environmental challenge in the region.
He commiserated with the French people on the recent terrorist attack in the country, and urged French parliamentarians to push for more support for the Nigerian government towards resolving the Boko Haram crisis.
He said the activities of the insurgents also posed a grave danger to French strategic interests in West Africa.
He suggested that France could intervene by sharing vital intelligence with the Nigerian Defence authorities and provide manpower as well as material support so that the insurgents will be overwhelmed and defeated in a short time.
He also solicited for the help of France in assisting the over two million Internally Displaced People in the North Eastern Nigeria.
The senate president added that the country’s leaders were already thinking of how to properly resettle the people and rebuild the area after the end of the on-going military campaigns.
Saraki said, “If we do not start thinking about how to ensure that the people do not return to abject poverty and squalor which contributed to the festering of the hate campaigns by the Boko Haram members, then we will soon face another major crisis after ending the present one.”
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