President Muhammadu Buhari has told the United Nations Secretary
General, Ban Ki-Moon, that Nigeria will welcome intermediaries from the global
body.
A statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr.
Femi Adesina, said the decision to invite the UN negotiators was to demonstrate
Buhari’s commitment to swapping the abducted schoolgirls from Chibok with Boko
Haram fighters in custody.
Speaking during a bilateral meeting with the UN scribe at the sidelines
of the 71st UN General Assembly in New York, Buhari said the Nigerian
government was willing to bend backwards to get the Chibok girls released from
captivity.
“The challenge is in getting credible and bona fide leadership of the
Boko Haram sect to discuss with,” the president said, adding that “the split in
the insurgent group is not helping matters. Government had reached out, ready
to negotiate, but it became difficult to identify credible leaders. We will
welcome intermediaries such as UN outfits, to step in.”
The president reiterated that the teachings of Boko Haram were far from
being Islamic, as neither Islam nor any other religion, advocates hurting the
weak and innocent.
“The fact that they kill men, women, children, and other people
wantonly, and shout Allahu Akbar (God is Great) shows that they do not know
that Allah at all. If they did, they would not shed innocent blood,” Buhari
said.
He thanked Ban Ki-Moon for the moral and material support given to
Nigeria, which he said had enabled the country surmount many of the challenges
facing her.
In his response, the UN Secretary General congratulated Buhari on the
anti-corruption war, declaring: “You are highly respected by world leaders,
including myself. Your persona has given your country a positive image.”
He said the UN recognised the achievements of the Buhari administration
against Boko Haram, urging that human rights be upheld always to prevent a
repeat of the scenario being witnessed in Syria.
Ban Ki-Moon also thanked the Nigerian leader for his commitment to
issues on climate change, adding that the government should “own the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” for the good of its citizens.
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