Buhari at 71st UNGA

President Muhammadu Buhari’s second outing at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) once again engendered a lot of confidence in his leadership and sympathy for Nigeria. In his speech, the President made a compelling case for Nigeria, spelling out what the country could do for itself and where it expects global intervention. “Our strategic objective […]

President Muhammadu Buhari’s second outing at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) once again engendered a lot of confidence in his leadership and sympathy for Nigeria. In his speech, the President made a compelling case for Nigeria, spelling out what the country could do for itself and where it expects global intervention.
“Our strategic objective is to stimulate the economy, restore growth and accelerate recovery. In doing this, we are taking measures to reduce the cost of governance and increase expenditure on infrastructure and ensure environmental best practices”, President Buhari told the 71st UNGA
The President then took up one of the themes that formed a major plank of his quest for the Presidency: the fight against corruption. He said a lot of money had been recovered and this would be ploughed into building infrastructure. “Nigeria calls on member countries that are yet to sign up to United Nations Convention against Corruption to do so. Nigeria will continue to advocate for the facilitation of the recovery of illicit financial assets.”
President Muhammadu Buhari was received very well by a number of world leaders who extolled him and they were neither Muslims nor Fulani. Top on the list was President Barack Obama of the United States of America, who despite his busy schedules was able to sit down at a bilateral meeting with President Buhari. After listening to the Nigerian delegation, President Obama described Buhari as a man of “honesty and integrity”, and then added: “We have confidence in your leadership. There are some difficulties you face but this administration is willing to assist in the short time we have left. You have made real progress in defeating the brutal organisation called Boko Haram and that was achieved because of your leadership.”
President Obama knows a great deal about terrorism, particularly the domestic type; in recent times, lone gunmen have murdered many people in that country, the latest being in Charlotte, North Carolina where a Turkish immigrant shot dead five persons, including four women. This is one kind of terrorism the US has failed to nip in the bud. The American President then offered his country’s support to Nigeria “in the final and comprehensive defeat of Boko Haram, resolution of the Niger Delta crisis, which will help ramp up oil production and increase revenue, resolving the humanitarian crisis in the North East, recovering stolen money and revamping the economy.”
President Buhari also met with United Nation’s Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon, where he briefed him about his administration’s determination to regain the kidnapped Chibok girls. The President also invited the United Nations to participate in negotiations for the swapping of the girls with Boko Haram fighters as according to him, the government had faced frustrations with the prevalence of factional groups and Boko Haram’s lack of unified leadership that one could negotiate with.
As President Buhari told Mr Ban, “The challenge is in getting credible and bona fide leadership of Boko Haram to discuss with. Government had reached out, ready to negotiate but it became difficult to identify credible Boko Haram leaders. We will welcome intermediaries such as United Nations….” The President had informed the Secretary General about Nigeria’s continuing efforts as well as the tremendous progress recorded in beating back Boko Haram terrorism in concert with neighbouring countries which have contributed troops under the banner of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF). The President also expressed the determination of the government to return internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes. He appealed to the world for further assistance to prevent the humanitarian crisis from escalating.
In appreciation, the United Nations’ Secretary General complimented President Buhari’s leadership remarking that: “You are highly respected by world leaders, including myself. Your persona has given your country a positive image.”
Lest I forget, the President of France, Francois Hollande was also full of admiration for President Buhari and during their meeting; Mr Hollande accepted Buhari’s invitation to the French to invest in Nigeria. The French President said his country believed in Buhari and Nigeria and would therefore invest in our economy.
While in New York, the President signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which signals the commitment of the current administration to the preservation of the environment.  He had earlier called on the world to help replenish the Lake Chad which according to him had dried up, threatening the livelihood of 30 million inhabitants across Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.
Furthermore, the President informed the international community that Nigeria is ready to serve the world as a permanent member of the Security Council whenever the United Nations decided to implement reforms of the organisation.
It was also heart-warming that the President found time to meet with influential and highly resourced Nigerians who painstakingly listened to the rendition of his trajectory to the pinnacle of political power in present day Nigeria, and his story was as inspiring as theirs. There was also a queue of chief executive officers of multi-national companies; they all took time to converse with President Buhari about the numerous opportunities to invest in agriculture, financial services, mining, telecommunications, transport, etc.
This time around, the President really marketed Nigeria and his overtures to investors were well received. It astonishing that while the President is being vilified here at home, he still retains the confidence of influential leaders abroad, which goes to show that many of his critics are motivated by crass partisanship. Unfortunately for these critics, President Buhari’s tour of duty at the 71st UNGA has been a glorious one.