It is understandable why the Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, received so much media attention at his first African-European summit since his return to office after his prolonged medical treatment in London. The African media generally hailed President Buhari’s contributions at the 5th AU-EU summit in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, describing it as cogent and timely. It was obvious that representatives of the African media, and indeed the world were eager to see how well the Nigerian leader had recovered.
According to foreign reporters who covered the event, which was held for two days at the end of last month, President Buhari demonstrated the pivotal role Nigeria plays in continental affairs and in the relationship that Africa must forge with other regions of the world.
The bulk of the foreign media noted that discussions at the conference were productive and frank, due in no small measure to the interventions of President Buhari. The theme of the summit was “Investing in Youth for a Sustainable Future.” President Buhari declared that the single most important investment Africans needed to make was to grow and develop their national economies in ways that will provide jobs for the teeming youths. The Nigerian leader pointed out that massive investment in education and in other social areas, would lead to the type of economic maturation capable of driving the future of Nigeria and Africa.
In President Buhari’s words, “Without jobs, even educated youth become vulnerable to forms of extremism, ranging from joining the ranks of terrorists to risking their lives migrating to Europe through the “sea of sand that is the Sahara and the unforgiving waters of the Mediterranean. We must declare this the era of African industrialisation for this must be the primary goal of all AU members. This and future AU-EU summits must be dedicated to this goal.’’
On trade and investment, President Buhari said Nigeria was not opposed to trade reform as long as it would not be indiscriminate. He argued that trade reform should only occur within the context of the push to industrialize the continent. According to him, direct foreign investment that produces jobs and creates tangible wealth must be encouraged.
President Buhari called on the EU to work more diligently with the AU to bring normalcy to Libya and for the EU to be more forthcoming with humanitarian aid to those directly affected by terrorism.
Turning to the political events in Zimbabwe, the Nigerian leader said that the exit of former President Mugabe was a closed chapter in Zimbabwean and African history. In his words, “Mugabe symbolised a good dream gone badly awry. Now, the rebuilding of that nation can become a symbol of how Africa and Europe can work together to develop a society based on justice, democracy and shared prosperity. If this is to be the case, we must be careful not to disregard the aspirations of the common person in Zimbabwe.’’
On the developing situation in Togo, President Buhari along with five other West African leaders with a stake in the country met with President Faure Gnassingbe to press for an urgent agreement between him and the coalition that had been opposing him. He enjoined the Togolese strongman to hold sincere talks with the opposition in order to avoid political upheaval.
