The French leader, Emmanuel Macron, has urged the Nigerian government to work towards providing an enabling economic and political environment to help youths in the country to achieve their dreams. President Macron, who met with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Wednesday, noted that it was important for leaders in Africa to understand why young people were disposed to joining terrorist groups.
President Macron, who began a 4-day visit to Nigeria on Monday, advised the country’s leaders to build not just the security approach but also the stabilisation approach at the same time, in order to provide new opportunities for the youths.
At a joint press conference with Buhari after a closed-door bilateral meeting at the Presidential Villa, Macron pledged to increase the cooperation between Nigeria and France in tackling security challenges brought about by the activities of Boko Haram and ISIS jihadists in Nigeria and the Sahel region of Africa.“What is important to me is how the different African governments organise themselves to fight against terrorism and get rid of these people and especially, Jihadism. That is why I do promote the G5/Sahel Initiatives,” he said.
The French President declared that France will not solve or fix African situations but will continue to maintain her presence in Africa and the Sahel, to fight against terrorism especially in Mali and in the region. Both leaders signed agreements to facilitate French assistance totalling $475 million for some projects in Lagos, Kano and Ogun States. Specifically, the Lagos deal is a letter of intent for the financing of urban mobility improvement project via a loan of $200 million. This will involve the development of eight priority bus corridors connected to the Lagos mass transit network.
Through its foreign development agency, Francaise de Development, AFD, France will also extend a credit facility of $75 million towards improving water supply in Kano city.The concessional loan is expected to help Kano state government ensure more residents of the city have access to drinking water, while improving the financial viability of the state water board to increase its revenues.
