Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, has called on the United Nations to do more in combatting terrorism as it poses a threat to democracy.
President Tinubu disclosed this in an audience with the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office on Counter-Terrorism, Mr Vladimir Voronkov, at the State House on Thursday.
He maintained that terrorism has consistently reversed the gains in development and increased instability in families and communities.
He, however, opined that the UN’s cooperation in dealing with it had always been inconsistent and whimsical in the developing world context, according to PMNews.
“We appreciate all that you have been doing. We know that in the face of many demands and challenges, you can still do much better. We can score you ‘A’ in collaboration but ‘B’ in physical support. You have to do more because terrorism is an effective danger to democracy; terrorism is also an effective danger to development.
“Growth and prosperity can not be achieved until we banish terrorism. We have to equally look at other sides of the issue, and I have said it is the where, how, and when of terrorism.
“We must take into account the basic needs of our people. If out of the meagre resources presently available, we have to dip our hands without the steady support from organisations like the UN, then we are in trouble,” the President asserted.
In his reaction, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar said he had highlighted some of the conditions that promote insurgency like poverty and injustice with the UN team while noting the Nigerian Government’s response.
