To Keep Sahel Region Peaceful, Libya Has To Be Stable – Buhari

The first step towards keeping the Sahel region of Africa
peaceful and secure is by ensuring that the State of Libya regains
stability, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

The President spoke Thursday at State House, Abuja, while
receiving the outgoing Special Representative of the United Nations
Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West
Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Mohammed Ibn Chambas.

According to the President, the worsening case of arms and
ammunition proliferation in the West African and the Sahel region
of the continent resulted from the fall of the former Libyan
strongman, Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, and the infiltration of
different countries within the region by his fleeing
bodyguards.

According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media
and Publicity Mr. Femi Adesina, President Buhari said Gadaffi held
a grip on power in Libya for 42 years by recruiting armed guards
from different countries, who then escaped with their arms when the
Libyan strongman was killed.

“They didn’t learn any other skill than to shoot and kill. So,
they are a problem all over the Sahel countries today,” the
President said.

He added; “We closed our land borders here for more than a year,
but arms and ammunition continued to flow illegally. As far as
Libya remains unstable, so will the problem remain.

“We have to cope with the problems of development, as we can’t
play hop, step and jump. But we will eventually overcome those
problems.”

The first step towards keeping the Sahel region of Africa
peaceful and secure is by ensuring that the State of Libya regains
stability, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

The President spoke Thursday at State House, Abuja, while
receiving the outgoing Special Representative of the United Nations
Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West
Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Mohammed Ibn Chambas.

According to the President, the worsening case of arms and
ammunition proliferation in the West African and the Sahel region
of the continent resulted from the fall of the former Libyan
strongman, Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, and the infiltration of
different countries within the region by his fleeing
bodyguards.

According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media
and Publicity Mr. Femi Adesina, President Buhari said Gadaffi held
a grip on power in Libya for 42 years by recruiting armed guards
from different countries, who then escaped with their arms when the
Libyan strongman was killed.

“They didn’t learn any other skill than to shoot and kill. So,
they are a problem all over the Sahel countries today,” the
President said.

He added; “We closed our land borders here for more than a year,
but arms and ammunition continued to flow illegally. As far as
Libya remains unstable, so will the problem remain.

“We have to cope with the problems of development, as we can’t
play hop, step and jump. But we will eventually overcome those
problems.”