President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday raised the alarm that another social crisis looms in the country if the two million Nigerians displaced by the Boko Haram sect currently in refugee camps were not properly resettled.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President spoke at a meeting he had with the world leader of the Tijjaniya Islamic Movement, Sheikh Sharif Ibn Mohammad, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He was said to have lamented the destruction of public institutions in the North-East by Boko Haram terrorists.
“Government is faced with the problem of repairing schools, health centres and whole towns. We must repair their schools and recruit teachers otherwise they will become tomorrow’s Boko Haram,” Buhari warned.
The President reiterated the importance of justice in the affairs of governance, emphasising that men and women in authority must show kindness and justice to all the people under them.
In commending the religious group for the prayers they had rendered for three days in Yola, Adamawa State for the recovery of the economy and peace in the country, the President said that the problem oil production was experiencing in the country and in the global market had forced the imperative of agriculture on Nigerians.
“We are learning the hard way. The mistake we made was to abandon agriculture. We came at a time of difficulty the country has never experienced since the Civil War,” he said.
Buhari also requested religious leaders to persuade Nigerians to embrace hard work, endurance and patience.
He assured Nigerians that his administration would not relent in the effort to achieve self-reliance and security for the nation.
In his remarks, Sheikh Mohammad commended Buhari’s sense of justice and concern for the people of Nigeria.
He assured the President that the Tijjaniya movement was in full support of the administration and would continue to pray for its success.
PUNCH
