Buhari Speaks On Security, Good Governance At Liberia’s 175th Independence 

The president reaffirmed that democracy and good governance must establish roots on the African continent. Leaders must also step up their efforts to ensure that democracy is irreversible.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked leaders in West Africa to do everything in their ability to ensure that elections take place in their countries in a setting of trust, freedom, and transparency.

According to a statement from the President’s media adviser, Malam Garba Shehu, Buhari made the call on Tuesday as part of a goodwill message to the government and people of Liberia as he joined other global leaders to celebrate the West African country’s 175th anniversary of independence.

The president asserts that this is the only way to protect the sub-region from the plague of recent unlawful coups in three nations.

To support security and prosperity, the president reaffirmed that democracy and good governance must establish roots on the African continent. Leaders must also step up their efforts to ensure that democracy is irreversible.

“I would like to use the opportunity of this event to address an important issue affecting three countries in the ECOWAS region; Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

“All the three nations have National Elections in 2023. In Nigeria, we are working towards a free, fair, transparent, credible, and acceptable outcome of elections and their results.

”It is important and necessary for all our countries to key into these resolves as they are indispensable to peace and stability in our countries and sub-region.

”The deepening of democracy and good governance are essential antidotes to check-mate unconstitutional change of governments as we sadly witnessed within the last three years in three countries within our sub-region.

”We must strengthen our efforts to guarantee the irreversibility of democracy in our sub-region and Africa,” he said.

The Nigerian leader took advantage of the occasion to highlight Nigeria’s crucial contributions in helping to quell the nation’s fratricidal uprising in the 1990s.

The president claims that his attendance at the festivities demonstrates how much he believes in strengthening the already-established bilateral connections between Nigeria and Liberia.

He said: “Nigeria’s contributions to the survival and safety of Liberia are well known.

”The dark period of your country’s civil war from 1989 to 1997, was a period that Nigeria invested hugely for peace in Liberia and indeed stability in the rest of the ECOWAS sub-region. May those dark days never re-surface in our countries and sub-region.”

Dr. George Weah, Dr. Buhari’s counterpart in Liberia, was praised by Mr. Buhari for his love of the nation and pursuit of peace, unity, and progress, as shown by people-oriented projects carried out with the sole intention of raising the nation to greater heights while using the limited resources at hand.

He assured him of Nigeria’s continuing assistance in this matter, but he asked the Liberian president to take more action.

“Your Excellency’s policy of development launched in 2018 as well as the recently launched youth empowerment programs, targeted at comprehensively addressing the problems of youth restiveness in Liberia.

”These are equally aimed at rescuing the disadvantaged youths (ZOGOS in local parlance) from drug addictions and other forms of social vices and transforming them into useful members of the Liberian society, are clearly very appropriate policies to lift up the most vulnerable.

“Permit me to assure you and all Liberians that Nigeria, as a good partner and a dependable ally, would continue to support you in these efforts, within the limit of our resources.

”This brings to the fore, the need for strengthening and broadening the levels of collaboration and cooperation between our two countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally, within the ECOWAS, AU, and the UN, in order to adequately tackle the common national, sub-regional, and global challenges.”

Mr. Buhari and other West African leaders were praised by President George Weah for attending.

“Thank you, Mr. President, and the good people of Nigeria. Without your support, we would not have had peace.”