Buhari asks world leaders to reject coups in West Africa

President Muhammadu Buhari has told the world leaders not to tolerate the recent trend of unconstitutional takeover of power, particularly through what he called “unilateral changes of constitutions” by some leaders.

The President spoke on the issue currently rocking the West Africa sub-region Friday in New York in his speech at the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.

The speech addressed other matters on the international agenda of interest to Nigeria, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Arms Trade Treaty, climate change, terrorism, anti-corruption, debt suspension, international trade, UN Security Council Reform, Palestinian Question, racial discrimination, among others.

Buhari warned that democratic gains of the past decades in West Africa “are now being eroded” due to these negative trends.

He said Nigeria’s support to efforts by ECOWAS, AU and the UN to address this growing challenge. He said: “As leaders of our individual Member-States, we need to adhere to the constitutional provisions of our countries, particularly on term limits. This is one area that generates crisis and political tension in our sub-region.”

At present, military junta had taken over powers in Guinea and Mali.

The President urged the international community not only to deal with the symptoms of conflict but also the immediate causes that fuel conflicts in the first place.

“These include poor and undemocratic governance, human rights abuses, poverty, ignorance, injustice and inequalities.”

“There are no easy solutions to these conditions. They require long term investments and more effective international cooperation. In this connection, my delegation underscores the importance of promoting peaceful, unfettered, and inclusive participation of states in global actions towards conflict prevention.

“This will facilitate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063.”