President Muhammadu Buhari has emphasised the need for governments in African countries to renew their social contract with their citizens by avoiding marginalisation and embracing inclusion in their policies.
He gave the advice at the 5th Conference of the Network of African Parliamentarians for Defence and Security Committees of the House of Representatives.
President Buhari, who was represented at the event by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), also informed the gathering that his administration is currently pursuing same strategy to ensure that no segment of the Nigerian population feels alienated and marginalised.
The conference is a strategic platform that brings together lawmakers from across Africa, as well as representatives of the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union (EU) to exchange ideas, share experiences and deliberate on common approaches to addressing threats to the continent’s collective security.
According to a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, the President said “mobilising the full spectrum of our national assets also means engaging the broad expanse of our societies”.
“In order to do this, we must renew the social compact that binds governments and the governed and build institutions that promote inclusive security and prosperity. We recognise that having large segments of our population feeling alienated and marginalized is a critical vulnerability.
The challenge then is for us to develop measures through policy and legislation that create an umbrella of human security over our people and thereby prevent the forces of destabilisation from weaponising the frustrations of the marginalised. In doing this, we will also ensure that the human and material resources that we should be deploying for growth and development are not consumed in conflict,” the President said.
