Worried by recent cases of hijack of constitutional authorities through military coup d’etat in Africa, President Muhammadu Buhari has solicited the support of European leaders in preserving democracy on the continent.
Buhari initiated the campaign for Europe’s support on Thursday, during a roundtable discussion on Peace, Security and Governance at the ongoing 6th EU-AU Summit in Brussels, Belgium.
According to an issued statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari also stressed the need to nip the root causes of extremism, conflicts and tensions in Africa at inception.
In his contribution at the roundtable, the President noted that recent developments in a few of the countries on the continent had seen soldiers, through the barrels of guns, hijacked power and expelled popularly and constitutionally elected administrations, describing the situation as worrisome.
He, however, appealed to European leaders, as partners in promoting democracy and good governance, to lend their weight behind measures put in place by the African Union (AU) to stem the tide of unconstitutional leadership changes.
“Africa has continued to witness different waves of violent extremism, community-based conflicts and inter-ethnic tensions, notably in rural areas. For many decades, our continent has been deprived of political stability and socio-economic development due to terrorism and violent extremism”, he stated.
