President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday received the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the State House in Abuja.

“The best thing we can do for peace is to reintegrate those, that in a moment of despair, became terrorists but want to become now citizens and to contribute to the well-being of their brothers and sisters,” he told a gathering at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.

The UN scribe is also expected to perform the wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the August 26, 2011, suicide bomb attack victims.

The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has arrived Nigeria on a two-day official visit to Africa’s most populous country.

He proceeded to Borno, the state ravaged by a decade-long insurgency as Nigeria makes concerted efforts to wipe out terrorism.

According to the United Nations information center in Nigeria, Guterres is expected to meet with the Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum in Maiduguri, the state capital before embarking on a field mission where he will meet families affected by the Boko Haram conflict ravaging the region for more than 12 years.

The UN chief will also evaluate the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities and assess progress made as well as the challenges to the COVID-19 recovery.
From there, he is scheduled to head to Abuja to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osibanjo and other top cabinet officials.
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, is currently at the UN House in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
His visit to the UN House comes a day after the UN scribe arrived in Nigeria on a two-day official visit – the first since he assumed office.
Guterres, who was in Borno State on Tuesday, arrived at the UN facility in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at about 9:05am in the company of some UN top officials and diplomats.
Shortly after his arrival, he met with top officials of the organisation in Nigeria. Journalists were, however, barred from covering the meeting.
As part of the activities lined up for his trip, the UN scribe is expected to perform the laying of wreath ceremony in honour of the victims of the August 26, 2011, suicide bomb attack that claimed at least 26 lives.
While at the UN House, he will also meet with young people’s delegates, women, religious leaders, diplomatic communities, and journalists.
From there, he is scheduled to head to Abuja to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, and other top government officials.
The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has proposed the reintegration of repentant terrorists to ensure the absolute return of peace in Nigeria’s north-east region.
He gave the recommendation on Tuesday while addressing a gathering in Borno after visiting a camp housing people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in the state.
Guterres, who is on a two-day official visit to Nigeria – the first of such, believes the reintegration of persons forced to join terrorist groups during the over a decade-long insurgency will go a long way in bringing back peace in the region.
“The best thing we can do for peace is to reintegrate those, that in a moment of despair, became terrorists but want to become now citizens and to contribute to the well-being of their brothers and sisters,” he said.
Amid mixed reactions trailing the government’s plan to reintegrate repentant terrorists into the society, the UN scribe sees the move as a step in the right direction.
His tour of an Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camp, according to him, shows that the people affected by terrorism want above all to go back home in safety and dignity.
Thousands of people have been killed and millions forced out of their homes in the wake of the insurgency that has lasted over a decade.
While the Nigerian government says it is winning the war against the terrorists, hundreds of Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) have surrendered their arms to the military.
Guterres described Borno as now a place of hope, adding that the way to fight terrorism effectively was to invest in livelihoods, reintegration, and people’s futures.
“The Borno I found today (Tuesday) is a Borno of hope, it’s a Borno with future,” he said. “The people I met today in the IDP camp want to go back home in safety and dignity.
“The way to address terrorism effectively is to provide not only hope but a future of reality. When I went around with the thousands and thousands of people that were there, I saw smiles, I saw enthusiasm, I saw hope, and this is where we must invest.”