President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and other African leaders to apply a harmonious approach to deal with the root cause of the continent’s security and other crises.

Mr Kagame made the call at the UBA Africa Conversations 2021 held virtually to commemorate Africa Day on Tuesday in Lagos.

He said, “We did not have to ask the question as to what African leaders are doing to stop the crisis going on across the continent.

“But rather ask ourselves what we should be doing or have done to actually prevent them from happening in the first place.”

Mr Kagame added, “It has been decades since we have had crises of different kinds. All leaders should invest in one another and thinking of each other’s well-being, and do whatever it takes to create a stable and sustainable African continent.

“The continued emergence and spread of this crisis require resources and a mindset to pursue peace, also put in place good politics. We cannot just switch off crisis unless we invest in addressing the root causes of these problems.”

According to him, African leaders have had discussions, but there is the need to “put a sense of urgency because we have other crises like poverty that we need to address.”

Mr Kagame called on African leaders to capitalise and benefit from the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA), adding that the continent stands to gain more by coming together.

“We must utilise the youth, women, and other institutions to help us overcome the crises faced across the continent, but we cannot drop the ball right in the middle of it for smaller interests or benefits and forget about the common interest.

“For example, we have put in place the AfCTA. We must capitalise on that and benefit from it so that we do not just have it in name but in the area of practice. We cannot benefit until countries work together in peace, with security in place and stability,” explained the Rwandan president.

(NAN)