* Ikpeazu 

The global and  growing threats of terrorism can only be squarely tackled when leaders at all levels across the globe come together to fashion out a synergy against the scourge which stands as a potent threat to global peace, says Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Nigeria.

Gov Ikpeazu who spoke to journalists at the end of the Extraordinary Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Terrorism held at Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso urged world leaders to work towards finding a common ground for more collaboration against the global threat of terrorism.

Ikpeazu who attended the Summit as part of the Nigerian delegation further called for a shift from a core geographic approach to what he described as a “geostrategic approach” in the war against terror, identifying issues like intelligence gathering and sharing, joint operations, good governance and a structured educational system of young persons as ways that can be adopted in the fight to end global terror.

The Abia governor maintained that terrorism is  a real and present threat to peace, democracy and socioeconomic development across the globe, Ikpeazu also tasked world leaders to intensify efforts towards the identification and blocking of sources of funding for terrorists which he described as “the oxygen upon which terrorism thrives”.

He also agreed with participants at the summit on the need for the propagation of “tolerant Islam” as one of the potent ways of fighting terrorism on a global scale.

Speaking further, Ikpeazu explained that in Abia State, the strategy of his administration has been to intensify intelligence gathering as a potent approach in the fight against crimes, stating that as a state which is at the confluence of seven states, Abia must be interested in what happens in terms of security in states around her. According to him, the rise in the incidence of kidnapping in the state some years ago was a spill over effect of the activities of militants in the neighboring states of the Niger Delta.

Ikpeazu also expressed profound appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari for finding him fit and proper to be part of the Nigerian delegation to the Summit which has deepened his understanding of the issues around global terrorism as a necessary fallout of local security lapses and pledged the commitment of his administration to strengthen security in the state, especially in view of the direct link between stable security and the drive for investments.