President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged his African counterparts to rid their countries of corruption so the continent can rise to its full potential.

Buhari spoke at a High-Level side event on ”Food Security Response: Combating Illicit Financial Flows and Securing Asset Returns for Sustainable Development’‘, on the margins of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly. He expressed regrets that the continent has remained at the far end of the global development index because of the menace.

According to him, national resources around the African continent must not find safe havens around the world hence, making the fight a necessity and not a choice, to give citizens a better life through economic prosperity, social peace, and security.

The President urged his colleagues to recall the United Nations General Assembly Special Session Against Corruption political declaration of June 2021 and ensure its effective implementation toward global food security and sustainable infrastructural development in the continent.

On food security in Nigeria, the President disclosed that the Nigerian government has financed 2.5 million smallholder farmers to cultivate about 3.2 million hectares of farmland across the country, creating 10 million direct and indirect jobs.

Buhari, who has served as AU Champion on anti-corruption since 2018, frowned at the recent data released by the UN which estimated that nearly a billion people went hungry in 2021. He said the data is a collective shame on the world’s conscience, which has been further exacerbated by increased illicit financial flows.