President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday in Dead Sea, Jordan, urged world leaders to work towards narrowing gaps in social and economic opportunities for citizens as panacea to rising conflicts across the globe.

A statement by Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, in Abuja on Saturday, said President Buhari stated this at the World Economic Forum on Middle East and North Africa.

The President, who honoured an invitation by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, attributed the Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria to lack of socio-economic inclusion.

According to President Buhari, rising opportunities of prosperity for some people while others struggle to survive triggers tension and conflict.

He said, “It is at this point that we must ask ourselves how we, as a region, got to this point. The answer, at least in the case of Nigeria, is the lack of social and economic inclusion.

“As Nigeria celebrated being the largest economy in Africa and one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Nigerians were migrating in droves through harsh desert conditions and across treacherous seas to seek what they believe would be a better life in Europe.

“I strongly believe that lack of social and economic inclusion was the root cause of many challenges we are experiencing.’’

The founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Prof. Klaus Schwab, who congratulated President Buhari for his re-election for a second term, said discussions at the forum would focus on new ideas, entrepreneurship, innovation, environment, peace and reconciliation.