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<\/a><\/b>NIGERIAN <\/b>Government received commendation all the way by United States Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield regarding the leadership role Nigeria has continually been playing in the African continent and economic impact the nation has gradually created.<\/p>\nLinda did not waste any time when she told the press that being her third time in Nigeria since becoming Assistant Secretary of African Affairs at <\/b>the U.S. Department of State, \u201cMy frequent trips here are a sign of how <\/b>much the United States values the friendship and partnership between our <\/b>two countries.\u00a0 We admire the Nigerian people and the drive, ambition, <\/b>and entrepreneurship that you display, which have made your country’s <\/b>economy the second largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa.\u00a0 Nigeria has <\/b>tremendous human potential and natural resources.\u00a0 These things help <\/b>make yours one of the most powerful and fastest-growing countries in the <\/b>world.\u00a0 The very strong relationship between the United States and Nigeria goes beyond government-to-government relations.\u00a0 Our <\/b>people-to-people relations are just as strong.\u00a0 I look forward to <\/b>continued trips to increase our dialogue on the many issues of mutual <\/b>interest.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0\u2018Nigeria plays great role on World Stage\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n
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This diplomat said \u201cNigeria plays a vital role on the world stage.\u00a0 Yours is a vibrant democracy.\u00a0 You are once again a member of the UN Security Council, where we enjoy a close working relationship on global security matters. More than 1.5 million Nigerians live in the United States, and an estimated 31,000 U.S. citizens live in Nigeria.\u00a0 Nigeria’s voice is important and influential in regional and multilateral fora.\u00a0 Nigeria has demonstrated strong, principled leadership within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU).<\/p>\n
International peace and security benefit from the soldiers you send to represent Nigeria as peace-keepers.\u00a0 Nigeria is a major energy producer and we are working together to bring electricity and power generation to more Nigerians, including through Power Africa, President Obama’s initiative.\u00a0\u00a0 You are a key supplier of oil in the global market and, in 2012, the fifth leading supplier of oil to the United States.\u00a0 At some $5 billion, Nigeria is the second largest destination for U.S. private investment in Africa.<\/p>\n
Her words: \u2018These are among the reasons why it is so important for us to maintain a strong partnership with the Nigerian government and its people.\u00a0 The Binational Commission reflects that partnership.\u00a0 It is a forum in which we can speak frankly to each other and turn common cause into creative thinking and coordinated action.\u00a0 One of the issues is LGBT rights – where we encourage Nigeria to reconsider a policy of discrimination, and criminalization of this community, which encourages violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday we are convening the Binational Commission Working Group for Good Governance, Transparency, and Integrity.\u00a0 We will be discussing ways we can partner to make Nigeria’s upcoming 2015 elections the most peaceful, free, fair and credible in its history.\u00a0 We will also exchange ideas on how we can arrest the malignancy of financial corruption that eats away at Nigeria’s democracy and economy.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0On Elections in Nigeria<\/b><\/p>\n
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\u201cIn the run-up to Nigeria’s 2011 elections, the U.S. and the UK together made an unprecedented commitment to Nigeria’s elections-spending $31.3 million to, among many things, strengthen Nigeria’s electoral management bodies and support civil society observers.\u00a0 We were proud to support the great electoral success you achieved as a nation and a people.\u00a0 We continue to invest in support for Nigeria’s elections, through the Independent National Electoral Commission and other election stakeholders to help the Nigerian government, institutions, and people build an even stronger foundation for future elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cNigeria’s future is full of promise and opportunity and cannot afford to have elections or general governance slide back in terms of peacefulness, fairness, transparency, or credibility.\u00a0 No matter how high the political stakes, we are dedicated to the proposition that the 2015 elections will be more transparent, more credible, and less violent than in 2011.\u00a0 We stand with Nigerians who say loudly that they will not accept crooked tactics, electoral tampering, overly heated rhetoric, vote selling or buying, or violence.\u00a0 I have heard my Nigerian friends say repeatedly that anyone who engages in such election chicanery should be held accountable.\u00a0 They are right.\u00a0 I encourage Nigeria’s National Assembly to pass legislation enacting an Electoral Offences Tribunal-legislation that President Jonathan himself proposed when he was Vice President.\u00a0 We hope that our continued electoral assistance will give the utmost support to the Nigerian people because they deserve nothing less than elections that reflect their will.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe applaud the Nigerian security services for faithfully executing their complex operational orders on Election Day to ensure the protection of voters and poll workers in the November 16 Anambra State elections.\u00a0 We have confidence that if the Nigerian police, military, and other security services are allowed to do their jobs as professionally as they did in Anambra, the elections can be held safely in Ekiti and Osun States and, in 2015, at every polling unit in Nigeria, including in the Delta, the Middle Belt, and the states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa.<\/p>\n
\u201cCredible elections are the responsibility of every citizen, every voter. Your right to vote is yours to watch over.\u00a0 The choice is yours to decide not to sell your vote, not to intimidate others, and not to engage in violence around elections.\u00a0 Selling your vote will put money in your pocket for only a day, but ultimately, you are selling your future and your children’s future right to freedom and prosperity. You must hold your politicians, your electoral commission, your judiciary,<\/p>\n
your media, your political parties, your security services, and each other accountable.\u00a0 You must vote according to your conscience.\u00a0 Anyone who witnesses fraud must peacefully report it to the INEC and the Nigerian judicial system for resolution.\u00a0 Nothing justifies violence.<\/p>\n
Most importantly, Nigerians should vote.\u00a0 The ballot is your means to select your leaders and determine your futures.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cA government’s legitimacy is not just won at the ballot box.\u00a0 As we have learned in the United States in our 238-year old democratic experiment, credibility in governance is won every day in the work of elected leaders who deliver services equally to all citizens and refrain from<\/p>\n
using the trappings of power for personal enrichment.\u00a0 We look forward over these two days to discussing corruption and how we can assist the Nigerian government in ensuring greater accountability across all sectors.\u00a0 In fiscal year 2013, we provided $5 million in assistance for<\/p>\n
activities focused on good governance.\u00a0 We provided training and mentoring for financial investigators and prosecutors from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and for several other Nigerian anti-corruption agencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to work with the Commission and all other anti-corruption partners.\u00a0 At the request of your Minister of Petroleum, we sent a delegation in December to discuss oil-bunkering and revenue diversion with members of your government and all levels of society and<\/p>\n
to hear what Nigeria can do to fight these issues.\u00a0 Our delegation came up with some ideas of what can be done.\u00a0 We look forward to sharing them with you.\u00a0 We are here to work with our partners in the Nigerian government to help find solutions, mindful that the Nigerian people<\/p>\n
themselves realize it is the job of every Nigerian to fight this battle. You must know your rights and demand accountability of your government, of each other, and of yourselves.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Throughout these two days, I know that we will significantly further the dialogue between our countries on these issues, and I look forward to the exchange.\u00a0 But the exchange of views we always look forward to most is that between a people and their government.\u00a0 All Nigerians, the<\/p>\n
United States, and countries throughout the world will be watching to see what you, as Nigerians, do with the opportunities set before you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LEADERSHIP! \u2018Nigeria Plays a Vital Role on World Stage\u2019–US Govt *US Assistant Sec for African Affairs: \u201cNigeria has tremendous human potential and natural resources\u201d *Says: \u201cMore than 1.5 million Nigerians live in the United States\u201d *Confesses: \u201c2015 elections will be more transparent, more credible, and less violent than in 2011\u201d \u00a0 BY GEORGE ELIJAH […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nigeria"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}