President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed appreciation to the United States for allowing Nigeria to procure military hardware to fight terrorism in the country and the training given to the Nigerian military.
Receiving the visiting US Secretary of State, Mr. Antony Blinken, in Abuja on Thursday, Buhari said that the military hardware was helpful in stabilizing the situation in the Northeast, and “we’ve made a lot of progress since 2015”.
“We are doing a lot on security, and the people involved appreciate our efforts,” he said.
On the development of democratic ethos, the presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, quoted the President Buhari as saying that Nigeria has adopted the American model, “hook, line, and sinker, with its term limits. Those who have attempted to breach it were disappointed, if not disgraced. You are even lucky if you have two terms. Others try hard and don’t get it. The American model has been accepted by Nigerians as the best.”
Speaking on security issues in Nigeria and her neighbours, President Buhari noted that they have been living with the impact of climate change for a while, which has seen Lake Chad shrink drastically from its original size, and affected the livelihood of about 30 million people in the Lake Chad Basin countries.
“That is why the youths defy the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean to attempt to migrate to Europe. Inter-basin water transfer is needed to keep the youths at home, and they can resume their lives of farming, fishing, and animal husbandry,” Buhari added.
On the judicial report of the #EndSars protest, Buhari said that the Federal Government would allow the system to exhaust itself, and will, therefore, wait for pronouncements from state governments that set up panels to probe police brutality in the country.
“So many state governments are involved, and have given different terms of reference to the probe panels.
“We at the Federal have to wait for the steps taken by the states, and we have to allow the system to work. We can’t impose ideas on them. Federal Government has to wait for the reaction of the states,” he said.
On the recent removal of Nigeria from the watchlist of countries violating religious freedom, which Blinken said was “based on facts,” Buhari expressed the country’s appreciation, noting that there was freedom of worship in Nigeria, and no one is discriminated against on the basis of his or her faith.
He said also said education was a priority in the country, “because when you educate a people, there are certain levels they will not fall below.”
In his remarks, Mr Blinken appreciated the contributions of President Buhari to the protection of the climate, particularly his presence and contributions at the recent COP26 climate conference held in Glasgow, Scotland.
According to Blinken, America and Nigeria have diverse challenges, but a common denominator is security, and hoped for better partnerships, “so that the bad guys won’t get the good guys”.
He described the report of the EndSARS probe panel as “democracy in action,” stressing that America equally had its own police brutality, and hoping that necessary reforms would be made.
GIK/APA