U.S. Celebrates 238th Independence Saturday, 05 July Lists Panacea For Terrorism, Nigeria’s Democratic, Economic Growth THE United States of America has commemorated its 238th anniversary of the declaration of Independence with remedy on Nigeria’s economic, democratic growth and focus on combating terrorism. American Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, in a speech on the July 4 anniversary in Abuja with a toast “to the rich and vibrant partnership that unites our two great democracies”, gave assurance of USA’s assistance to Nigeria, as it pursues its democracy, security challenges and economic ventures. According to the envoy, the American government is at the forefront of security partnership with Nigeria to check the recent spate of kidnappings, bombings, and other “despicable acts of terrorism” by Boko Haram. Entwistle said: “We provide support in the form of equipment and training, but we also share our own lessons learned in combating terrorism. Over the last decade, the United States has learned that defeating terrorism requires more than just military power. It requires protecting civilian populations despite terrorists’ disregard for human life in their campaign to wage war on the state. “It requires working to develop impoverished areas where extremism takes root. It requires ensuring that education is accessible to all. It requires empowering a free and fair press to report openly and without fear of reprisal.” And, perhaps most importantly, it requires engaging the growing youth populations that are being swayed towards extremism due to lack of economic opportunities, education, and trust in government. “In other words, it requires a comprehensive, whole-of-government approach. And the work we are doing with the Nigerian government and people addresses all of these needs,” he said. The Ambassador highlighted his country’s commitment to Nigeria in areas of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), infrastructure, power generation for economic growth and health with the 458 million dollars’ President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief annual support to fund both treatment and prevention of the spread of HIV and AIDS and build Nigerian capacity to address this crisis. On importance of non-violent, fair, peaceful and credible elections, especially in 2015, Entwistle said: “We work closely with your Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that the process is transparent, well monitored, and secure. Safeguarding and strengthening democracy is difficult work. “But the recent Ekiti elections were an excellent example of what happens when all players, the government, citizens, security forces, and political parties, commit to ensuring respect for the electoral process and for one another,” the American envoy said. He cited the United States Agency for International Development’s strong presence in commitment to Nigeria from agriculture to infrastructure with reference to President Barack Obama’s Power Africa programme which he said is attracting private sector investment that will result in power capacity and generation for Nigeria’s electricity grid, like in the 130 million dollars Azura Energy Project that will add 450 megawatts of power to Nigeria’s electricity grid.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 22:33:54 +0000
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