The time has come for both Nigeria and the United States
to deepen the long-standing relationship between the countries based on mutual
trust, according to Nigeria’s Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
Prof. Osinbajo spoke earlier today at the Presidential
Villa while receiving the Commander of the US-Africa Command, General Thomas D.
Waldhauser and the American Ambassador in Nigeria, Honorable W. Stuart
Symington.
“We will be very open and willing to build a relationship
based on trust, so that we would benefit from it and of course our relationship
as nations would benefit tremendously from it,” the Acting President stated.
Nigeria’s relationship with the US, he observed, is a very
important one “and has been so for many years, even so now at a time like this
for us,” adding that the Federal Government is appreciative of US support over
the last few years.
According to him, it is the belief of the Buhari
presidency that the United States is committed to helping us with some of our
challenges especially in the Northeast, explaining also that issues around
human rights concerns in the country should be viewed against the context of an
unusual kind of warfare with terrorists and insurgents.
“The kind of warfare we are engaged with in many ways are
unprecedented for our military,” the Ag. President said while noting the sheer
brutality and mindlessness of terrorists who are “prepared to kill children in
their sleep, abduct girls and prepared to die, even using teenage girls as
suicide bombers.”
He restated the readiness of the Buhari administration to
conclusively end the problem “as quickly as possible.” He referred to attacks
by remnants and splinter groups from the terrorists, and added that nonetheless
they can no longer launch military attacks.
While emphasising on the support of the US so far, he
stated that the Federal Government will welcome more US military cooperation
and also assistance in dealing with the consequent humanitarian situation in
the North East.
“The US has been a reliable partner we can trust,
especially from what the US has done in the past, we want to see how much more
you can do for us and the region,” Prof. Osinbajo stated.
In his remarks, the head of the US Africa Command, General
Waldhauser expressed the readiness of the US government to “accelerate” its
contributions, adding that there is a sense that “we want to get on and solve
the problem.”
He noted that his visit to Nigeria at this time is about
developing further “the friendship and trust that we have in common,” while
also agreeing with the Ag. President that the brutality shown by the terrorists
is “what we have never seen before.”
Also speaking, Ambassador Symington said he had just
concluded a visit to all the geo-political zones of the country and has
concluded that “Nigeria is one of the greatest countries in the world with the
potential to change the world.”
PHOTO: NOVO ISIORO
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