President Bola Tinubu has urged the United States to ensure its policy’s are intentionally collaborative with independent African democracies when under attack from anti-democratic forces.
The President gave the advice in Abuja when he received the US Presidential Envoy and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Molly Phee.
This would help to avert the forceful takeover of government by external forces, he told the US envoy.
President Tinubu noted that American-backed development finance and multilateral institutions, designed to support conflict-ravaged Europe after World War II, requires swift and comprehensive reform to meet the developmental needs of younger democracies in Africa.
“Yes, the private sector will lead the way within an enabling environment we create for them; but the US Government must be innovative in its thinking and systematically create incentives for US industrial investment in Nigeria,” he admonished.
On Niger Republic, the President affirmed that the crisis there would not deter him from successfully concluding his economic reform programme for the benefit of Nigerians.
He insisted that his administration “takes a queue from no nation”, but will only “advance the interest of the Nigerian state” in its approach toward ECOWAS’ handling of the regional standoff occasioned by the coup in neighbouring Niger Republic.
“We are deep in our attempts to peacefully settle the issue in Niger by leveraging on our diplomatic tools. I will continue to hold ECOWAS back, despite its readiness for all options, in order to exhaust all other remedial mechanisms”.
President Tinubu restated his stance on the war course, saying: “War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor for the region, but the defense of democracy is sacrosanct.”
Pledging support for the position of ECOWAS on the crisis, the US Special Presidential Envoy expressed the high regards the US Administration has for President Tinubu as the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, and extended an exclusive invitation from US President, Joe Biden for a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York to “advance further discussions”.
“We appreciate your willingness to create an enabling environment. For that, President Joe Biden is asking to meet with you on the sidelines of UNGA.
“You are the only African leader he has requested to meet. It is a mark of his high regard for your leadership,” the US Envoy said.
Accepting the invitation, President Tinubu added that “the work of perfecting democracy” was “perpetual”, citing recent developments in America as well as other emerging democracies in the world.
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