... Lists Panacea For Nigerian Democratic Growth
THE United States of America has commemorated its 237th anniversary of the declaration of Independence with a call for economic growth and peaceful co-existence in a democratic Nigerian state and in the northern region in particular.
American Ambassador to Nigeria, Terence McCulley in a speech on the July 4th anniversary in Abuja with a theme on "Celebrating unity in diversity" said that a diversity that must be cherished, protected and embraced would promote democracy.
He urged proponents of the Boko Haram insurgency to adopt peace, "we hope the insurgency in the north will be contained with minimum loose of innocent lives. People of the northeast Nigeria are most affected by this insurgency.
"They are the ones who are suffering. We hope for restoration of peace in Borno State and all the other areas that are affected by the insurgency, we hope for economic development there," the Ambassador added.
McCulley said on the current situation in Egypt that "the President (Barack Obama) has expressed concern in that situation. Obviously Egypt is an important allied in the Middle East. Our hearts are with the people of Egypt at this moment and we hope for rapid restoration to constitutional order."
He listed three tenets of a successful democracy to include human rights, dignity and equality among men and women.
The Guardian