Minister of foreign Affairs, Gbenga Ashiru, says Nigeria will not abandon the responsibility of protecting its citizens abroad, reiterating the charge that Nigerian embassies and high commissions have the task of caring for Nigerians living in other countries.
The minister, in an interview with the HMFA Sun newspaper, in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s stance not to allow some Nigerian women perform this year’s Hajj, pointed out the importance of respecting the laws of host countries by Nigerians.
He said, “Part of our policy thrust is fair and decent treatment of Nigerians wherever they may be. We did make a pronouncement on it in our inaugural outing with principal envoys accredited to Nigeria. We wish to reiterate it here that at all given opportunities, we made practical our pronouncements.
“We will continue to insist that Nigerians be accorded respect and treated with dignity. Our charge to the ambassadors and high commissions is that the welfare of Nigerians in Diaspora must be taken seriously. However, as we strive to protect and promote the interests of our compatriots abroad, we also reiterate to them the imperative to be law abiding in their places of abode.”
While explaining the nation’s present foreign policy, Ashiru said challenges and priorities at given times always dictate the position of government.
“We have a foreign policy template on which we base the pursuit of our national interests. From one successive administration to another, emphases have always differed.
“Nigeria’s foreign policy road map now is economic diplomacy. We’re aiming at using diplomacy to attract investments into Nigeria in a manner that will complement President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda.”
Ashiru added that the joint commissions’ policy and Bi-National Commissions were designed to attain the objectives of national development, saying the gains have brought tremendous progress to Nigeria’s agricultural and energy researches.
He said, “We have BNCs with South Africa, Algeria, US, Canada, Germany. The BNC with Germany has given rise to investment inflows in energy research and power, re-forestation, emission control and capacity building for research in solar energy for universities.
“We also have the 65 million 30MW Kiri Dam Project in Adamawa, the 50 million 20MW Yola Solar Power Station and the Gombe Coal Power Station.”
The 450MW National Independent Power Project in Geregu Power Station with the phase two in Ajaokuta and the Pilot Solar Power Plants for Universities of Ibadan, Lagos, Sokoto and Bayelsa, according to Ashiru, are other gains of the BNC.
“There is also the $40m inflow from a Kenya-based US agricultural outfit, for rice farming in Taraba State. Other countries such as Mexico have also invested heavily in agric-business in Nigeria,” he added.
On the call by the Senate for Nigeria to revisit the ceding of Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, Ashiru said Nigeria would seek peaceful means of approaching the issue and respect international law and treaty.
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You are all of the same feathers. You can protect Nigerians Abroad. Ok, what about Nigerians at home.
ReplyDeleteMay God teach you all the leadership abilities to know what to do to the citizens of this great country.