Yinka Salaam, Osogbo
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has appealed for renewed diplomatic engagement between Nigeria and the United States of America.
In a statement issued over the recent threat of security actions against Nigeria by President Donald Trump, Governor Adeleke threw his weight behind diplomatic solutions within the context of decades of productive and rewarding Nigeria-American diplomatic partnership.
The statement signed by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said: “I appeal to the Presidency of the United States of America to support Nigeria in fully implementing the recently developed national security strategy. The new strategy is comprehensive and capable of taking on the monster of banditry and terrorist killings.”
The governor, who commiserated with families of victims across the northern region, said the American intervention is a wake-up call to rigorously implement new security measures and forceful counter-terrorism actions in partnership with diplomatic allies.
He said what Nigeria needs is help, not threats.
“Nigeria suffers from unfortunate killings across Northern Nigeria, which have claimed the lives of many innocent citizens. We believe a high-powered engagement at the presidential level will particularly open up to the American government the ongoing security operations, successes, and challenges Nigeria is facing in the fight against terrorism.
“We need our international partners to expand their support for the Nigerian security agencies and their political leadership to face national security challenges. Peaceful interface between Abuja and Washington holds the key rather than military intervention by the American government,” the Governor said.
According to the governor, “this is the time to unite as a nation to support the national leadership to frontally address internal and external threats for the protection of the citizenry. This is the time to back the President to enforce the letter and spirit of the Constitution in all facets of national life.”
He stressed that what Nigeria needs is peace, and not war, to deepen democracy and protect its citizens.