Jonathan: No Going Back on Recognition of New Govt in Libya

By Ahamefula Ogbu

26 Aug 2011

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said he still stands by the recognition accorded the National Transitional Council (NTC) in Libya saying that Nigeria’s foreign policy would not be dictated to her by the government, party or opinion of another country.


Jonathan, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, dismissed the reported position of a South African, saying it was the view of an individual member of a party and not the position of the South African government.


Briefing State House Correspondents on the performance of his principal in the first 100 days in office, Abati said the promise not to let Nigerians down was vigorously being pursued and implemented in a way that foreign ratings have put Nigeria on the path of overtaking South Africa to be the continent’s number one investment destination.


Abati defended Nigeria’s position on Libya, pointing out that the government had already advised the Transitional Council to ensure that the interests of the people were protected, and for them to quickly institute multi-party democracy, ensure reconciliation and reconstruction of the country.


“So the position of an ANC member does not really amount to the position of the South African government. However, let this be clear, Nigeria has every right as a sovereign entity to take a position on any international issue. It is not a question of one country holding a higher moral ground than the other.  Each country has its own foreign policy ideals and objectives and it is completely beside the point to say that one country is criticising the position held by the other. Nigeria's position is very clear and is consistent and it is principled,” he said.


Other areas of achievement he listed in the 100 days of the administration include increasing foreign reserve by 10 per cent to $34 billion, achieving consistent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth from 6.7 in May to 6.9 in July, and returning to its former position of second highest exporter of crude oil in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).


Within the period, he said adroit fiscal policy implementation had forced down inflation rate from 10.2 per cent in June to 9.4 per cent in July and that the administration had moved to establish 37 Skills Acquisition Centres nationwide.


He said government had also started the process of establishing a World Trade and International Business Centre in Lagos as well as launched campaign against importation of sub-standard goods.


Abati said the government had deepened the rule of law by obeying all court judgments and respected the doctrine of separation of powers by paying judgment debts.


He also said the commitment to electoral reforms led to 85 per cent reduction in election petitions as the April elections had been adjudged the freest and fairest since 1999 when democratic rule was returned to the country. Other areas he listed were in the power sector reforms, reforms in the transport sector with trains resuming operations in five of the six geo-political zones of the country. He also mentioned the launching of two satellites which would cheapen broadband access, institution of the sovereign wealth fund, electricity bulk trading company, increasing women representation in his cabinet to 35 per cent as promised and improving access to justice.


He further mentioned improvement in security, increment in the allowances of corps members, increase in minimum wage, assembling a strong team to change the fortunes of the country and good quality planning frame work for development, among others.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/jonathan-no-going-back-on-recognition-of-new-govt-in-libya/97152/

GEJ should just shut up. He should use more time fixing this fail state call Nigeria. . .

^^^ You should just 'Shut Up' if you have no contribution to a topic.

@Topic, if Zuma cared so much about the welfare of ordinary civilians how much aid did they ship to Somalia? Grandstanding and expecting Nigeria to play kid-brother, loved the way the rug was pulled off his feet.

To be honest I was surprised that we recognized the Rebels. I PERSONALLY have a soft spot for Gadaffi. He has been there for a long time but I like his style. I thought we Africns should have stood behind him and even helped out militarily.

Johndoe100:

To be honest I was surprised that we recognized the Rebels. I PERSONALLY have a soft spot for Gadaffi. He has been there for a long time but I like his style. I thought we Africns should have stood behind him and even helped out militarily.

stood behind how ? One man sits on the collective aspirations of a people for two generations because he's made of diamond i i guess. I have always wondered why these inhuman African leaders stay silent on such issues; giving the impression that they give a tacit approval to actions of their companions. Mugabe is next

edoyad:

stood behind how ? One man sits on the collective aspirations of a people for two generations because he's made of diamond i i guess. I have always wondered why these inhuman African leaders stay silent on such issues; giving the impression that they give a tacit approval to actions of their companions. Mugabe is next

Answer this question if u feel like:
Who is the number one citizen in UK?

edoyad:

[b]stood behind how ? [/b]One man sits on the collective aspirations of a people for two generations because he's made of diamond i i guess. I have always wondered why these inhuman African leaders stay silent on such issues; giving the impression that they give a tacit approval to actions of their companions. Mugabe is next

By sending troops if necessary. A fellow African leader was under attack by the very people who enslaved us and we did nothing. If 6 African countries had sent 1 division each, we would have sent the rebels packing. NATO would not dare attack Nigeria, South Africa etc due to the consequences after the fighting ends.

GEJ backs Al Qaeda in Libya.
GEJ backs Boko Haram.
GEJ - You should also back MEND and MASSOB  (Silly man).

I doubt if Goodluck Jonathan is the one talking here or the lousy Abati. For God's sake,Why would you continue to talk about Libya when our regional body, AU is yet to make categorical statement?Is Nigeria bigger than AU?Who's going to challenge you if you keep quiet?May God help us.

Typical of GEJ, talking before thnking.

Who the hell is any Nigerian leader, or Jonathan for that matter to advise another country on democracy, justice, and dev elopement of it's people. Deal with your own problems in your own backyard before baselessly giving empty advice to a country that is more developed than yours.

GEJ is the president of Nigeria, his position that a man should leave office after 42yrs cannot and should not faulted, South Africa can endorse whoever they like, they can even send troop to help Gadhafi that is their problem. our problem is what to do with Boko Haram and their sponsors

We're better off installing kermit the frog in Aso rock

The rebels in Libya are slaughting and executing innocent black men in libya, there are footage on youtube, the right-wing media nor the left-wing media seem not to care, if it was the other way round, it will be on the front page of right-wing papers, most of the rebels are nothing but criminals with hatred for West African men .

thameamead:


The rebels in Libya are slaughting and executing innocent black men in libya, there are footage on youtube, the right-wing media nor the left-wing media seem not to care, if it was the other way round, it will be on the front page of right-wing papers, most of the rebels are nothing but criminals with hatred for West African men .

Black people, the most hated people on earth

edoyad:

stood behind how ? One man sits on the collective aspirations of a people for two generations because he's made of diamond i i guess. I have always wondered why these inhuman African leaders stay silent on such issues; giving the impression that they give a tacit approval to actions of their companions. Mugabe is next

no ooo, UK should be next, the queen and her family has ruled for generations just like ghaddafi

strangest:


no ooo, UK should be next, the queen and her family has ruled for generations just like ghaddafi

Dont forget Saudi Arabia king :p

thameamead:


The rebels in Libya are slaughting and executing innocent black men in libya, there are footage on youtube, the right-wing media nor the left-wing media seem not to care, if it was the other way round, it will be on the front page of right-wing papers, most of the rebels are nothing but criminals with hatred for West African men .

YOU ARE RIGHT AND THE MEDIA WAS SHOWING US SOMETHING ELSE

That just shows how idio.tic, moronic and senseless leaders we have in Africa. The AU waited, hands by their side till that evil NATO attacked and destroyed Iibya and Gadaffi, no wonder no continent in the world take us seriously and invade and exploit Africa. What GEJ should be doing is having a meeting with othetr african leaders on ob to boycott IMF, UN, commonwealth and other evil international organisation afterall these international bodies were set up by the white man to deprive the black continent of what it got

On SkyNews this morning the spokesperson for the National Transtional Council was asked if rebels were executing West African men, he sort of brushed it off saying they were going to investigate it, i question the way the Sky News asked the spokesperson, she certainly would have asked him with passion if black men were executing white men or women, the rebels claimed they were mercenaries but they were not, it was an excuse to slaughter those innocent men, there are lots of West African men and women in Libya because it's a stopover for african migrants wanting to cross to europe.

one would expect the likes of Jacob Zuma and our president to ask the rebels to stop killing innocent men but no African Leader is bothered because they are muppets to the west.

where the hell is Human Right's Watch?, where the hell is Amensty International? where the hell is Liberty? these quango's are absolutely useless, one would expect to see them on all News Channel questioning why the UK governement is supporting the rebels that are executing black men. i cried when i saw the footage on you tube, the so-called muslims were shouting "God is great" while beating them to death.

What is happening? Is Jonathan now deaf and dumb, why Abati delivering all the message now? UN building was attacked
,it was Abati we saw on TV when other Presidents are condemning the attack directly.

thameamead:

On SkyNews this morning the spokesperson for the National Transtional Council was asked if rebels were executing West African men, he sort of brushed it off saying they were going to investigate it, i question the way the Sky News asked the spokesperson, she certainly would have asked him with passion if black men were executing white men or women, the rebels claimed they were mercenaries but they were not, it was an excuse to slaughter those innocent men, there are lots of West African men and women in Libya because it's a stopover for african migrants wanting to cross to europe.

one would expect the likes of Jacob Zuma and our president to ask the rebels to stop killing innocent men but no African Leader is bothered because they are muppets to the west.

where the hell is Human Right's Watch?, where the hell is Amensty International? where the hell is Liberty? these quango's are absolutely useless, one would expect to see them on all News Channel questioning why the UK governement is supporting the rebels that are executing black men. i cried when i saw the footage on you tube, the so-called muslims were shouting "God is great" while beating them to death.

I agree with some of the points u made. . .about the killing of blacks BUT most of the mercenaries hired by Gaddafi are blacks, its hard to know who is who in a war situation like this.

thamesmead, i trully feel ur pain, but believe me this is jutst he tip of the iceberg, just so u know, libya is offically a war-zone and it gonna be worst than somalia and sudan combined so black folks berra be warned and stay clear of libya

justwise, what makes u think gadaffi recruited black africans to fight for him, why are u spreading this western media propaganda, do u also believe he gave his fighters viagra to rape women, or u believe he had a crush on condileeza rice also? cos of what this usless median have said about african merceneris, black africans of black arabs are now living in fear of their lives

Builder:

thamesmead, i trully feel your pain, but believe me this is jutst he tip of the iceberg, just so u know, libya is offically a war-zone and it gonna be worst than somalia and sudan combined so black folks berra be warned and stay clear of libya

That is aggregation, lets wait and see.

Builder:

justwise, what makes u think gadaffi recruited black africans to fight for him, why are u spreading this western media propaganda, do u also believe he gave his fighters viagra to violation women, or u believe he had a crush on condileeza rice also? cos of what this usless median have said about african merceneris, black africans of black arabs are now living in fear of their lives

Many Gaddafi fighters caught are mainly black Africans mostly from Niger, its not a secret, i know your view about West and the media, so. .  no matter what i say here you will still play your recorded ant-western views.

I'm against any form of killing, the coverage so far from Sky news, BBC and Aljazzera have being fair considering the situation those Journalist face.

Your comments about condom and condileeza rice is just childish, i wouldn't go into such argument with u on that

justwise, i believe anything u say, only if u supply a real link from youtube etc, alot of lies been said bout gadaffi that shows how desperate and pathtic this western media are, try have a look at the below link maybe that will open ur eyes about ur claims about african fighters


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz7aS7-lmsM

men from West Africa are not working as mercenaries, the mercernaries are from Chad and Niger, apparently the few West African men fighting for Gaddaffi  are bn forced to fight , a few apparently moved sides when they felt they were no longer a danger to Gaddaffi, mercenaries should not be executed, they should be tried in court  not a kangaroo court where the rebels shout "praise be to God before executing men, if they are truly mercenaries, they should have a gun and an amunition but the men tht have bn caught by the crimnals (rebels) had no gun and most had Nigerian and Ghanian accents, the rebels have not right to kill anyone.

Most news channel seem to want to avoid talking about this issue? i wonder why? African leaders appear to not want to discuss it either, neither do the newspaper,

Discretion is thebetter part of valour.

Jonathan and his advisers really need to shut up and face nigeria which they're supposed to be governing.

The countrry has no security, no roads, no electricity and if he keeps inviting problems with his careless utterances, the few foreigners there will leave.

A word is enough for the wise.

tpia, electing GEJ was a mistake all nigerians will finally pay for eventually, he said so himself that he has no expericence yet we voted for him, im 100% sure he is acting on behalf of the american ambassor in abuja, nowonder i read that 40 african nations have recognise the REBELS are the government in libya now.,

justwise, its all well and good when the wester media say gadaffi recruited africans to fight for him, would they ever mention the NATO contractors suppluying the rebels with arms and ammunitions?

Builder:

justwise, i believe anything u say, only if u supply a real link from youtube etc, alot of lies been said bout gadaffi that shows how desperate and pathtic this western media are, try have a look at the below link maybe that will open your eyes about your claims about african fighters


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz7aS7-lmsM

You see the prob i have with u and others who peddle this ant-western views? You have provided a clip from Russian TV and you want me to believe it but if paste clips after clips from BBC, Sky News or Aljazzera you will call them western propaganda. Try and free urself from one sided view of things, Russian supplied Gaddafi his weapons, it was shown in Sky news yesterday, they are all labelled . . .made in Russia. . now, there is nothing wrong with Libya buying weapons from Russia but if the west does the same thing many of you will pick up ur conspiracy theory pen and start pouring out ur views.

We know that Russia and China did not back NATO intervension  BUT they did not vote against it, they basically abstain . . indirectly giving their consent. If Gaddafi is that good why are Libyans fighting? The west paid them to get rid of Gaddafi?