We Are Impressed By Your Leadership Style, U.S Scribe Tells Buhari

The United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, has said that his country is impressed by the leadership styles of Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, especially on the way he is handling the economy.
“The United States, let me be clear, is very encouraged by President Buhari’s commitment to an economy that is more diversified, less dependent on a single commodity for export earnings, and that means we need to develop sustainability.”
Mr. Kerry, wh o spoke at the US-Nigeria Binational Commission’s meeting in Washington, said that America wanted Nigeria to succeed.
“You know there are challenges.  That’s what your election was about. And so we are all aware that the world right now is facing many different challenges in terms of governance in various parts of the world and for various reasons: absence of capital, absence of structure, having to build capacity.
“These things take time.  Nobody is pretending that it’s an overnight operation.  It wasn’t for us. And some people sometimes are very revisionist in America about our own history, but we’ve gone through some very difficult periods and very difficult issues.”
Kerry recalled that America took slavery out of its constitution after it had been written, adding that it was no small task.
“We’ve been through a history.  And what we’re trying to do is, really, share with people the shortcut, if you will – how you can manage to avoid some of the mistakes that we’ve made in the course of our own development in ways that can embrace the hopes and the aspirations of millions upon millions of people.  That’s what this is about.”
According to him, Nigeria is finding very vibrant expression in every branch of the arts, saying that like the United States, Nigeria “is a diverse country with a very large and assertive civil society.”
Kerry insisted that Nigeria’s future is in Nigerians’ hands but that the United States would help Nigeria.
“Our development assistance this year will top $600 million, and we are working closely with your leaders – the leaders of your health ministry – to halt the misery that is spread by HIV/AIDS, by malaria, and by TB.”
He said that America’s long-term food security programme and Feed the Future would help to create more efficient agriculture and to raise rural incomes.
He noted that under Buhari’s administration, Nigeria had been taking the fight to Boko Haram and  had reduced Boko Haram’s capacity to launch full-scale attacks.
He said that the group remained a threat to the entire region and that the US and Nigerian governments had been collaborating on new ways to institute security measures.
“The threat that is posed by Boko Haram is serious, but it must not – and I really believe this – it will not be allowed to shape Nigeria’s future.  Nigeria is a country with almost boundless capacity for economic growth.” [myad]