Nigeria: Poll - We Owe Zimbabwe No Apology - FG
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This Day (Lagos)
3 September 2008
Posted to the web 3 September 2008
Lagos
The Federal Government said it does not owe President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe any apology over its stand on the June run-off elections.
Nigeria, at the Africa Union(AU) Summit at Sham El-Sheik, Egypt, had joined others to reject therun-off elections.
It said the position before the June presidential run-off was a more inclusive platform for negotiations.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, made the statement in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), yesterday in Abuja, shortly before departing for Lusaka.
The Minister was to represent the Federal Government at the burial of late Zambian President, Mr. Levy Nwanamasa.
"I want to use this opportunity to reaffirm that what Nigeria said at the AU summit stillremains. "Our position is that we do not consider the presidential run-off of June as a basis formoving forward; we felt and we still do feel that way," hesaid.
He explained that government took such position based on principle and not to disparage Zimbabwe.
"We did not say so because we are perfect; we didn't thinkthat the notion of people living in glass houses, should intimidate Nigeria from speaking up about what is right in Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa," he said.
Referring to comments by Mugabe about "those who live in glass houses", Maduekwe said "the glass house" had been reinforced, transformed by rule of law and independence of judiciary.
"There is no basis to apologise to Zimbabwe for our standing firm on democracy, rule of law, good governance, and the triumph of multi-party democracy on the continent," Maduekwe said.
"It costs us money, time and in many instances lives; we have a strategic interest in this matter because quite often when there is democratic failure,it leads to civil unrest that might even lead to civil war,"he stressed. Maduekwe explained that Nigeria could not look the other way because traditionally, its foreign policy focus was on Africa."Ours is an Afro-centric foreign policy which really both history and demography left us with no option, because every4th African is a Nigerian," he added.He said from Congo to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur and currently Somalia, Nigeria had paid enormous price inpromoting continental stability. Maduekwe observed that the threat to continental stability was not inter-state,but intra-state conflicts which normally emanated from democratic failure to address electoral succession.
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He said Nigeria would notinterfere in the situation inZimbabwe because it is thepeople of the countrythat would determine theirfuture."We are also concerned thatthere should be no meltdownin Zimbabwe, the economy isalready in tartars, andinflation rate is over a millionper cent."The people of Zimbabwedeserve a lot better than theyare going through," Maduekwesaid.
Read comments. Write your own.
Nigeria deserve a very warm pat for its enlightened stand concerning the sham elections of last June in Zimbabwe.
Nigeria, Botswana, Zambia, Liberia, ... Oh, how encouraging that the wind of meaningful change that has started again to blow across Africa is placing Mugabe firmly where he should be confined!! that of an illegitimate President.
The echoes of these brave new leaders will soon catch up within the AU. Dictator Mugabe's days are indeed counted.
Nigerian government is very right to stand up for the dictatorship of Mugabe. It is hogwash that Mugabe wants to parade himself as a pan-African and someone empowering his people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mugabe used the land as a vote luring gimmick after realising that he no longer has support. He instigated and brazenly sanctioned state sponsored terror on defenceless citizens because they had dared expressed their democratic choice. It is the same with the June one man election where they were preceded by unrestrained state sanctioned terror. Mugabe was not elected in an election because… [Read Full Text]
Nigerian government is very right to stand up for the dictatorship of Mugabe. It is hogwash that Mugabe wants to parade himself as a pan-African and someone empowering his people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mugabe used the land as a vote luring gimmick after realising that he no longer has support. He instigated and brazenly sanctioned state sponsored terror on defenceless citizens because they had dared expressed their democratic choice. It is the same with the June one man election where they were preceded by unrestrained state sanctioned terror. Mugabe was not elected in an election because… [Read Full Text]
The statement by the Nigerian foreing minister demonstrates TOTAL IGNORANCE of the situation in Zimbabwe. His declaration on how much Nigeria values other African coutries is ironic and laughable since Nigeria is the only African country to avow patnering with the US on AFRICON which other African countries found repulsive for the dangers it portrays for the continued existence of the black race. It is felt that Nigeria's stance on Zimbabwe is dictated by the UK and the US. The world is watching!
This man from Zimbagwe is so lucky that we are not next to each other. If your country was contigent to Nigeria, I bet, we would have gone to war with yr rag tag country. But for the thieves(some leaders in Nigeria) that we have at home in Nigeria, you would have been scared to talk to us like that. We are too far advanced than yr sick Mugabwe tolerating country.
My Nigerian friend, which Nigeria are you talking about ... a place where no hospital or clinic functions, no university has a proper library or an IT system as all the books have been removed or a place there is no petrol filing stations in large tracts of the country despite it being a major petroleum producer .... l can go on and on. Sorry,Nigeria is not a country worth what you claim. As for your threats to go to war with Zimbabwe, ging by how Nigerian armed forces carried themselves in Liberia and other hotspots in WestAfrica, it would… [Read Full Text]
well we are not saying we in Ngeria are perfect but
isn't it time for your old hag to go and rest, you must really be feeding fat on the man called mugabe dont forget that majority i mean 95% of your country men are suffering. thank God for the wealth which he has endosed the country calld Nigeria with. we are our brothers keepers and people like you can not change that. you sounded as if you are bitter with what the country Nigeria has achieved. thanks once again. we Nigerians are proud of our country, how many of… [Read Full Text]
i am so shocked to hear nigerians talking about how advanced they are if that is the case why are they everywhere and not stay in nigeria. take a look at their no budget nollywood movies or documentaries to see how backward they still are. what is nigeria's claim to fame except oil. well iam south african and with our achievements you dont hear us boast to the rest of the continent about the fact that we hosting the first ever soccer world cup in africa, or about DSTV, about gautrain the first of kind in africa,about SANDTON,ABOUT V&A WATERFRONT… [Read Full Text]
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Congratulations to the Nigerian Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Ojo Maduekwe. I believe in democratic governance and the rule of law. Your country has demonstrated that they judiciary is not controlled or deterred by the government and that so many governors have been incarcerated and that recovery and repatriation of stolen funds is ongoing. I am happy that every body is brought to book ti give accountability of their unscrupolous actions regardless of their position holding the highest office of the land. It is important to take a principled stand against corruption. The belligerant Zimbabwen government under the leadership… [Read Full Text]