Nigerian government clarifies its position on Libya

Nigerian government clarifies its position on Libya
Tony Ekata, Lagos

Nigeria’s support for the National Transitional Council (NTC) in Libya is in line with the principles of the African Union Constitutive Act that emphasizes democratic governance, human rights and the rule of law.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru made this clarification in Lagos at the weekend at an interactive forum with media executives.

Ambassador Ashiru said Nigeria could not afford to fold its arms and watch fellow Africans, regarded by the Gaddafi regime as rats and cockroaches, being massacred in Libya.

Ambassador Ashiru stressed that Nigeria had not broken ranks with the African Union but only exercised its sovereign right to express its opinion on global matters.  

According to him, the fact that over thirty African countries had followed Nigeria’s initiative to declare recognition and support for the NTC, underscored the appropriateness of Nigeria’s decision

Reasons for the decision

He said it was necessary to prevent a misrepresentation of the country’s foreign policy outlook and outlined some of the reasons for Nigeria’s decision:

“Coming to why Nigeria took that step; we said look, the time has come. If we want to prevent further bloodshed in Libya, Nigeria must act now, we must take the lead. So, we said let’s take the bull by the horns because it is in Nigeria’s interest to recognize these people now. One of the principles of our own policy is to support democracy and rule of law in Africa and anywhere in the world”

The minister explained that the presence of Nigerians and other black Africans in Libya facing

possible death in the midst of the conflict and the geographical and historical connection with Libya also informed the decision.
Amb. Olugbenga Ashiru

His words: “Don’t forget that there’s only one or two countries separating us from Libya; any instability in Libya would spread down to Nigeria. So we felt a stable and democratic Libya would be in Nigeria’s national interest”

Relations with South Africa

Addressing a question raised on the possibility of the apparent disagreement between Nigeria and South Africa on Libya causing a friction in their relations, the minister said,

“There is no row between Nigeria and South Africa. It has not caused any ill feelings or disaffection at all. We are still friends. Even the issue of difficulty in getting their visa which a number of Nigerians have complained to me about, we are taking it up with them”

Even the issue of difficulty in getting their visas which a number of Nigerians have complained to me about,…"we are taking it up with them and there will be visits between the two countries at the highest level soon".

In his contribution, Professor Bola Akinterinwa, the Acting Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, venue of the forum, said what Nigeria did was to exercise her sovereign right to recognize a government or not.

He said, “Nigeria recognised Libya a long time ago as a sovereign state. As for recognition of government; a government comes and a government goes...What Nigeria has done at the level of Libya is to continue to recognize Libya as a sovereign state but withdrawing official recognition for Gaddafi’s government and giving it to another government that we believe will be in the best position to protect African interest”.

He said no nation can begrudge another the sovereign right to exist, to explain, and to act in a globalizing world.

Iheanacho