PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and his counterpart from South Africa, Jacob Zuma, met in Abuja on Saturday and discussed developments in Libya, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo and other strategic nations of Africa.

Also, Jonathan called on African leaders to adopt a consensus on certain issues and work collectively to achieve the developmental objectives of the African Union (AU) as a way to further enhance peace, political stability and progress on the continent.

Speaking during a talk with President Zuma  who was on a visit to Nigeria, Jonathan said greater effort ought also to be made to ensure that decisions taken by African heads of state and governments under the   auspices of the AU were faithfully implemented.

“African leaders must agree on a common position on certain issues and speak with one voice. It is not enough for the African Union to just take a position on issues, action must also follow in support of our position,” Jonathan said as both leaders reviewed events in Africa ahead of the next AU summit.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said the two leaders discussed recent developments in Libya, Cote D’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other parts of Africa.

They were said to have agreed that the AU summit should address these developments and take further actions to facilitate peace and political stability in Africa.

South African President, Jacob Zuma stated that NATO’s campaign in Libya left a scar on the continent that would take long to heal.

Zuma, who was part of a high-level African Union panel that failed to mediate a ceasefire in Libya, complained in the lecture given during   his visit.

“The manner in which Libya was treated by some countries in the developed world remains a scar that will take many years to heal for Africa,” Zuma said.

“Developed countries with their own national agendas hijacked a genuine democratic protest by the people of Libya, to further their regime change agendas,” Zuma said.

South Africa voted for a UN resolution that imposed a no-fly zone over Libya but Zuma later accused NATO of over-stepping its mandate for airstrikes aimed at protecting civilians and of blocking AU peace initiatives.

He said Libya, was “bombed for months on end in the name of saving the lives of civilians, and finally its leader killed, not arrested and taken and tried in court if he had committed a crime. It could only happen in Africa, nowhere else.

“Thus we call on Africans to stand united.”

Zuma said the African Union summit next month “will have to deliberate very seriously on the Libyan question, to help this country return to normality.”

The lecture was given in memory of a Nigerian politician and ex-vice president, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, believed to have been killed while serving a jail term for allegedly plotting a coup against late military dictator Sani Abacha in 1997.

Zuma left Abuja for Yola to receive an honorary doctorate degree from the American University of Nigeria, a private university founded by Nigerian former vice president Atiku Abubakar.

Also on Saturday, President Jonathan received the outgoing Pakistani High Commissioner to Nigeria, Major-General Asif Duraiz Akhtar.

He thanked General Akhtar for his efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between Nigeria and Pakistan.

The president told the high commissioner, who was accompanied by his wife, that after completing a successful tenure in the country,  he could now consider himself an honorary Nigerian ambassador to the world.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said it would invest in intellectual capital by committing resources to enhance access to quality education amongst less privileged Nigerians, things that were dear to the hearts of late Major General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua.

Vice President Namadi Sambo stated this on Saturday while representing President Goodluck Jonathan at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Memorial Lecture at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.

He stated that Shehu Yar’Adua identified with building intellectual capital, mobilising Nigerians for democracy, “insisting on our unity and demanding that we develop no matter the odds.”

Quoting the former Chief of Staff of the Supreme Headquarters,  who said, ‘"we must seek to improve our technological know-how in order to sustain our economy," Sambo added, ‘to honour Yar’Adua, we must develop Nigeria fast’.

Sambo extolled the qualities of Yar'Adua saying: ‘Shehu Musa Yar’adua, a military and political leader from the ancient town of Katsina in Katsina State was a man of many parts: soldier, farmer, publisher, industrialist and banker. He was a leader in every sense of the word and a man committed to the principles of true democracy and federalism."

He recalled that the former nation's number two citizen spearheaded Nigeria’s efforts in the freedom struggle while he was in South Africa serving as Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters and "is indeed a pleasure to honour the memory of a distinguished patriot and servant of our  two nations."

Earlier, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, who was Special Guest of Honour at the event, commended the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua foundation for the opportunity the event provided to celebrate the giant strides Africa is making in the world, adding that more is still to be done if democracy must be consolidated on the continent.

He observed that "Yar’Adua has paid the supreme price for a better and prosperous Africa and the best tribute we can pay to him is never to look back in our efforts to strengthen democracy and the capability of our states to discharge the mandate given to it by the people."

In his remarks, former President Olusegun Obasanjo who was Chairman of the occasion and Board of Trustees of the Yar’Adua Foundation, he pointed out that the foundation has hosted annual programmes featuring Heads of States and leaders since 1999.

Obasanjo thanked Zuma for his presence at the event, describing him a a true veteran whose works were appreciated in South Africa, its Sub-region and Africa in general.

Among the dignitaries at the occasion were former President Alpha Omar Konare of Mali Republic, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, wife of late Yar'Adua, Hajia Binta Yar’Adua.

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written by Anthony Okade, December 11, 2011

Its only in Africa that you can have a dictator for greater than thirty years also. Clean your house and devolop Africa and see if the west will not respect the continent. Remember that Robert Mugabe is still there and you are running your mouth. We need action

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