We are doing a lot on security – Buhari assures Blinken 

President Muhammadu Buhari, hosting the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at State House, Abuja, on Thursday, said that the Nigerian government is doing a lot to end the insecurity in the country. President Buhari commended the US government for endorsing the procurement of military hardware by Nigeria to enhance the capacity of the military in fighting terrorists in the country; including the military training offered to the Nigerian Armed Forces.

According to the President: “It’s helping us to stabilize the situation in the Northeast, and we have made a lot of progress since 2015.

“We are doing a lot on security, and the people involved appreciate our efforts.”

Buhari commended the US on the delisting of Nigeria from the watch list of countries violating religious freedom. Blinken had noted that decision was “based on facts”.

Buhari said that the federal government allows freedom of worship in Nigeria, saying that no one is discriminated against on the basis of his or her faith.

The President further emphasized that his administration is taking education as a priority in the country, noting: “because when you educate a people, there are certain levels they will not fall below.”

President Buhari also expressed that Nigeria has adopted the American model, “hook, line, and sinker, with its term limits towards encouraging the development of democracy and sustenance of democratic values in the country. The President noted that people who attempted to breach the democratic principles were disappointed, if not disgraced. He noted the plot to lure him into tenure elongation by some political jobbers, who were mobilizing for a third tenure without his consent or being consulted.

According to President Buhari: “You are even lucky if you have two terms. Others try hard and don’t get it.

“The American model has been accepted by Nigerians as the best.”

President Buhari responding to pressures from the U.S. government for the justice on the #EndSARS report of the Lagos State Panel of Inquiry on Police Brutality, Extra-Judicial Killings and Other Related Offences, submitted to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, which exposed that Nigerian Army and Nigerian Police massacred peaceful #EndSARS protesters at Lekki Toll Gate in October 2020, said that  the Federal Government will wait for pronouncements from state governments that set up panels to probe police brutality in the country before taking actions.

President Buhari in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, highlighted: “So many state governments are involved, and have given different terms of reference to the probe panels.

“We at the Federal have to wait for the steps taken by the states, and we have to allow the system to work. We can’t impose ideas on them. Federal Government has to wait for the reaction of the states.”

Blinken responded that America and Nigeria have diverse challenges, noting that a common denominator is security. He expressed hope for better partnership between the two countries.

The U.S. Secretary of State acknowledged the report of the Lagos #EndSARS inquiry panel, saying it is “democracy in action,” anticipating that reforms would be made to end brutality by security operatives in Nigeria.