{"id":439886,"date":"2011-06-12T15:22:52","date_gmt":"2011-06-12T15:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/06\/12\/jonathan-in-the-white-house\/"},"modified":"2011-06-12T15:22:52","modified_gmt":"2011-06-12T15:22:52","slug":"jonathan-in-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/12\/jonathan-in-the-white-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan in the White House"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"This<\/a><\/p>\n

12 June 2011<\/p>\n

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editorial<\/p>\n

For the second time in a year, President Goodluck Jonathan was the guest of President Barack Obama of the United States, in the White House. As acting president, Jonathan was first hosted in Washington DC on April 11, 2010, on a four-day working visit.<\/p>\n

The visit last week afforded the president the opportunity to attend and support the United Nations’ meeting on the fight and elimination of HIV\/AIDS and its impact on international peace and security.<\/p>\n

Obama used the meeting to formally congratulate Jonathan on his victory in the presidential election and urged him to use his office to develop Nigeria’s potentials and diversify the country’s economic base. Obama further expressed his appreciation of Nigeria’s contributions to international peacekeeping missions and leadership role in the West Africa sub-region, particularly its efforts in containing the violence and restoration of peace and stability in Cote d’Ivoire.<\/p>\n

Although the meeting lasted for all of 30 minutes, it was long enough to signal a new era of warm and cordial relationship between Nigeria and the world’s super power. When as acting president Jonathan visited the United States, he was received at the Washington Convention Square. This time around, he met Obama in the White House, the inner sanctum of power.<\/p>\n

President Jonathan’s invitation to the White House was an open endorsement of the last April electoral process that produced him and others in the national and state assemblies. Conducted by The Independent National Electoral Commission and chaired by Professor Attahiru Jega, the elections were adjudged free and fair by local and international observers.<\/p>\n

Last year when Jonathan met Obama during the Nuclear Security meeting, Jonathan promised his American counterpart that he would conduct free and fair elections. By the results, Jonathan has shown that he keeps promises and can match words with actions. Indeed, Obama had sent a presidential delegation to attend the inauguration of President Jonathan on May 29.<\/p>\n

The invitation was also significant when viewed against the background of President Obama’s first visit to the continent on assuming office. He flew over the most populous country in Africa and landed in Ghana, where he chose to address the issues of the day. The message was clear. If Nigeria has to be taken seriously, it has to put its house in order.<\/p>\n

The visit to Washington DC also deepens our existing bilateral relationships. Nigeria and the United State share common objectives in the global arena, and as Professor Adebowale Adefuye, Nigeria ambassador to the United States put it, “free of nuclear proliferation, free of terrorism, and a world in which consultations and cooperation takes the place of confrontation.” It is also significant that Jonathan signed the anti-terrorism bill into law just before he embarked on the journey to the United States. He further aptly used the occasion of the visit to bring Boko Haram, an Islamic religious sect that has been terrorizing the northern part of the country, to the attention of the global community.<\/p>\n

Last year, Nigeria and the United States also signed the Bi-National Commission, essentially a strategic dialogue between both countries that would avail Nigeria of United States government’s ideas and experience in specific areas of domestic affairs including good governance and transparency, agriculture and food security, Niger Delta, regional development, energy reform and investment. The visit reinforced that agreement and gave both parties impetus to play their roles. Indeed, the visit was an opportunity to exploit the goodwill of the American government to the fullest.<\/p>\n

All that is required of Jonathan is to have the courage and strength of character to do what Nigerians ask of him through demonstrative leadership and good governance predicated on unblemished democratic ethos. Washington would be glad if Jonathan runs a transparent and credible government, a government with zero tolerance for corruption, where there is law and order, where people’s rights and liberties are respected and guaranteed, and where policies impact positively on the lives of the people.<\/p>\n

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\nJonathan in the White House<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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