United States Welcomes News of Nigerian President's Return

Washington - News of President Umaru Yar'Adua's return to Nigeria is welcomed by the United States, which seeks a "strong ... positive and productive relationship" with that extraordinarily important West African country.

The United States encourages Nigerians to work in the best interests of their country and refrain from trying to achieve short-term political gains, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson told reporters February 24.

Speaking at the Foreign Press Center in Washington, Carson said it is important for Nigeria to continue along its democratic path. Speaking of Yar'Adua, who spent almost three months undergoing medical treatment outside the country, Carson said, "We hope sincerely that his health is sufficient to enable him to fully resume his official duties. Nigeria needs a strong, healthy and effective leader to ensure the stability of that country and to manage Nigeria's political, economic and security challenges."

Carson noted recent news reports suggest Yar'Adua's health "remains fragile and that he may not be able to fill the demands of his office. We hope that President Yar'Adua's return is not an effort by senior advisers to upset Nigeria's stability and create renewed uncertainty in the democratic process. We all need a strong, stable, democratic Nigeria. We need it for Nigerians. We need it for West Africa. We need it for Africa. We need it for the global community."

Nigeria "is extraordinarily important to its friends and partners," he said. "As a nation of 150 million people, Nigeria's democracy and its continued adherence to constitutional rule should be the highest priority of all of its leaders."

Asked to elaborate on the situation in Nigeria, Carson said the United States is concerned in part because Yar'Adua has been out of Nigeria for so long.

"During that three-month period, very, very few people have had access to the president. Almost no ministers, including a delegation that flew to Saudi Arabia two days ago in order to see the president yesterday, have been able to see him. The only communication that anyone has reliably seen or heard is a very short two-minute BBC news clip that was done approximately a month ago."

Carson continued, "I know from my own visit to Nigeria just two and a half weeks ago that a number of governors and senior officials have all traveled to Saudi Arabia and virtually none of them during this three-month period in fact have been able to see the president."

When he returned late on February 23, Yar'Adua was moved so quickly from an air ambulance to a vehicular ambulance that few people saw him, Carson said.

"I think that approximately 10 days ago, the most senior leaders in Nigeria, the members of the National Assembly in the Senate and House of Representatives and also the members of the Federal Executive Council and the Governors Council, all unanimously passed individual resolutions" naming the vice president as acting president.

"That gave a sense of stability to Nigeria and confidence that the government was going to be able to move forward and discharge its responsibilities. Now we see the sudden return, with very little notice, of the president to the country. As I said before, we hope very, very much that the president has recuperated, is healthy and is able to resume his normal duties as president."

Carson added that "it is very important that those who are in responsible positions put the health of the president of Nigeria first. That they think of the interests of the stability and the continued democracy of the country as a primary focal point of interest. This is not a time where personal political ambitions should in fact take precedence over the stability and continued democracy and adherence to constitutional rule that governs Nigeria today."

Elaborating on Nigeria's importance in the region, the assistant secretary said the West African state is the second-largest Muslim-majority nation in Africa, one of America's most important trading partners and the recipient of the largest amount of U.S. investment in sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria supplies 12 percent of all U.S. oil as well, he said.

He cited Nigeria as a prominent leader in the Economic Community of West African States, a source of stability in West Africa - and a troop-contributing country to the United Nations in Africa, the Middle East and globally. Nigeria is also a member of the U.N. Security Council and a country "none of us can afford to dismiss or ignore."

Ambassador Carson recently returned from travel that took him to Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin and the African Union summit in Addis Ababa. He also visited Spain for talks with European Union officials. Spain currently holds the presidency of the EU.

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