The Democratic Front (TDF) has described the outcome of the recent meeting between Nigerian officials and their American counterparts on issues surrounding insecurity in Nigeria as a big win for the country.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mallam Danjuma Muhammad, and Secretary, Chief Wale Adedayo, the group said it was a credit to the diplomatic approach adopted by President Bola Tinubu.
It said: “We believe that President Tinubu actually prepared the ground for the new understanding and partnership between the two countries, through his highly diplomatic and non-confrontational responses to what many people considered as seditious remarks by the US President Donald Trump.
”The US President’s reaction to the unsubstantiated claim of genocide against Christians in Nigeria took the nation and the world by surprise, but President Tinubu took it in his stride with a flurry of subtle and polite responses that gave credence to the long-standing diplomatic ties between the two countries.
“We consider the outcome of the recent meeting between a high-level Nigerian delegation and their American counterparts as a remarkable victory for President Tinubu’s calm disposition to a government-to-government engagement.”
It said it was, indeed, a major diplomatic row that could have degenerated into a crisis but this was carefully and strategically averted, at a time Nigeria had no substantive Ambassadors in the US and other major countries.
”This vista shows that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a firm grip and control of every aspect of his government.
”TDF is also elated that the initial diplomatic tension between the two countries has given way to a fresh partnership that aims at consolidating strategic sharing of intelligence and facilitating the procurement of advanced defence and security equipment that could be crucial to effectively combating the spate of insurgency, banditry, and kidnapping.
“The current detente in the Nigeria-U.S. relationship, will no doubt constitute a major disappointment and outright humiliation to reactionary agents like Pastor Ezekiel Dachomo who worked in cahoots with Inter-Society, an NGO linked to IPOB to foment conflict and tension between the two countries, through falsehood and manipulation of data over a non-existent genocide against Christians in Nigeria,” TDF noted.
According to the group, it is now obvious to Nigerians that the agents of darkness who misled Trump to consider relisting Nigeria among Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) did so out of political envy of President Bola Tinubu’s stride in positive macroeconomic returns, facilitated by his novel economic reforms.
“We, therefore, appreciate the Nigerian President for remaining steadfast, despite the enormous attempts by unpatriotic and divisive political elements to distract him from governance.
“Similarly, we laud the effort of members of the high-powered Nigerian delegation to the United States that engaged the leadership of the Department of War and some members of the American Congress to explain the true state of the Nigerian security situation. We task them to continue to put in their best in the service of the nation,” said TDF.
It also urged President Bola Tinubu to continue to explore bilateral ties between both nations in tackling Nigeria’s socio-economic and security challenges head-on.