Let’s resist disunity by external forces, ex-finance minister, others urge Nigerians

Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, has urged Nigerians to resist any attempt by external forces to divide them along religious and ethnic lines.

Ahmed told the our correspondent at the Nigeria Day celebration at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC that “Nigerians are one”.

Ahmed, who is now at the World Bank serving as the Executive Director for Angola, Nigeria and South Africa, served under late President Muhammadu Buhari from 2019-2023.

“I think it’s very thoughtful of the Nigerian community and the Nigerian Embassy to have put this event together, and it’s very timely, because we need to tell the world that we are actually one,” she said.

“We may have our differences, but we are a delight in the differences that we have.

“We don’t need any external person, external body or external country to come and sort things out for us.

“We have the full capacity to sort ourselves out and we must not allow any external parties to come between us.”

She commended the organisers for holding the event in spite of the recent designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

“What I see tonight is unity in our diversity. We are different people, but we are also the same,” she stressed.

“There is no country we can call home but Nigeria. So, I’m really glad that this happens, because it brought people together. We use these opportunities to bond.

“We had fun in the process, but it’s important that we should do more of this in different places and show the world that we are one.”

Ahmed commended Nigerians in the U.S. and beyond for making Nigeria proud and flying the country’s flag high wherever they are.

“Nigerians are extremely hardworking people, outstanding in various fields of endeavour across the U.S. and no, not just across the U.S. but across the world.

”We should celebrate the good that we are as Nigerians,” she said.

Also speaking with our correspondent, the acting Ambassador of Nigeria to the U.S., Amb. Samson Itegboje, lauded Nigerian-Americans for their leadership in medicine, technology, business, public service, academia and the arts.

“Nigeria-Americans are the most educated immigrant group in the U.S. The number of Nigerian immigrants PhD holders is three times higher than any other ethnic group,” Itegboje said.

“About 77 per cent of all black doctors in the U.S. are Nigerians and 66 per cent of Nigerians in America holds at least a bachelor’s degree.

“Nigeria produces the best and most powerful engineers in the U.S. A Nigerian woman, Prof. Margaret Itua, is the first woman in the world to earn a PhD in Cybernetics.”

Mr Paul Alabi, Political and Economic Section at the Embassy of Nigeria, Washington, DC said Nigerian officers are working round the clock to navigate through the diplomatic turbulence with the U.S.

Alabi, who serves as the Secretariat of the U.S.-Nigeria Joint Working Group, said everything was being done to quickly normalise the cordial relations that had always existed between the U.S. and Nigeria.

“Nigeria has continued to engage constructively with the U.S. officials and government institutions at various levels.”

He said the engagements include through bilateral mechanisms and Working Group aimed at deepening collaborations in tackling security challenges in the country.

The Nigerian diplomat said Nigeria views these engagements with the U.S. as opportunities to build trust, improve outcomes and advance shared objectives.

Mr Ayodele Ibrahim, a Nigerian-American community leader, said Nigerians are united in their resolve to come together to tackle whatever challenges are confronting their country.

Other community leaders who spoke to our correspondent stressed the need for unity, peace and security in the homeland and pledged their continued support to the government.