Vice Presldent Kashim Shettima has appealed to Nigerians to support the current administration in order to address the challenges in the country. Shettima made this appeal at the official inauguration and investiture of the Academy of International Affairs, Nigeria, a private led Tink thank that aims to contribute to foreign policy formulation and implementation in Nigeria. Speaking at the occasion, the vice president said the administration accept that there are challenges but only needed the people to have faith and support the government in its effort to bring Nigeria out of the wood. Shettima who was represented by Hakkim Baba Ahmed, Special Adviser, Political Affairs said, “this administration acknowledges the severity of our challenges, although we are also convinced that Nigeria shall survive its current challenges.
“What we need is faith and support, the same assets that saw us through major challenges in our past. “ He also said “Nigeria lives with historic limitations and multiple contemporary challenges, and we will not claim that we are self-sufficient in answers to dealing with poverty levels, limited resources for critical infrastructure and raising skilled and educated younger Nigerians. We need to begin to think of a future full of opportunities as well. In the next two decades, Nigeria will have one of the largest, youngest and most enterprising population in a world that will be aging and changing. We need to survive our current challenges with courage, wisdom, patriotism and vision of a great future full of our opportunities for the next generation of Nigerians.” The founder of the academy who is also the president Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi said, “The international environment is becoming increasingly more complex and more demanding of our best intellects, professionalism, commitments and visions to find spaces within areas demanding consensus, or in competitions with others and managing conflicts.”
He further said “Nigeria lives with historic limitations and multiple contemporary challenges, and we will not claim that we are self-sufficient in answers to dealing with poverty levels, limited resources for critical infrastructure and raising skilled and educated younger Nigerians.” He assured the Academy that government doors will be open to them. “We will leave our doors open to this Academy for ideas and recommendations. This Academy will be a Think Tank we cannot afford to ignore. We need your inputs on achieving our priorities in the contexts of often harsh and unforgiving circumstances. It is a great to honour to witness the birth of an Academy which has great potential to make great improvements in the management of our foreign policy as we speak and in future. It is even more remarkable that the inspiration and impetus behind the formation of this Academy was entirely the initiative of distinguished foreign service officers who have paid their dues to our country many times over.
“History will record this day as a key bookmark in the place of our elite in keeping the faith that our country can continue to rely on them to place before it their entire assets in patriotism, skills and competences. You have vindicated a widely-acknowledged truism that nations which know what was best for them trusted the conduct of their foreign policy only to its best and the brightest. Allow me therefore to place on record today, the nation’s inestimable gratitude to all our foreign service officers who saw our nation through its best and most challenging moments. I hope there are enough serving foreign service officers in this building today who should draw inspiration from the undying passion of service to the fatherland from all the Fellows and other members of the foreign service officers.”
