President Muhammadu Buhari has received commendation from the Royal Commonwealth Society, for his leadership role in the continent and efforts in uniting African leaders. The Vice President of the association, Abdullahi Faruk, stated this at the 2016 Commonwealth Day Celebration on Thursday in Abuja.
Faruk said the Commonwealth appreciates Buhari for his dogged determination to put Nigeria on the right track and provide good leadership for the continent. “The Royal Commonwealth Society would like to appreciate him for his dogged determination to put Nigeria in the right shape. “We also commend him for uniting the African countries and making the continent a better place to live. “We in the Royal Commonwealth regard him as the most popular President in Africa,” Faruk said.
He explained that the Commonwealth promotes democracy, good governance, mass literacy, sustainable growth, human rights, and eradication of poverty, HIV/AIDS and armed conflicts.
According to him, the organisation also seeks to address the challenges associated with the climate change, migration and education.
Faruk noted that the association comprised of 53 member countries, spreading through all the continents of the world.
He said the over 2.2 billion population of the organisation’s member countries, second only to the UN, represents all aspects of global diversity and 30 per cent of world’s population.
He explained that the 2016 theme: “An Inclusive Commonwealth” referred to the values of tolerance, respect and understanding as well as equity and fairness enshrined in the Commonwealth’s charter.
Faruk added that the richness of the Commonwealth was further demonstrated as a family of nations in which each
member is valued equally and has an equal voice. He called on Nigerians to embrace peace irrespective of heir socio-political and ethnic affiliations, saying that the Commonwealth regarded all people as one family under God.
In her message to the occasion, Queen Elizabeth 11 of England said the essential ingredient of belonging to the Commonwealth was the willingness to share, to exchange and to act for the common good.
The message was read by Mrs Amina Zakari, National Commissioner of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and an awardee of the 2015 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta. “By including others, drawing on collective insights, knowledge and resources, and thinking and working together, we lay the foundations of a harmonious and progressive society. “The greater the diversity of those included in such a shared enterprise, the greater the gains. “Each of us has cause to celebrate the sense of belonging expressed in our 2016 theme: `An Inclusive Commonwealth’,” she said.
The Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, was also honoured with the
Commonwealth Ambassador’s Award for contributing immensely to the course of democracy.
