Kamalesh Sharma
Abuja, 7 March 2013 - It is always a pleasure to come to Nigeria. This is my second visit as Commonwealth Secretary-General. I have very much appreciated the traditional warm hospitality of Nigeria.
Nigeria plays an important leadership role in Africa and is a valued member of the Commonwealth. It was here in Abuja that Nigeria hosted the 2003 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) ten years ago. Many prominent Nigerians have provided distinguished service to the Commonwealth.
This consultative visit has been a most productive one. I was honoured to be received by His Excellency President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday, 4 March. I also met the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Tambuwal; Deputy Speaker Hon Emeka Ihedioha; Foreign Minister Olugbenga Ashiru; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Trade and Investment Minister Olusegun Aganga; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Professor Viola Adaku Onwuliri; and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Commissioner Dr Ishmael Igbani and other INEC Commissioners.
In my meetings, I outlined how the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is likely to have a development theme concerning social and economic inclusion, especially for vulnerable and marginalised communities. I explained that other themes could include the Millennium Development Goals and the new post-2015 global development framework, policies to address national economic development disparities, global and regional economic integration, and strengthened Commonwealth country collaboration and mutual assistance.
I noted too that CHOGM 2013 will likely consider measures to improve the flow of Commonwealth citizens to strengthen people-to-people contact - an issue that Nigeria continues to champion, climate change finance, and access to finance.
Reform and renewal
This is a landmark year of consolidating our programme of reform and renewal for the Commonwealth. For the first time in the association’s 64-year history, Heads of Government have adopted a Charter of the Commonwealth. This historic Charter of the people is a document that articulates the values and principles of the Commonwealth family. I welcome the positive reception of the Charter by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who undertook to have it considered by the House of Representatives.
I was also greatly encouraged by the Speaker’s briefing on the House of Representatives’ involvement and regional leadership in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
In this era of reform, many Commonwealth organisations are giving thought to how they can remain relevant to the citizens they serve. In keeping with this spirit, Commonwealth member governments are finalising the new Strategic Plan of the Commonwealth Secretariat, which will focus on those areas where the Secretariat can make a distinct, practical and measurable contribution to the wider Commonwealth. I appreciate Nigeria’s continued support for the development of this new Strategic Plan.
Youth development
Every year, Commonwealth Day is celebrated on the second Monday in March when all schools in the Commonwealth are open.
With my visit coming less than a week before this year’s Commonwealth Day on 11 March 2013, I took the opportunity to speak to officials about this year’s Commonwealth theme – ‘Opportunity through Enterprise’. It is a theme chosen to encourage imagination, creativity and a positive attitude in order to grasp the opportunities of our time. It is a theme oriented towards young people in an ever-younger Commonwealth.
The theme will especially help unlock the potential of young people. We place a high premium on youth development. Nigeria is expected to participate in the 8th Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, this April. This ministerial forum embraces a theme that is important to both Nigeria and the Commonwealth: ‘Young People at the Centre of Sustainable Development’.
Support for the Independent National Electoral Commission
The Commonwealth has enjoyed much collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which is a member of the Commonwealth Electoral Network (CEN). Last June, we had the pleasure of welcoming Nigeria to a leadership role on the CEN Steering Committee. I especially thanked the commissioners for INEC’s co-operation and assistance to the Commonwealth Observer Group that was present in Nigeria for the April 2011 elections.
My discussions with INEC officials were very productive. Looking ahead to the 2015 elections in Nigeria, we considered future assistance to strengthen voter education, particularly among the youth, including through the use of social media. I also stressed the importance of INEC working with the National Broadcasting Commission to ensure adequate media coverage for all stakeholders during campaign periods.
We also discussed electoral violence and I stressed the importance of political parties ensuring that their supporters reject violence, and of the authorities working towards an end to impunity for electoral offences. I emphasised the value of introducing measures to take forward inter-communal dialogue, and offered Commonwealth assistance in providing examples of best practice in the area of reconciliation in line with the recommendations of the Commonwealth ‘Civil Paths to Peace’ initiative.
I encouraged INEC to continue to engage with all concerned - political parties, security forces, civil society and the media - at all stages of the electoral process to maintain and build upon the level of confidence already reposed in INEC, and to ensure transparency in the entire process.
Constitutional reform
The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives provided me with a welcome briefing on progress with Nigeria’s consideration of constitutional reform. I recalled the Commonwealth’s experience in supporting constitutional reform across its membership, and offered our continued collaboration with Nigeria to support parliamentary democracy.
Innovative financing for development
I had very fruitful discussions on innovative financing for development with the Minister of Finance. The Commonwealth has been active in the G20 Working Group on Development on this critical issue and is a member of the Leading Group on Innovative Financing. Nigeria recently took over as Chair of this Group. We explored ways in which this year’s Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting could promote further discussion of this matter.
The Commonwealth Secretariat is soon to publish its Handbook on Innovative Finance for Development, a ready resource for sharing knowledge about sources and uses of innovative finance for development.
The minister kindly accepted my invitation to attend the Commonwealth-G20 Working Group on Development Outreach meeting in April, where the post-2015 global development framework and infrastructure will be discussed.
Partnership
The Commonwealth has a long-standing and rich partnership with Nigeria. My meetings were an opportunity to recognise the significant progress achieved collaboratively, and to consider new opportunities for the future. These are outlined in the attached annex.
