Distinguished Representative of H.E President Michel Sleiman, in person of Honourable Minister Adnan El Sayed Hussein;

Distinguished Representative of Honourable Speaker Nabih Berry,in person of  Honourable, Elie Aoun Member of Parliament;

Distinguished Representative of H.E. Prime Minister Saad Hariri, in person of Honourable Minister, Abraham Dadayan;

Distinguished Representative of Foreign Minister, Ali Shami, in person of Mr. Haytsam Jomaa;

Your Excellencies, Heads of Diplomatic and Consular Mission, and International Organisation accredited to Lebanon;

Distinguished Members of the Board of Trustee of Lebanese Nigerian Friendship Association;

Fellow Nigerians and Lebanese Nigerians;

Friends of Nigeria

Gentlemen of the Press;

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

Allow me to welcome you all to this special reception marking the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of Nigeria as an independent nation. Your presence at this occasion is a clear demonstration of the abundant goodwill, which you have for our country Nigeria. We wish to seize this opportunity to thank you all for the cooperation and friendship extended to us over the years. More importantly I wish to express Nigeria’s deep appreciation to the Government and people of the Republic of Lebanon for being worthy hosts to the entire Nigerian community in Lebanon.

Our Golden Jubilee celebration, as articulated by our President, H.E. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, comes against the background of our renewed commitment to constitutional democracy anchored on the rule of law and the respect for human rights. The occasion affords Nigerians a unique opportunity to celebrate the present and future with the optimism that inspired our founding fathers to build a united nation based on equity and justice.

Although the world is remarkably different from what obtained at the time of our independence in 1960, our solidarity with the international community and commitment to the universal values of peace and stability remain constant. The challenges we face as nations are therefore, common. They require collective action for resolution in order to guarantee our common future and survival.

As a young democracy only just over a decade rule of civilian government, our constitution is largely untested. However, we can claim to have sustained a reasonably stable political climate following three successive civilian to civilian transitions of political power between 1999-2003, 2003-2007, and 2007-2011.

In our 50 years of existence, we have encountered different challenges but the good news is that we are still standing as a nation and not on the brink of collapse.  We are firmly committed to holding free, fair and credible elections during the next cycle of local, state and national elections. In this regard the present administration has taken necessary steps to ensure the success of the process and we are assuring the international community that every vote will count.

We are conscious that, our influence in global affairs is somewhat dependant on our success at dealing with some of the challenges we face. Concrete steps have been taken to overcome these challenges through effecting reforms in various walks of Nigerian’s life. Some of the reforms which include our electoral processes, banking sector, oil and gas sector, as well as the power sector have drawn the admiration of the international community. The removal of our country from the list of narcotic and illicit drug exporting country, has underscored the extent, to which international community recognizes our efforts in tackling the various challenges impinging the country. Our determination to make Nigeria among the 20 most advanced countries in 2020 will continue to be our driving force.

The private sectors have also contributed immensely in this success story as our banks have opened branches in London, New York, Accra, Monrovia and Banjul; we now have a robust and growing telecommunications market and a crop of new airlines expanding routes within the continent and across oceans.  In the same vein, our entrepreneurs are exploring new frontiers as they strive to build world class businesses that enable them to raise capital in global financial and capital markets. We wish to use this opportunity to call on prospective Lebanese investors to invest in our growing economy.

As we look back at the fifty years as a nation, we recall with deep satisfaction and appreciation the support that we have received from host Country, Lebanon, especially the bilateral relations that has existed between the two countries and our global common interest of ensuring peace and security in our respective regions.  

It will be recalled that the first set of Lebanese arrived in present day Nigeria in the year 1885 and the Lebanese Community in Nigeria was actively represented when Nigeria became independent, 50 years ago. Presently Nigeria and Lebanon are both non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, where we both articulate our positions on global peace and security.

We also seize this opportunity to thank our other friends within the international community as we seek to build complimentary strategic political, economic and social relations that will foster partnerships, collaboration and cooperation. We renew our commitment in engaging the international community in mutual respect for the achievement of international peace and understanding. We have our prideful record in international peacekeeping as we are among the first ten largest troop contributors to the Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations to date.

We take great pride in our diversity as a country, which brings with it a very rich cultural heritage and gives us the uniqueness as Nigerians.  Our policy of friendliness and good neighbourliness has been tested and we are proud to say that we never waiver.

This remark cannot be concluded without our profound appreciation to the Trustees and members of the Lebanese-Nigerian friendship Association under the Presidency of Mr. Hani Safieddine for their support towards this celebration. It would be recalled that the Association was established in 2007, with Mr. William Zard Abou Jaoude as the first President, followed by Mr. Essam Moukarem. Since its inception the Association as well as friends of Nigeria, especially those who believe in Nigeria and see it as their second home has not relented in their efforts to support the Embassy and lead the way in promoting active socio-economic relations and friendship between the peoples of both countries. Please allow me to express my appreciation to you all and to remark that hospitality and friendly disposition is unique to our two countries and we should be proud to maintain this great value.

I also wish to acknowledge the Police band and to express our appreciation for their performance tonight.

Fellow Nigerians unto God we give the glory, Happy Golden Jubilee of our Country’s Independence.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Please join me in toasting to the health of the two countries.

Long live the Lebanese-Nigerian Friendship Association;

Long live the Government and People of the Republic of Lebanon;

Long live the Government and People of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;