Speech of President William Zard Abou Jaoude         

On 20/10/2007
 

Excellency Minister Fawzi Salloukh,

Excellency Ambassador Hameed Opeloyeru,

Honorable Audience,

    At the outset, I would like to seize this opportunity, namely the creation of the Lebanese-Nigerian Friendship Association (LENIFRA), to announce the inauguration of the First Annual Lebanese-Nigerian Cultural Festival under the auspices of the Nigerian Embassy. Undoubtedly, this Festival marks a step which is the first of its kind between Lebanon and the heart of the African continent, Nigeria, during these difficult times in the history of Lebanon and the world.

    The Lebanese-Nigerian friendship is deeply rooted in history and dates back to more than one century of close and diversified bilateral relations. However, in spite of the diplomatic, commercial and cultural exchanges, such relations have not been framed in a friendship association – until today – owing to the great efforts of the LENIFRA founders and the sponsorship of His Excellency the Ambassador of Nigeria in Beirut.

     Good intentions gathered to establish this Association, choosing in a highly confident and farsighted approach, to focus on community service as a basis for launching the Association, in view of developing, updating and consolidating relations between the two countries in the cultural, commercial, human and social fields, both at the level of citizens of the two countries or at the level of bilateral relations. Through laudable efforts, this Association has acquired the official capacity and legal entity to address the concerned parties such as the official authorities and businessmen in both countries.

    The creation of this Association, albeit important, is not enough. The Association Management has to exert all efforts to achieve its goals by ensuring contact and continuous communication with Lebanese expatriates and their Nigerian peers.

    Communication can breed multiple benefits. For instance, a lesson can be learnt from, the constitution of approximately 260 ethnic groups in a country such as Nigeria where almost 65 local dialects are spoken, thereby attesting to the country’s diversity and wealth, not only at the economic level but also at the cultural and civilization levels.

    Furthermore, at the time of its independence, Nigeria consisted of three districts, but it was reorganized to be divided into 36 States within a federal structure and a population of around 140 million. This was an important experience which enabled the State to rise, flourish and achieve conformity.

    We hope that this experience will serve as an example for our country, which includes 4 million people, inciting officials to look for elements of accordance and conformity and giving public interest some precedence over all other.

    The Lebanese people in Nigeria have made significant achievements and have efficiently contributed to the economic development of the country; they merged in the Nigerian social fabric and gained the State’s trust, leading a great number of Lebanese people to acquire the Nigerian nationality while preserving their Lebanese identity.

    Lebanon, despite being a small country with a significant role and noble vocation, has an outreach of millions of Lebanese expatriates who are living and interacting successfully in their different communities.

    In this age of cultural interaction, peoples of the world have an obligation to become closer and cooperate not only for economic purposes but also for noble humanitarian objectives especially that we are currently living in the era of globalization and technologies of all forms.

    Ladies and gentlemen, cultural exchange between our countries through LENIFRA, which has adopted community service, will definitely contribute to establishing relations based on common work for the benefit of both countries.

    On this occasion, we congratulate Lebanon and Nigeria for the establishment of this Association, hoping that this experience will bring benefit to all and constitute an example to be followed by Lebanese expatriates throughout the world.

Long Live the Lebanese-Nigerian LENIFRA!  

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