The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. William Symington, has advised Nigerians to be proud of the nation’s symbols in order to take the country to greater heights.
Symington gave the advice during his courtesy visit to the Conservator-General, National Parks Service, Alhaji Ibrahim Goni, on Friday in Abuja.
He said that it would be nice if Nigerians appreciated their country and everything it stood for.
“If you do not preserve Nigeria, no one will call themselves Nigerians.
“Although there is great trouble and it has affected many, but if you like being a Nigerian, you must protect the symbols and resources together.
“These symbols include your values, culture, water, trees, animals, natural heritage etc, because in these symbols, you will find point of reference, point of pride as well as of common interest.
“As you think about the country, it is nice not just to have an appreciation of the people of the country, it is also nice to have an appreciation of the country itself.’’
Symington said that the idea of the National Parks was that it would add to the economic development of the country.
“Think of ways people can make a living from things that are beautiful in your parks.
“There are people around the world who will pay thousands of dollars a day to go to places like your parks, stay overnight and be guided to look at nature at the park.
“What I have seen here is extraordinary; it is like a stream that never runs out; it is like a farm; you farm in a way that it can continue to regenerate forever.
“You can talk about what you had but most importantly, talk about what you must have as Nigerian.
“It is your job to protect the values and what you have as a nation; it is not about the past but the future and the preservation of both the present and its future.
“Give people reasons to be proud of the nature of God at your parks without destroying it.”
According to him, the preservation of nature is like working in an incredible factory, producing extraordinary goods and saying: “I am not going to destroy the factory; I am going to add value to it and leave it for generations to come.’’
He urged the parks service to share its experience with Nigerians to understand and appreciate what they had to offer.
“I think that the future of Nigeria depends not just on Nigerians being proud of being Nigerians but of Nigerians being proud of where they are, what they have and what you preserve.
“They cannot be proud of what they do not know, so bringing them to the parks is the key,’’ he said.
Responding, Goni thanked the ambassador for the visit and for the approval granted to three officers of the service to attend an investigative wildlife trafficking course in Botswana.
He also solicited for more patronage and partnership with the U.S. to move the parks to international standard for more revenue generation.
Some of the highlights of the visit were the planting of a tree by the ambassador to commemorate his visit, tour of the mini park and guard inspection. (NAN)
