Always respect culture, traditional institutions, Buhari tells UK diplomat

President Muhammadu Buhari has advised Richard Montgomery, high commissioner of the United Kingdom, to always respect traditional institutions in Nigeria.

The president gave the advice on Thursday when he received letters of credence from the UK high commissioner and Velupillai Kananathan, his counterpart from the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka.

Buhari said Nigeria’s relationship with the two countries would be further consolidated with their consideration of local cultures, traditional rulers, and institutions.

“I like the way our traditional rulers and institutions are being respected in spite of the changing times, education and rising materialism,” Buhari said.

“There is a lot to learn from our cultures and the traditional institutions are the custodians, and they should be respected by all.”

Buhari told the UK high commissioner that the diplomatic relations, spanning many years, have been sustained on mutual respect for cultures.

“All courtesy would be extended to you to make your stay in Nigeria memorable,” he said.

Buhari told the British diplomat that a good understanding of cultural differences and respect for institutions paved the way for most of the successes of the UK.

He said previous diplomats had established relations with the sultan of Sokoto, emir of Kano, shehu of Borno and emir of Ilorin.

In his remarks, Montgomery said the UK have always held Nigeria and its cultural institutions in high esteem.

He also extended the best wishes of King Charles III as Nigeria prepares for the handover ceremony on May 29.

“We have had a long, productive dialogue over security, economic partnership, home affairs, and other issues,’’ he said.

Speaking with the Sri Lankan diplomat in another meeting, Buhari said the participation of women in politics and governance in Nigeria has steadily increased over the years.

“Recently, we got close to having the first female governor in Nigeria,’’ he added.

Kananathan assured that he would consolidate the efforts of his predecessor by strengthening relations on energy projects which have already started in East Africa.