THE Ministry of ForeignAffairs maintained yesterday that even though Nigeria welcomed the new order in Libya, it did not celebrate the death of the country's former leader.The spokesperson of the ministry, Damian Agwu, spoke yesterday in response to The Guardian's request for a formal reaction to the killing of Col. Muammar Gaddafi.Nigeria had pioneered the continental recognition of the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC), enjoying the support of about 40 African countries in the process.The NTC also yesterday declared 'full liberation' of Libya amid international pressure to quickly take the ruined country on the path of democracy.Responding to media reports which suggested that the Federal Government welcomed the death of Gaddafi, Agwu said : 'The Ministry of Foreign Affairs never issued a statement on Gaddafi's death. It is un-African to speak ill of the dead. The stand of the Federal Government is that Nigeria's position regarding the recognition of the NTC has been vindicated.'Agwu said before Gaddafi died, Nigeria had been vindicated on its recognition of NTC.Meanwhile, Libya's new leaders yesterday made an official declaration of liberation on behalf of the country in Benghazi's Tahrir Square.The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported yesterday evening that a huge crowd gathered in the Libyan city of Benghazi for a ceremony to declare national liberation following Gaddafi's death.The NTC is to make a formal declaration in the city where it was based during the war to end Gaddafi's 42-year rule.The NTC has come under pressure to investigate how Gaddafi died. A post-mortem carried out on the former leader's body yesterday showed he had received a bullet wound to the head.Gaddafi's body and that of his son Mutassim, have been put on public display in a cold storage facility in Misrata.Meanwhile, an Arewa Consutative Forum (ACF) chieftain and National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Anthony Sani has said that the recent wave of revolutionary struggle in Libya which led to the death of Gaddafi should serve a lesson to Nigerian politicians and political leaders.According to him, the major lesson from the Libya experience is that Nigerians must join hands together to sustain democracy and reject anti-democratic values that may bring a setback to the nation, either through corruption or political manipulation.Sani said yesterday that 'the death of Gaddafi, which is not substantially different from the circumstance under which Sadam Hussein of Iraq was arrested and later executed, demonstrates the wisdom of those who posit that African leaders simply do not know when to stay the course, when to make compromises and when to let go for common good.
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