Source: July 7, 2010

ABUJA, Nigeria — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that the U.S. is a “dictatorship” as it tries to control world affairs.

Ahmadinejad made the comments Wednesday night during a speech at the Iranian Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. He is in Nigeria for a summit of an organization known as the D-8, or the Developing Eight nations.

In full, Ahmadinejad says the U.S. is “the self-proclaimed leader, and everybody should know that a self-proclaimed leadership is (a) dictatorship. I am going to say, on behalf of you, that the years of dictatorship are over.”

Nigeria, a nation of 150 million people, is split between Christians and Muslims. A large crowd of Muslims filled the embassy for the speech.