Former US Ambassador, Walter Carrinton
 Whose Interests?

One reality of contemporary global politics, is the fact that the image and perception of any country in the world today is significantly shaped by the United States of America (USA). It is not suprising though - they own the world media, in a manner of speaking. Ever since the US spoke out on Nigeria as a failing State, perceptions have swayed in that direction even in the face of so much internal political and economic developments that question such estimates. Now it seems the US has done a detour and is shifting grounds in that earlier projection. What is happening...

When in 2001 the US National Intelligence Council made projections that recognized certain countries including Nigeria as failing, there was much fuss throughout the polity. As at then the country was experiencing an unprecedented series of sectarian crisis that caused breakdown across the north reverberating in the South.

            Following that gloomy projections on Nigeria, there was hardly any politically motivated agitations launched against the Obasanjo administration on that account. It was barely two years into his administration and it would have been foolhardy for any politician to do so following the relief that was still subsisting from the end of military’s lengthy hold on power. Rather, that unfortunate estimate of Nigeria’s future, spurred concerned deliberations among national lawmakers. In fact, the ‘failed States’ mantra became a uniting factor at a time sectarian crises threatened to cause national disintegration. Coincidentally, as the lawlessness associated with sectarian uprisings gradually ebbed, ‘the failed States mantra’ also faded unnoticed from political discourse just as.

            However, in a similar way, barely two years into President Umaru Musa Yar’adu’s administration, the issue of ‘failed States’ crept back into the realm of the nation’s political discourse. Curiously, while the first wave of the mantra under Obasanjo became a unifying factor, the recent campaigns under Yar’adua were divisive as some notable citizens embarrassingly taunted Nigeria as if there was another country of their own somewhere else. Even some political leaders and past public administrators that you would expect to be well informed joined in the whirlwind of gibberish talk designed primarily to gain political benefits.

            However, I was inspired by a recent back page publication of FRESH FACTS Newspaper, which claimed that the US was the primary influence behind the increasing promotion of the ‘failed States’ campaign among the political class. The publication was so explicit in identifying the US as the principal perpetrator of the trend, which according to it was designed to pressurize the Nigerian government or possibly bring about a national disintegration, which the US could benefit economically from.

            However, since the time of that publication the US seem to be aligning once again with the direction of governance in Nigeria while indirectly recognizing the country as being stable. Its officials have been increasingly engaged in collaborative activities with various arms of the Nigerian government at different levels. Just recently, the US government was reported as having initiated a collaborative effort with the Katsina State government in the areas of education, agriculture and health. Once again, the mantra of, ‘failed State’, seems to be fading from the national discourse.        

The Blunder by former US Envoys

            Against this background, I was forced to wonder at the motive of three former US envoys, Walter Carrington, Princeton Lyman and John Campbell in their recent reported stance on Nigeria/US relations. At the Achebe Colloquium on Nigerian elections recently held in the US, they reportedly warned that Nigeria is increasingly becoming worthless and irrelevant to the US. The said event took on added significance given that it featured a significant number of political personalities especially from opposition parties as well as some political activists.

            Their motive intrigues me because it appears to be at variance with the current posture of the US and also misrepresents the true state of US-Nigeria relations amid global realities of energy demand and supply throughout the world. As long as oil is concerned, Nigeria’s is more of a strategic asset to the US than the US is to Nigeria – that is FACT No.1 and they know it.

Furthermore, as long as that relationship is concerned, Nigeria has made huge sacrifices in ensuring that the US is maintained as its principal oil recipient in spite of enormous interests by other rival nations. So why are those diplomats portraying Nigeria as  a petty nation that should embark on fasting because some minor segments of the US economic leadership, is unhappy with her. If anything, we should be concerned that the oil is running out and we have not benefited strategically from this strong leaning towards the US.

My take is that these diplomats may have undertaken to post-public service political consultancy and came handy for the Colloquium organizers. They seem to have become interested in influencing the direction of political affairs and leadership in the country. How else is one to perceive such stance given that when they were Ambassadors, what resolute efforts did they make to help strengthen our electoral system towards making votes count and promoting popular leadership?

Fortunately, the Special Adviser to the Assistant Secretary of State for Africa and official US Representative at the event, Eric Silla apparently saw through the personal interests of the former envoys and promptly corrected their erroneous impressions by stating that the US is not about to turn its back on Nigeria. Also, the Managing Director of Guardian newspaper seemed to also think alike with Silla when he suggested that the US should change the priority focus on its relationship with Nigeria, from trade, economics and security matters to building democracy and good governance.

That is the way to go and fellow Nigerians should also imbibe that philosophy in our approach to challenging governance. We should not just challenge those in government primarily with the sole aim of replacing them. We should do so with the aim of improving their performance, which inevitably results in the enhancement of general wellbeing. That is true patriotism.