By Bala Ibrahim
As a country, Nigeria has always been a major player internationally, since it gained independence in 1960. Even under military rule, Nigeria was a significant force in the affairs of the African continent in particular, and a key participant in global economic activities. Nigeria has had hitches in the struggle for a leadership that is representative of the people’s wish, pursuant to which, the country went through many years of turbulence, democratically and diplomatically. But in all these years, despite the few mishaps, none of the pancakes stuck to the ceiling. The country always has a robust foreign policy that is cantered on Africa and guided by the principles of non-alignment, non-interference, and respect for national sovereignty.
The primary ambition of the policy is to promote national interest through economic diplomacy, by seeking international cooperation, and enhancing Nigeria’s global standing. With the coming of President Tinubu, the government pushed the fulcrum to focus on attracting foreign direct investment by introducing some economic reforms. Perhaps, perhaps, some of these reforms have bearings with the anger of some people, internally and externally. And the consequences are manifesting in a manner that is deeply demoralizing diplomacy internationally, and threatening domestic democracy.
May be, driven by delusion, and capitalising on the inability of Nigeria to fast track the process of posting ambassadors to the various missions abroad, some countries, with America now as their champion, are beginning to direct this anger under a disguise, the disguise of religion, the disguise of human rights abuse and the disguise of democratic dictatorship. These are all shenanigans that are not reflective of the situation on the ground. And the President has made it clear in person.
There is an English proverb that says, “Give a dog a bad name in order to hang it”. The position of the proverb is that, once you tarnish the image of a person, his reputation would be ruined, and the person will face continuous backlash, hardship and difficulty, even if the initial accusations were false or unjustified. Yes, negative label or reputation can lead to an inescapable negative public perception and unfair treatment.
And precisely that’s the conundrum of Nigeria today, under PresidentTinubu-a delusion induced diplomatic and democratic demoralization. And the aim is to get the dog hanged. Despite incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, that the killings in Nigeria are the handiwork of a gang of criminals, posing as Islamic jihadists, killing even the Muslims more than the followers of any faith, and the Americans know the truth, but they are hanging on to a false belief or judgement, in contrast to the reality. This is unfair and injurious to the ambition of diplomatic democracy.
The picture painted out there to the world is that under President Tinubu, Nigeria is vulnerable to all manner of rebellion. America, as implied by President Trump, is perusing Tinubu’s administration as a regime that is condoning corruption, hence the use of the phrase, “now disgraced country”. This is not true, not any where near the truth. And the Americans know it. Yes, there are issues here and there, but not in the proportion of the attributed credibility crisis.
But sometimes, a clear understanding of a problem gives way to the most crucial step toward solving it, as encapsulated in the saying of Albert Einstein, the German-born physicist that said, “identifying the problem is half the solution”. Truly, a thorough understanding of a problem, allows for a more focused, effective, and efficient search for its solutions. And the government must see this as an opportunity availed it from the outside. It should also look inwards, starting with the advise of its sincere internal friends, one of which is Distinguished Senator Ali Ndume, the Senator representing Borno south at the Senate today.
In a chat with Charles Aniagolu, a presenter with Arise Television and one very conversant with the internal crisis of Nigeria, particularly the issue of terrorism, Sen. Ndume had given a good advise to the government. Charles was
the first international correspondent to travel to Chibok in Nigeria’s northeast and to bring the story of the kidnap of the Chibok girls to global attention. Chibok is in Sen. Ndume’s constituency. So, when I saw the two of them talking, and I know the two of them relatively well. I know they are frank, forthright and straightforward. I believe what they say would be in the best interest of our country, Nigeria
Sen. Ali Ndume said and I quote: “We don’t have ambassadors anywhere. We don’t have a representative in the UN… The government is dominated by kakistocrats and then kleptocrats. If you want to see the President, they will ask you ‘how much?.”
If I were the President, I would send for the two of them, in order to have an unfiltered advise, that may change the narrative in the minds of people like President Trump and ohers, who are working with diplomatic delusion, that is deeply demoralizing our democracy.