Nigeria loses nothing by President Yar’adua’s absence in international conferences –Ambassador Chinade
What is really happening in the foreign policy of this country? Well, a lot is happening in the foreign policy of this country. First of all, you must know that not long ago, Nigeria was elected to the two-year seat of the Security Council with the largest votes of 186 countries. There could be no […]
What is really happening in the foreign policy of this country?
Well, a lot is happening in the foreign policy of this country. First of all, you must know that not long ago, Nigeria was elected to the two-year seat of the Security Council with the largest votes of 186 countries. There could be no better testimony to our position in the world today than those votes of confidence. Secondly, not long ago there was a summit here in Abuja African Union (AU) to find solutions to the Darfur crisis. Before then there was another by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the situation in Guinea Bissau and Niger Republic. That is our role within the region and the sub-region.
In addition, of course Nigeria has been very active trying to promote the seven-point agenda which is part of foreign policy because you can talk of foreign policy without internal affairs. These are all the thrust of government activities towards improved Nigerian image, improved Nigerian economic performance but one of the successes of Nigerian foreign policy is the Niger Delta issue. The Niger Delta amnesty, the surrendering of arms by militants and the pervading peace now in the region is the greatest impetus to our foreign policy in the sense that it will bring a stronger, united and prosperous nation which will play an important part in peace mission in the African continent.
But major international players like the United States don’t seem to recognise Nigeria’s towering stature as the giant of Africa or its leading role in international arena. The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton was very critical of this administration when she visited. Likewise the US President Barack Obama, he was reportedly criticised the leadership style of this government when he came to Ghana?
A lot of your colleagues do mistake what foreign policy is all about. Foreign policy is the role the country itself is playing and I just enumerated number of issues to the success of our current foreign policy. The visit of President Obama’s visit to Ghana has no bearing directly to our foreign policy. That is the American foreign policy perspective. America is entitled to visit any country in the world. Its president is entitled to come to Africa and visit any of the 53 countries of the continent.
The visit of Hillary Clinton should be seen to our country should be seen in the context of our bilateral relations. To determine or to quantify the success of Nigerian foreign policy by the statements of America is very wrong. Nigeria should see itself as an independent sovereign state playing its international role in its own interest. It shouldn’t be bothered by any other country rather than what we think is our national interest. A lot of people make the mistake of assessing themselves by just how others see them. You should set your own agenda and value systems. If you look at other countries they have their own value system and judgements. All you can do is to make sure that you have played your role within the context of your national interest.
Many Nigerians may not necessarily understand what you are saying, particularly with the role Nigeria is currently playing in Africa…
(Cuts in) What is it that they cannot understand? I see this interview as an opportunity for the readers to know our thinking in government in terms of foreign policy. I spent all my life projecting, promoting and protecting Nigeria’s foreign policy. I was a career diplomat for 35 years. I was a permanent secretary and I have been a presidential adviser since the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to date. The area I would always welcome any communication to bridge the gap, to promote the understanding of our foreign policy; that is why I welcomed you and I believed any useful questions that you can throw at me to clarify, explain and defend our role in the international system is most welcomed.
Many Nigerians had expected President Umaru Musa Yar’adua to attend the recent United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, where he was billed to meet with President Obama. But to their disappointment, the president went to Saudi Arabia for another programme that generated serious uproar in the country.
The president determined his own priorities in the context of our national interest. If he had an earlier invitation which we accepted and honoured it, Nigerians should appreciate more that yes that he had honoured an invitation from the King of Saudi Arabia. The invitation to the opening of the general assembly, the annual meeting of the UN can be attended by heads of state, can be attended by foreign ministers; the vice president or even ambassadors. Some countries are represented by their ambassadors in the UN. If you take a roll-call, yes President Obama was there, but many presidents and heads of state didn’t attend.
Also, in spite of that 186 countries wanted Nigeria to be in the UN Security Council for two years. That is why I welcome this interview for people to understand and appreciate the intricacies of foreign policy. Yes, any head of state that has the time and opportunity to attend a annual conference or ceremonies of the UN seminar is welcomed but each and every country determined its own interests at a particular time. So, there is nothing to make noise about Obama’s visit to Ghana, the absence of our president at the UN. Our foreign minister was there and Nigeria got the highest votes. We had more votes thaneven Brazil. People don’t take decision on foreign policy on the spot. This is accumulated perceptions, ambitions and calculations based on their own national interest.
Are you therefore saying that Nigeria didn’t miss due to Yar’adua’s absence at the UN meeting, particularly missing another opportunity of meeting President Obama?
The answer is no. Our foreign minister was there, our ambassador was there and many heads of state didn’t go. It was not Nigeria alone. Have you taken a poll how many heads of state were there? Each one determines his own priorities. That is all. I don’t even think that the country should put so much emphasis on attendance of the UN general assembly meeting. It has been happening since 1947. It is the internal situations like the seven point agenda and Vision 20:2020 that determine foreign policy not attending conferences.
What national interest are you talking about whereas many Nigerians residing in other African countries we helped are been attacked and despised?
Nobody is treating Nigerians with disdain. First and foremost, every Nigerian outside this country is a guest. As a guest, there is the minimum basic standard human behaviour. If you behave well, that is you if you respect yourself; respect your country you will be received well. But if you commit an offence by breaking the law of your host country you will get into trouble. The question of treatment is not isolated against Nigerian nationals. W have foreigners in this country, do you discriminate against any particular person? But if you commit an offence, if you bring drug or traffic in human individual and you are caught, this is the law.
The first thing I will advise all our nationals is to know that as a guest of any foreign nation, there is a basic minimum standard of behaviour and if you do that nobody won’t respect you. Nobody will interfere with your individual freedom. 99 percent of Nigerians behave most responsibly. They observe the rules and regulations of their receiving states; they do their normal business and have no problems. If you are not the one who misbehaves and come against the laws of your host country there is certainly nothing other than to offer them consular assistance to make sure that as Nigerians, their rights as individuals and human beings are properly protected. I travel abroad all my life. They don’t discriminate against me by being a Nigerian. But if you single out yourself by your behaviour of course the law will eventually catch up with you.
But even our senior government officials are not exempted from this uncomplimentary treatment of Nigerians by even African countries not to talk of Europe. Recently, the Nigerian Senate President David Mark and his entourage were embarrassingly denied landing clearance in Sudan despite the fact that the Sudanese authorities were aware of his coming. How do you explain that?
Nobody was happy about what happened. I must even the Sudanese government was not happy. They sent a delegation to come here and apologise. Don’t personalise it. I am not conversant with the details. But the Nigerian ambassador in Sudan said that before the Senate president took of from here they had clearance. Somehow by the way, they said the airport was under repairs but what we should simply appreciate and understand is that mistakes were made and Sudanese government had apologised. Therefore we should be matured enough to accept this apology. I think that chapter should be closed.
Was that incident connected with the Sudanese president’s indictment over Darfur crisis? It could be recalled that when the incident happened the Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir was scheduled to visit Abuja but the visit was shelved because of the Nigerian authorities’ refusal to assure him of protection against arrest.
That is not true. The Nigerian position on President of Sudan is exactly the AU position. No Nigerian government will allow a visiting foreign president to come in and say they will not protect him. No. We didn’t say that. When a foreign president is allowed to come in, he is given full immunity and protection. This is an international behaviour and we are not going to behave differently.
Don’t you think that Nigerian leaders are no longer trusted by their African counterparts? Look at what happened to former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who recently accused former President Obasanjo of betrayed him by handing him over to The Hague. Is it not likely that Al-Bashir was scared by Nigeria’s treatment of Taylor?
I know Charles Taylor very well. I worked with him very closely when I was permanent secretary. I hosted him and received him at the airport severally. Talking about betrayal, I don’t know the circumstances. But he was allowed in and he was trying to leave the country unofficially. At that time there was both official and personal understanding between him and former President Obasanjo, I don’t know the full details. Now, Charles Taylor standing trial in The Hague can say anything to defend himself.
Don’t you think that by handing over Taylor to The Hague will diminish Nigeria’s intervention in some of the conflicting parts of the country?
Nigeria’s commitment internationally to all the treaties we have signed, we have defended them to the best of our ability. That Charles Taylor issue shouldn’t in any way impinge on the integrity of Nigeria. Nigeria has assisted a lot of African countries in terms of political, economic and social aspects. We have never changed our commitment to our role in Africa and the world in general. We believe in the UN commitment to world peace, security and good governance.
Talking about good governance, ECOWAS recently sanctioned President Tandja Mamodou of Niger Republic and also said that it will report its resolution to the AU Chairman. One wonders why the sub-regional body that sanctioned the Nigerien president for trying to remain in power perpetually will also report him to another life president, Muammar Ghaddafi, who has been in power in the last 40 years.
The ECOWAS is doing its best to bring back Niger Republic to its international commitment to good governance. As I said earlier the ECOWAS’ recent meeting reached a unanimous decision of calling on Niger to come back to constitutionality and democracy and good governance. All we have asked the AU and European Union to do was to take note of the ECOWAS positions and also endorse the same measures as ECOWAS as regional body has committed itself regarding the Niger issue. And Ghaddafi is the Head of state of Libya. And you can’t determine the constitution of any country other than people of that country.
Again, I can’t recall AU sanctioning President Paul Biya of Cameroun when he manipulated the country’s constitution to remain in power forever Is the Nigerien issue not a selective treatment?
What Africa is trying to do is to promote good governance and democracy. It is not something you can decree in one night. It is a process of the people it can’t come by decree; it can’t come overnight. What the African leaders are trying to do is to say please let us go for democracy, constitutionalism and good governance so that we can catch up with the rest of the world. The constitution can vary from one country to the other.
Not very long ago, there was a sort of a cold war that was taken to the pages of newspapers through undiplomatic correspondences between the foreign Minister, Chief Ojo Madueke and the then Nigerian ambassador in Washington. The incident was devoid of any diplomatic spices. What is actually wrong with our managers of international affairs?
That was a minor disagreement. And we should not pass a moral judgement on Nigerian diplomacy by the disagreement between an ambassador and his foreign minister. It does happen from time to time.
Your ambassadorial nominee to Washington, Professor Tunde Adeniran was again rejected by the US…
Professor Adeniran is an excellent academic. His rejection was brought about by the misbehaviour of his son. Nobody could stop it. You can’t predict the behaviour of your grown up children. We can only show sympathy to him. Family problems of this type can happen to anybody.
But don’t you think this development has to do with the manner you select the people that represent this country abroad? The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Dr Ahmadu Ali was at a time said to have been rejected by South Africa.
I never heard it but I have seen it on the newspapers but not officially. And I don’t think it happened.