Northern governors in America

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno, who is Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony in which he explained that they were in America to seek partnerships with USIP in developing their individual states and the Northern region of Nigeria. He said they were encouraged to attend USIP’s event because when they attended a similar event in 2014, their states earned tangible benefits from the visit. The 2014 symposium was dominated by issues of security and Boko Haram insurgency, of which Borno State was the epicenter.  Soon after that symposium, Shettima said the US government increased humanitarian and development support for Borno State through the United States Agency for International Development. 

 

Shettima’s address also outlined some areas in which the North could do with development assistance from USIP and other American partners. He said the region lags behind the rest of the country in most socio-economic development indices such as education and health care. He said, “United States is the world’s pre-eminent agricultural power and the number one food exporter.  On the other hand, no land in the world is better suited for agricultural cooperation than Northern Nigeria.” He also asked that the North benefits from US First Lady Michelle Obama’s girl-child education project for Africa.  “We eagerly look forward to benefit from this as well as many other areas in which we can partner with our American friends to tackle our under-development and weak infrastructure.”

Shettima’s address also spoke about the likely negative perception of their American trip by folks here at home. He said Nigerians could accuse the governors of embarking on a jamboree just when state purses are lean and when the naira has crashed to record levels against the US dollar. He said, “By the time we wake up tomorrow print, online and broadcast media  houses in Nigeria would have screaming headlines such as,  ‘Ten Northern Governors storm Washington’ in the midst of economic recession, when our national currency, the naira,  has sharply depreciated against the U.S dollar.” He however said tangible benefits from the trip would convince constituents at home that the trip was worthwhile after all.

 

It is true that Nigerians are deeply suspicious of foreign trips by their leaders largely because state governors and even the president have travelled too frequently for Nigerians’ liking. Moreover, endless explanations that such trips were meant to bring in foreign investors turned out in most cases to be false. Still, leaders should not shy away from traveling abroad provided they satisfy themselves that tangible benefits could accrue to their states and region from such trips.

 

Apart from the USIP seminar, the Northern governors were also hosted at the US State Department and the White House. We hope that those outings were more than just symbolic photo op. Even though American security assistance and cooperation with Nigeria has clearly improved under the Buhari administration, much more American and other international help is needed to conclude the war, reestablish peace in the North East, resettle internally displaced persons [IDPs] in their homes and rebuild shattered infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, roads and water systems.

 

We believe the Northern Governors did the right thing this time by enumerating the purposes for which they travelled, the benefits resulting from a previous visit and the potential gains this time around.  The governors seldom do this, leaving the people to trade in speculations.  We however believe that the forum should have improved upon this communication by again telling the people upon their return about the promises and pledges they received. Finally, it would greatly lift the pressure off states’ lean purse if organizations or governments organizing such symposia and conferences are made to underwrite the cost of the trips.