Pope Francis and global conflicts

Then there was dashing young John Kennedy the American President who threw the Communist Russians out of Cuba, and blockaded the country. I loved Kennedy and hated Castro. Che Guevara meant more to me because it was easier to relate with a nationalist and freedom fighter, than it was to understand and relate with the […]

Then there was dashing young John Kennedy the American President who threw the Communist Russians out of Cuba, and blockaded the country. I loved Kennedy and hated Castro. Che Guevara meant more to me because it was easier to relate with a nationalist and freedom fighter, than it was to understand and relate with the national leader who had opted to deal with Communist Russia.
Then Nigeria had the civil war in its hands, and America refused to sell weapons, specifically, fighter jets and attack helicopters to Nigeria. Indeed, instead, American mercenaries were aiding Biafra and many Nigerian soldiers, particularly my kith and kin from Numan Federation, were getting killed at the war front. Once on this column not long ago, I rendered the painful account of how Black Scorpion court-martialled and executed Lt. McCauley Lamurde for shooting and killing an unarmed Biafran he believed was a soldier. Then Biafra began to use a B26 bomber with which it bombed even Kano! It was Russia that sold Mig fighter jets to Nigeria which helped change the course of the war. But it changed my perception of global politics and progressively, I have come to realise the uselessness of the great divide between the East and West to which so much global misery is owed.
To think that all these past 50 years, the United States of America, which has achieved rapprochement with the Soviet Union for decades, is still holding Cuba to ransom for being a communist country did not make sense. Look at the cost of policing the border and the coastline, which have not succeeded in keeping Cubans away from beautiful and rosy America, the land of hope and promise! Today Cuban and indeed South Americans constitute a potent percentage of the American electorate.
It was exciting to have American President Barak Obama this week, announce in a sudden surprise to all, that the United States and Cuba were now going to “cut loose the shackles of the past” and restore diplomatic relations for the first time in fifty years. Anti-Cuban U.S. policies well set in the rock-hard concrete of the Cold War era, with just one statement, were all of a sudden loosening up. It was hard for much of the world to believe that President Obama and Raul Castro, the Cuban leader, had reached agreements ending the long-running feud between the two countries just a little over 100 kilometres apart.
According to President Obama, “We will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests. Instead we will begin to normalise relations between our two countries.”
Cuban Leader and brother to ailing Fidel Castro, Raul Castro echoed from Cuba at the same time with the Obama speech, saying “This decision of President Obama deserves the respect and acknowledgement of our people.”
What struck me most in the ending of this 50 year old hangover of the Cold War is the unexpected role played by Pope Francis, a Pope in one year making it seem like he has been here for well over ten. Pope Francis consulted with the two leaders and Canada separately and then wrote to both Obama and Castro urging them to “initiate a new phase in relations” between their countries. They met again secretly in the Vatican in October this year. Through this act, Cubans have received a most fulfilling Christmas gift. Rich Cuban American will be able to send more money home immediately. Travel restrictions will be lifted allowing normal tourism to blossom. The death of Cubans on the high seas in the bid to migrate to America across the violent sea in shanty canoes and rafts will end. Trade will soon spring up also, to the mutual benefit of both countries.
Makes you wonder what the whole five decade feud was really worth.
In a world drenched in the blood of fratricidal conflict, acts like the one taken by Pope Francis on US – Cuban relations are significant in the extent to which they go to promote the wellbeing of mankind. Here in Nigeria where we are witnesses of the cruelest acts of terror on earth today, the fervent prayer is that such a god-sent cleric would brave the odds and whisper the counsel of God to the insurgents. During the week, they posted a video in which they filled a classroom with captors, laid face down, and executed the over 60 men one after the other. In Madagali and Michika, over 600 people perished in a most mindless killing spree. Yet, Monday Bauchi and Gombe recorded bomb blasts in which over 30 people were killed and scores injured. Nigeria is in dire need of daring clerics.
Even as the Federal Government is recording successes in reversing the gains made by the insurgents over the years, we must not give up on a negotiated end to the terrorism being witnessed in Nigeria. This is more pertinent given the international dimension brought into the challenge through the involvement of neighbouring Chad. France, Britain, United States and Germany cannot stand aloof of the problem given the interests the western nations have in the African countries involved. In the remaining months before the February elections, President Goodluck Jonathan must stand up to his Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby. Between the two of them and other involved persons in Chad and Nigeria, crimes against humanity have been committed.