US committed to successful 2015 elections – US envoy

There has been an increase in attacks by insurgents and seems they have become more daring and scaring. What do you think Nigeria needs to do different to tackle this menace?Extremism is a problem that we are facing not just in Nigeria but even in the United State. What we learn is that terrorism everywhere […]

There has been an increase in attacks by insurgents and seems they have become more daring and scaring. What do you think Nigeria needs to do different to tackle this menace?
Extremism is a problem that we are facing not just in Nigeria but even in the United State. What we learn is that terrorism everywhere affects everyone. So these attacks on Nigeria are affecting all of us. We are working closely with the government of Nigeria to help the government address the insurgency of Boko Haram. I was here in December. This is something that requires a multi-faceted approach. It is not just a security issue, it requires going into the communities, knowing and addressing the community’s needs which I believe the government is working in that direction. But winning this war is a tough job and we are supporting the government in this war.
Would you consider it a failure on the US government if the Nigerian army does not defeat Boko Haram?
I don’t think is a failure of the US government if Nigeria does not defeat Boko Haram. I think the Nigerian government will defeat Boko Haram, we are giving the government tremendous amount of support in its effort to defeat them and it is our hope and hope of the people of Nigeria that Boko Haram is defeated. Many people were killed in the north and that cannot be allowed to continue. The government has a responsibility to provide security for those people we are working with.
You advised the Nigerian government to adopt a multi-faceted approach to the Boko Haram crisis. We have the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) which is working toward ameliorating the standard of living of the Niger delta region. Do you suggest a similar commission for people in the north?
We can learn from the Niger delta and what was done to arrest the violence in the area. I don’t know if the exact same approach will work for the north but I think some of the approaches that were taken in the Niger delta could work as well.
Still on security, in 2011 we witnessed post election violence and with this insurgency in the northern part of the country, how possible do you think it is for the Nigerian government to tackle insurgency before election in 2015?
It is my hope that the Nigerian government could tackle that situation before the election. Right now three states are under state of emergency that will be difficult for the election to take place in those areas. It is my hope and we are working with the government to arrest the security problem so that the people of those three states can exercise their rights to vote.
Why has the US not deployed the use of drones to help Nigeria to tackle this insurgency?
We are working closely with Nigeria. Such military actions are taking in coordination at the request of the government that we are working with. If there is such a plan to use the drone it is not something we will be discussing in the public. We are working with the Nigerian government to help them address this issue in ways that are appropriate in Nigeria.
The US is said to be having direct interference in the internal affairs of Nigeria, what is your reaction to this?
No, we are not interfering in Nigeria’s internal affairs, diplomats do, and this is what countries do, we travel throughout the country, we want to know what is happening in the country so that we have a better understanding of your country. We do not want to stay in Abuja and meet with government officials to know the Nigerian people and know what the situation is faced by the people of Nigeria.
How do you intend to support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the 2015 general election. Do you have a budget on that?
In 2011 between the US and UK we put about $30million to support the elections. Now, we are looking at amount that will be over that. We have committed significant resource to assist the Nigerian government and INEC to have a peaceful, free and fair elections in 2015 and beyond because it is a huge sacrifice to carry out successful elections here in this country. INEC is committed to that and we are committed to supporting them, and supporting the civil society organisations that are supporting INEC.
You promised to help Nigeria to fight corruption, how do you intend to do that?
We are committed to that at the request of the government of Nigeria to assist them in dealing with the issue of corruption. We had a team in Nigeria to address the issue and we have done a report which we will be share with the government of Nigeria.
Do you think Nigerian laws on corruption are weak?
I think your laws could be tougher, there has to be a high level of commitment and the people have to demonstrate they want a corruption free society and they must be held accountable for corruption.
Any law that infringes on people rights to assemble, that infringes on their right to association, that preaches violence against others, is a violation of human rights. My government has a very strong view on human rights, we support human rights for all people and we will continue to have dialogue with the government and people of Nigeria on this issue.
What conclusions do you draw from the African Summit in Addis Ababa?
Our relationship with Nigeria like I said is multi-faceted in two ways. Nigeria is the fifth largest exporter of oil and the second largest economy and moving close to being the first largest economy in the African continent, so there are business opportunities for American companies to successfully invest in this country and we have a number of companies that are investing here in Nigeria.
We have 31,000 Americans in Nigeria and 1.5 million Nigerians in America. The relationship is a strong one and that is why we want to see Nigeria succeed. To have a successful elections not just for the benefit of Nigerians but the benefit of the region and the global which will make country to increase its global role in the multi-lateral organisations and elsewhere in the world.
The African Union Summit was an opportunity for US to meet with Africa leaders on a variety of issues on the continent. We had a number of discussion on South Sudan, giving us opportunity to discuss better. We had special discussion on the situation in Central African Republic (CAR). I had meetings individually with various government officials including newly elected president of Madagascar after a successful election after being under five years of military rule. Being in Addis was an opportunity of doing a lot in a week.