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| From-left-Prof.-Bolaji-Akinyemi-Prof.-Oladipo-Akinkugbe |
PROFESSOR A. BOLAJI AKINYEMI, B.A., M.A., M.A.L.D. D.PHIL (OXON.), CFR, Fniia, Fssan
PROFESSOR OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, FORMER DIRECTOR-GENERAL
OF THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, FORMER MINISTER OF EXTERNAL
AFFAIRS, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN, 2014 NATIONAL CONFERENCE.
BEING THE
TEXT OF THE 2016 CONVOCATION LECTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, 16 November 2016.
It was not easy finding
the right words to frame the topic. I went through several variants ranging
from NIGERIAN EXCEPTIONALISM: WHAT EXCEPTIONALISM? through NIGERIAN
EXCEPTIONALISM: MYTH OR REALITY?; NIGERIAN EXCEPTIONALISM: CHASING A SHADOW,
NIGERIAN EXCEPTIONALISM: CHASING THE RAINBOW; NIGERIAN EXCEPTIONALISM: VICTORY
OF HOPE OVER EXPERIENCE. The variants are endless. These varieties tell their
own stories as they reflect the swing in my mood from pessimism to optimism and
then back again to pessimism.
It is either courage or
sheer lunacy
, the kind of lunacy that scholars exhibit from time to time that propels me to stand before you and proclaim Nigerian exceptionalism, at a time when the Minister of Finance, MrsKemiAdeosun proclaims that Nigeria is in the worst economic recession ever[1], newspapers are carrying screaming headlines about millions being out of jobs and Senator Shehu Sani saying “We may die before President completes reforms”[2]Let me lay this issue to rest right away. In the latest United Nations Human Development Index 2015notice that both Pakistan ranked at 147 and Nigeria ranked 152 out of 188 are both grouped among Low Human Development countries, with Nigeria having N5314 Gross NATIONAL Income per capita and Pakistan having N4866 GNI per capita and yet, Pakistan is a not only a nuclear power, it is ranked no.13, while Nigeria is ranked 44 out of 126 countries in the Global Firepower Military Rankings. Of course, Pakistan did not spend about $7.4 billion on the importation of toothpicks, fish, milk, textiles, rice and furniture between 2014 and May 2015 as Nigeria did.
, the kind of lunacy that scholars exhibit from time to time that propels me to stand before you and proclaim Nigerian exceptionalism, at a time when the Minister of Finance, MrsKemiAdeosun proclaims that Nigeria is in the worst economic recession ever[1], newspapers are carrying screaming headlines about millions being out of jobs and Senator Shehu Sani saying “We may die before President completes reforms”[2]Let me lay this issue to rest right away. In the latest United Nations Human Development Index 2015notice that both Pakistan ranked at 147 and Nigeria ranked 152 out of 188 are both grouped among Low Human Development countries, with Nigeria having N5314 Gross NATIONAL Income per capita and Pakistan having N4866 GNI per capita and yet, Pakistan is a not only a nuclear power, it is ranked no.13, while Nigeria is ranked 44 out of 126 countries in the Global Firepower Military Rankings. Of course, Pakistan did not spend about $7.4 billion on the importation of toothpicks, fish, milk, textiles, rice and furniture between 2014 and May 2015 as Nigeria did.
Resources per se do not
determine exceptionalism, it is the utilization of the resources or more
accurately, the prioritization of the utilization of resources. For example, in
terms of Defence Spending, Pakistan spent $7b, and is ranked at 27 and Nigeria
spent $2.3billion ranked at 62 out of 128 countries.
The debate between the
social welfare school and the power school in the evolution of a Nigerian
strategic doctrine dated back to the post civil war period. There were two
schools of thought in the 1970s/1980s. One school which I championed was located
at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs where I was the Director
General. We espoused the power school. We fought for a large army arguing that
given the large land mass of Nigeria, we needed a large army that could occupy
and secure territory rather than a small mobile army that cannot garrison
captured territory. The other school, located at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
and identified with Dr. BalaUsman argued for a small highly mobile and highly
mechanized army. BalaUsman’s school won the argument then. But when the Boko
Haram and Niger Delta militants came calling, the Nigerian army increased its
strength from 3 Divisions to 6 Divisions thus proving me right.
This kind of debate is not unique to Nigeria.
Debate between those who want more allocation of resources to hospitals,
schools, and bridges and those who want more allocation to the military and
security sector bedevils public policy debate in all countries. One of the
factors that determines the allocation is the expectation of the role of the
country on the world scene.
A major factor responsible
for our present state is not a lackof resources but a scandalous application of
resources, not by government alone but by we the Nigerians. How can you
describe as poor a country which spent a total of N1.18 trillion (about $7.4
billion) on the importation of toothpicks, fish, milk, textiles, rice and
furniture between 2014 and May 2015?
According to figures
obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), fish imports gulped $1.39
billion while milk and rice imports accounted for $1.33 billion and $51 million
respectively.
According to the Governor
of the Central Bank:
“most
of you are aware of the often-quoted number of N1.3 trillion, which is what we
spend on average importing rice, fish, sugar, and wheat every year. I am saying
it is shameful that we have to import toothpick. I am saying that it is shameful for us to
import fish in sauce canned, fish in sauce and sardine. I am saying it is
shameful. Before I was born palm kernel was taken out of Nigeria and taken to
another country and today we go to that country and import palm oil. It is
shameful. It is shameful that items that we used to produce in this country we
now begin to import them. It is shameful and we need to stop them. That is what
we are saying… Only last week, I met the Governor of Kebbi State and he
lamented the unfortunate situation in that state. Where people, our own
farmers, have committed themselves to producing rice and have produced paddy
and we have paddy glut in Kebbi State today. As I speak, the government has
spent its money buying paddy rice from
the farmers, almost close to 200,000 of paddy rice…aside from that, Kebbi State
farmers have unpurchased paddy rice close to 800,000 tons. And yet we patronise
imported rice.
The misapplication in
resources is not limited to those identified above. There are no figures for
marriages in Dubai, in South Africa and in Brazil; or birthdays in Rome or
Spain.
The madness is not in our
stars, it is in us.
Another illustration of
the quasi-criminal misapplication of resources is the pension package for
ex-governors.According to a Lagos Pension Law a former governor will enjoy the
following benefits for life: Two houses, one in Lagos and another in Abuja.
(Property experts estimates such a house in Lagos to cost N500 million and
Abuja N700 million.)
Others are six brand new
cars replaceable every three years; furniture allowance of 300 percent of
annual salary to be paid every two years, and a close to N2.5 million as
pension (about N30 million pension annually).
He will also enjoy
security detail, free medicals including for his immediate families.
Other benefits are 10
percent house maintenance, 30 percent car maintenance, 10 percent
entertainment, 20 percent utility, and several domestic staff.
Other states have copied
this scandolous Lagos Pension scheme.
Such is the state of
public cynicism, that even expenditure which is justified under security
considerations has aroused pubic condemnation. The Saturday Punch of September
24, 2016 drew the following to public attention under a screaming headline
which read:
Recession: Governors lavish billions
of naira on bulletproof cars for selves, wives
Let me make one thing
absolutely clear. I accept that there is a lot of suffering in the land.I am
not denying that there is a lot of poverty now and that we are in a recession.
But I am also claiming that we (not just the government) bear our share of responsibility
for this financial peculiar mess. It is not government alone that is
responsible for N62.8b of imported French fries rather than the potatoes produced
in the Middle Belt, for the $6m daily of imported rice while 800,000 tons of
rice go unbought in Kebbi, for the N7.2b spent on imported tooth pick and billions
of naira spent on Brazillian, Japanese, Indian etc hair pieces. Was it
government that was travelling and bringing in goods from China, Dubai, Italy
etc?
Another issue to put to
bed is the proposition that corruption has had a negative effect on Nigerian
exceptionalism, what with the fantastically corrupt jibe. The latest figures on
corruption are quite illuminating.We are not even the most corrupt country in
the world. China leads
the world over the 10-year period from 2004 to 2013 with US$139 trillion in
illicit outflows, followed by Russia, Mexico, India, and Malaysia with Nigeria
at no. 10 with $18trillion. China also had the largest illicit outflows of any
country in 2013, amounting to a staggering US$258.64 billion in
just that one year.
Here is a message on
social media that aptly summaries the culpability of all of us and is titled:
STATE
OF THE NATION..
I
have been following closely the activities of this gov't and whenever I have the
opportunity, I try to find out the opinions of people as regards the
performance of this government.
I
just realized that the hardship faced by many Nigerians is simply as a result
of the fact that almost everyone of us benefited from the cycle of corruption.
The
bricklayer, plumber, laborers, tiler are all complaining because building
construction has slowed down massively because the thieves no longer have money
to spend on real estate.
The
car dealers are grumbling because their cars are begging for buyers. Thieves
can no longer spend wastefully.
The
private school owners are shouting because parents can no longer pay outrageous
sums and are withdrawing their wards.
The
fact is, We mostly have been living above our REAL MEANS.
We
have been staying in houses that ordinarily our incomes can't afford.
Our
children going to schools we can't afford. Driving cars we ordinarily can't
maintain.
We
have been living a FAKE LIFE all along. Now the reality is before us and we
don't want to accept it.
This
shows how morally bankrupt we are.
You
can't eat your Cake and have it. Take Note..."GOD HELP AND BLESS
NIGERIA"
You
got billions from bank without collateral using your political influence. You
put half into your business and spent the other half on exotic cars,
jewelleries' etc.
Your
business employs 100 people normally. You get illegal waivers and concessions
to import raw materials at rock bottom prices, you get over-inflated contract
to supply gov't some goods your company produce....in short your company is
kept afloat by corruption.
Now
the new SHERIFF in town says:
no
more ridiculous waivers,
no
more inflated contracts, no more bank loans without collateral, in fact its
time you or your company pay off the billions of debt owed.....
AMCON
takes over your company, staff are laid off......And you go on air and say the
new sheriff is killing business and causing unemployment..
The
truth is....you and your company were never in business, you were only feeding
off the system.
Too
many companies and banks are funded by corruption. Remove corruption from the
system and they collapse.......and we end up blaming the person that removes
corruption for the collapse of the corruptly run fake company.
Its
like our system and corruption are so interwoven and inseparable that removing
one will kill the other.”
The
commentary ended on a sarcastic note:
“Maybe
we should tolerate and learn to live with corruption so that Nigeria can
survive?”[3]
Corruption is relevant in
the misapplication of resources which undermines the corpus of resources
available for development. If we do not understand all these issues, as soon as
we start to come out of the recession, we will make the same mistakes all over
again as wee did with the recession of the 1980s.
THE CONCEPT OF
EXCEPTIONALISM:
What exactly is the
concept of exceptionalism? Collins English Dictionary describes it as “an
attitude to other countries, cultures, etc based on the idea of being quite
distinct from, and often superior to, them in vital ways”[4] It
has been suggested that the first reference to the concept by name, and
possibly its origin, was by French writer Alexis de Tocqueville in his
1835/1840 work[5]
where he wrote “The position of the Americans is therefore quite exceptional,
and it may be believed that no democratic people will ever be placed in a
similar one.”
Even though the concept of
exceptionalism is now wrapped around the global image of the United States, the
consciousness of a concept predates the naming of the concept. The consciousness
of exceptionalism is much older than the United States. When Ruyald Kipling
wrote “The White Man’s Burden” in 1899 to celebrate the United States
occupation of the Philippines,[6] it
seemed to have confirmed the United States exclusive claim to Exceptionalism.
But in fact, Kipling had originally written the piece to celebrate the British
Empire and the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. While the piece was
not used, it confirms my thesis that colonialism and before then slavery had
embedded in them the consciousness of exceptionalism. Let me stretch this
further: To the extent that each religion lays claim to being the repository of
the whole truth, each religion lays claim to exceptionalism.
In ancient times, the
phrase “CivisRomanus sum” was a recognition of the exceptionalism of the Roman
empire. I am sure that when I delve into Chinese and Greek histories, I will
find evidence of exceptionalism to explain their empire-building exercises.
Thus it is obvious that at
different times, different countries have laid claim to exceptionalism and one
factor common to all of these countriesis the possession of power which lent
credence to the claim.
A more apt illustration of
the nexus between power and the concept of exceptionalism, nearer home, from
contemporary times can be drawn from the example of Ghana. Ghana became
independent in 1957 and immediately sent out signals to lay claim to leadership
of African and Black Diasporic affairs. A country formerly called Gold Coast,
named itself Ghana after one of the most famous and powerful pre-colonial
indigenous African empires, adopted the Black Star as a national symbol, and named
its national football team, the Black Stars. It pursued brilliant and activist
policies designed to mobilise Africans and Africans in the Diaspora. But
without a power base, economic and military, to project herself, the concept of
exceptionalism could simply not be creditably applied to Ghana.[7]
It is absolutely critical
and crucial to bear in mind that of significance is the fact that critical to
the concept of exceptionalism is the issue of the purpose of the policies
designed to actualize the exceptionalism. The purpose is usually designed to
promote dominance internationally. Rome bred a Roman Empire, Britain, Spain, Portugal
and France, each bred an empire, Russia bred an empire under the cloak of a
worker’s revolution and was clever enough to mask it by calling it a Soviet
Union.
NIGERIA AND THE
HISTORICISM OF EXCEPTIONALISM
Let us now situate Nigeria
within the narrative. The past is always with us and influences us more than we
realize. The influence may be on our subconscious but it is there. The concept
of exceptionalism manifesting itself in a world leadership role is one that may
resonate with an elite from an environment that has a tradition of
empire-building. Among the Kanuri political elite in Borno with a heritage of a
Kanem-Borno empire in the not too distant past, and an eschatological
expectation of a reconstituted empire, exceptionalism of a world leadership
role is not likely to evoke a blank stare of incomprehension. The Hausa/Fulani
original empire extended way beyond the northern shores of Nigeria while the
Oyo empire in the South-West extended to the territory of modern Ghana. This makes
that political elite to be responsive to this kind of exceptionalism message.
But this is not a trip down the deterministic path. The effect is not
automatic. But it is of high probative value.
How deep is this concept
of exceptionalism in Nigeria?
On Thursday 30th
September 2010, an independence anniversary colloquium was held in Abuja and
the title of the Colloquium was “NIGERIA’S
LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE WORLD”. Of even more significance is the caliber of
the participants at the colloquium which included President Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Former President of Namibia, Dr. SamNujoma, Former
President of South Africa, Mr. Thabo Mbeki, Former Executive Secretary, ECOWAS,
Dr. Mohammed IbnChambas and myself. The significance of these factsspeaks for
themselves. How many countries in the world would host a national symposium and
have a sitting President, two former Presidents and two eminent personalities
as discussants. Equally significant is that two of the countries represented
are Namibia and South Africa, two of the powerhouses in Africa. Furthermore,
how many countries not just in Africa but in the world would put on a symposium
where the topic would be couched in what some may regard as grandiose terms or
a delusional exercise? The riposte has to be: what is the gain to someone like
Thabo Mbeki or Sam Nujoma to take part in a delusional exercise? Surely their
participation should be regarded as empirical evidence that there is some
reality behind the discourse.
In 2014, a News Agency of
Nigeria carried a story under the title “Centenary: African leaders commend
Nigeria's leadership role in Africa” (01 March 2014). The participants included
President of Namibia, HifikepunyePohamba, who said: "We salute the
tenacity, the solidarity and commitment to peace that Nigeria has demonstrated
in the peacekeeping operations…”, President YahyaJammeh of Gambia, who said
that Nigeria had invested human, financial and material resources to bind the
continent together.Jammeh, who earned a standing ovation for his eulogy of
Nigeria's qualities, opportunities and continued leadership role, said Nigeria
held the key to the continued relevance of the continent on the global map.”President
Joyce Banda of Malawi was also full of praises for Nigeria for its commitment
to peace, security and the development of the continent.Banda, who joined her
Liberian counterpart to condemn the recent Boko Haram attack on students,
expressed confidence in the ability of Nigeria to realise its greatness in spite
of the security challenges.In his goodwill message, the President of Arab
Sahawari Democratic Republc, Mohammed Abdelaziz, congratulated Nigeria for
surviving 100 years of nationhood.Abdelaziz, whose country's independence day
celebration was the same day as Nigeria, had marked the day,a day earlier, to
enable him to attend Nigeria's centenary celebration.
In September 2015, The New
Diplomat carried a story under the headline “EX-BRITISH ENVOY: NIGERIA CAN BE AFRICA’S ECONOMIC HUB”
Even though I will backtrack
later to what I believe are the historical factors underlying the leadership
syndrome as an element of Nigeria’s manifest destiny, the three episodes
referred to earlier encapsulate the core theme of this paper. Firstly, Nigerian
government officially picked a topic laying claim to Nigerian leadership role
in the world. For the avoidance of doubt, I do not believe that Nigeria was
laying claim to being the leader of the world in the way the United States
would use the same phraseology to signify that. Even Nigerian officialdom does
not suffer from such delusion of grandeur. The deconstruction of Nigerian world
role would be dealt with later. The second issue is the open embrace of the
exceptionalism by non-Nigerian officialdom. The third issue is the open embrace
of this exceptionalism by the Nigerian public as evidenced by the title of the
NAN story on the 2014 centenary event.
THE PRE-INDEPENDENCE
PERIOD:
The physical attributes of
Nigeria in terms of geographical size, population, size of the economy, and
size of the army have had a profound impact on the development of the Nigerian
exceptionalism syndrome.
Nigeria has a population
estimated at about 185million (2015 est), It is about about six times the size
of Georgia; slightly more than twice the size of California. It has Land
boundariestotalling: 4,477 km, out of which the followingborder countries are:
Benin 809 km, Cameroon 1,975 km, Chad 85 km, Niger 1,608 km and coastline is 853
km.
Even before the
independence of Nigeria, there had grown up within the domestic political
intellectual class and the international foreign policy elite a belief in the
manifest destiny of Nigeria to play an exceptional role in world affairs. At a
time when the Nigerian political class should still be focusing almost
exclusively on seeing the struggle for independence to a successful conclusion,
foreign affairs had already started to carve a niche for itself in the
consciousness of the Nigerian elite. There was a consciousness among the
Nigerian elite of an acceptance that Nigeria had a crucial role to play in
world affairs in the post-independence period. What motivated or spurred this
consciousness in the first place? There were four operational factors that
under-laid this consciousness. The first factor was the early independence of
Ghana which became what was perceived as a genuine African voice on the global
stage. This was in spite of the fact that Liberia and Ethiopia had been
independent African states much, much, earlier than Ghana. But neither the
Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Sellasie, nor the President of Liberia, William
Tubman, had the flair or vision of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. Nigeria felt that
this was an affront to the role which should have been reserved for Nigeria
because of her mega size.
The second factor was the
activist foreign policy pursued by Ghana. She practically hit the ground
running on cold war issues and on Pan-Africanism. If Ghana had achieved
independence and kept out of the international limelight, Nigeria would not
have felt the urge to stake out foreign policy positions long before
independence. But Nkrumah was not the quiet one. He was the stuff that
revolutionaries were made off. As if responding to Dylan Thomas burgle command
"do not go gentle into that good night,...rage, rage against the dying of
the light", Nkrumah came out raging against the international system. He
teamed up with Pandit Nehru of India, Abdel Gammal Nasser of Egypt, and Sukarno
of Indonesia in forming the Non-aligned Movement. On the African continent, he
launched a blitzrick of ideas and institutions, summoning a Conference of
Independent African States (1958) and an All African Peoples' Conference
(1958).
The first open
manifestation of the exceptionalism syndrome, however, in an indirect way arose
out of a conflict with Ghana, a portent of what was to come. But the conflict
was germane to the theme of exceptionalism to the extent it involved a dispute
over who could legitimately claim to speak for Africa. The date was December
1953, when Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana (then Gold Coast) convened a West African
Nationalist Conference in Kumasi, Gold Coast to which all Nigerian political
parties were invited. Only one, the NCNC led by NnamdiAzikiwe consented to attend.
In 1958, after the independence of Ghana, she convened a Conference of Independent
African States to which Nigeria was not invited as she was not yet independent.
But Nkrumah announced that he would come to Nigeria to consult so that he could
present Nigerian views at the Conference, a plan dismissed as “an egregious
insult for thePrime Minister of a small country like Ghana to essay to be
Nigeria’s spokesman at a conference of all African countries”[8]
Even though Nigerian
leaders were focused on achieving independence for their country, an event
which took place in October 1960,something must have prodded the Nigerian
government not to wait for that independence before launching Nigeria into the
Pan-African conundrum. The occasion was the second Conference of Independent
African States which was held in Addis Ababa in June 1960. Nigeria was not
entitled to attend the conference as she was not yet independent. And so, why
was Nigeria invited? And why did Nigeria accept the invitation.?
Perhaps the answer to both
questions lay in one of the issues Nigeria raised at the Conference, and that
was the issue of leadership in Africa.MaitamaSule, the Nigerian Minister of
Mines and Power, who led the Nigerian delegation in addressing the Conference
said that Nigeria would not tolerate someone “who thinks he is a messiah with a
mission to lead Africa”[9]
Under normal
circumstances, the colonial authorities would have sought to dampen such
delusion of grandeur on the part of Nigeria. But there is sufficient evidence
that on the contrary, they either fueled it or inspired it. For example, on the
eve of Nigerian independence, Senator John F. Kennedy, then a Presidential
candidate, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa extolling Nigerian
independence as “an event important not only to the nation of Nigeria, or the
continent of Africa, but to the world…”[10]This
act was unique. And this was due to the Nkrumah factor. Ghana became
independent in 1957and the President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah launched an
activist foreign policy in Africa and in the world which the Western powers
perceived as a challenge to their interests. Thus began a frantic search for an
appropriate response to counter Nkrumah’s influence.[11]Part
of the strategy that was adopted was to encourage Nigeria to be assertive in
its foreign policy, not by adopting the ideological overtones of Nkrumah’s
foreign policy but by posing alternative visions.
In 1961, Prime Minister
Balewa paid an official visit to the United States, a few months after
independence where the proverbial red carpet was rolled out. He was received in
the Oval office and addressed the United States Congress, a priviledge extended
to only 112 personalities since 1874. John F. Kennedy even attended a return
dinner hosted by Balewa for him. During the visit, Kennedy told Balewa that
“Nigeria’s development and leadership were of the greatest interest to the
United States”[12]
The first issue to address
is to deconstruct the concept of Nigerian exceptionalism. Various terminologies
are used by analysts when illustrating this issue. Such phrases include
“African Leader”, “Black Power”, “Leadership Role in the World”[13].
At times, the terminology could even be misleading as a mischievous interpretation
could lead to some talk of pretentious claim to world leadership. My own
deconstruction of Nigerian exceptionalism is this. A rational analysis of
Nigerian elements of power in comparative terms, in comparison to the power
status of other African states, justify an assertion that Nigeria was entitled
to lay claim to leadership in West Africa, and to share leadership roles with
Egypt and South Africa in the rest of Africa. The second issue is that the objective of Nigerian
exceptionalism which was to use the leadership of Nigeria to leverage the
status of Africans in the Diaspora was not clearly articulated at the beginning,
and is still not articulated with clarity.
At independence, Nigerian
GDP was US$4.2billion while Ghana was US$1.22biliion. Nigerian population was
45.2m while Ghana was 6.65m and Ethiopia was 22.2m. For Nigeria, Life
expectancy in 1960 was 37.2 years, while Ghana was 45.8 years and Ethiopia was
38.4 years. The GNI/per capita for Nigeria was US$100, while Ghana was US$190.
By 1981, Nigerian GDP was US$61.7billion while Ethiopia was US$7.325billion. By
1984, Nigerian GNI/per capita was more than double that of Ethiopia.[14]From
this data, it is not irrational to conclude that the expectation that Nigeria
was capable of a leadership role in Africa was a reasonable one.
Increasingly, or at least
from the 1970s onwards, the international community and the United Nations, had
constructed a universal security construct based on regional systems which
turned regional powers into support pillars of the international security
system. It is in this sense that regional powers came to be regarded as world
players. It is in this sense that Nigeria being a regional power in the ECOWAS
sub-region and by extension in Africa, could be regarded as a world power.
Another contributory
factor to this exceptionalism syndrome can be located in what I will call the
aspirational messianic Pan-Africanist school. Earlier in this lecture, I have made
reference to the impact of history on man’s psyche. The “never again” ruthless
response of the Israelis to the Palestinians lies buried in the Jewish
psychological response to the Holocaust. No exhaustive study has been done on
the effect on the Black race of the slave trade. But this much we know. The
hurt is deep, and unlike the effect of the holocaust on the Jewish race where
it has not resulted in bottom-of-the-pile status for Jews, slavery for Blacks
has resulted in permanent underdog status for Blacks all over the world. Hence
there has been a deep felt need for a cataclymistic development that will
impact in a volcanic eruptive effervescence on the status of the Black race in
the world. They have not only bought into this vision of Nigerian
exceptionalism but it has become a Black vision embraced by Blacks all over the
world.
This is exemplified by the
FESTAC syndrome. FESTAC in English translates in full into WORLD BLACK AND
AFRICAN FESTIVAL OF ARTS AND CULTURE. Even though Senegal was the first to host
the first Festival, there must have been more than a symbolism in the fact that
Nigeria was declared the "star country" at the Dakar Festival and was
asked to host the Second World Festival, after which none has been held. That
FESTAC was not just a cultural event simplicter was propagated by the Arts
people themselves. Writing in 1981 in the SURVEY OF NIGERIAN AFFAIRS, 1976-77,
Femi Osofisan, a major participant at the Festival, wrote an article, titled
"FESTAC AND THE HERITAGE OF AMBIGUITY" in which he commented as
follows "secondly, there was also in the choice of Nigeria as host a tacit
recognition of the country's symbolic role as the ancestral home of the blacks
in diaspora... thus, for the blacks outside, coming to Nigeria was like a pilgrimage
back through history and suffering to the replenishing fountains of their and
our ancestry". Ola Balogun, another participant at the FESTIVAL, delivered
a lecture at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in 1986 titled
"CULTURAL POLICIES AS AN INSTRUMENT OF EXTERNAL IMAGE-BUILDING: A
BLUEPRINT FOR NIGERIA." In it, Balogun commented "in other words,
given our country's large population, our internal dynamism, and our
considerable economic and military potential, Nigeria will inevitably have to
assume the role of Black Africa's leading nation. It is also quite obvious that
Nigeria's potential leadership role in Africa is not only a duty that we owe to
the rest of Africa and to the black race in general, but also a natural
prolongation of our own quest for a coherent national outlook."
Edem Kodjo, a former
Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity, who later became the
Prime Minister of Togo, put it eloquently thus[15],
"This strong Africa...must be powerful Africa. I mean militarily powerful.
We should not fall into the angelism in a world where power mongers are equally
military. Africa cannot make the economy of a modern army at the service of a
brighter diplomacy. This does not mean warmongering. On the contrary, it is in
Africa's interest that peace reigns in the world. But she must learn to walk on
her two legs, and the more she progresses economically, the more she develops
militarily...though I am not a Nigerian, I believe in the fundamental role of
Nigeria in building a united Africa. I have been saying it over the years and I
am getting furious that Nigeria is not totally assuming the role which should
be hers ever since...There should be 'federating factors': countries with a dense geopolitical mass and an acceptable
economic power who will take upon themselves to achieve, by federating
gestures, the unity of our continent... Nigeria is indisputably one of these
countries, if not the only one."
The latest exposition is
to be found in “NIGERIA AND THE FUTURE
OF THE BLACK WORLD”by Ambassador Walter Carrington[16]
The words of the title say it all.Embedded in his lecturewas an unstated
disappointment with the state of Nigerian exceptionalism, given that his
conclusions were based on the hope driven by GDP projections which showed Nigeria
growing from no. 20 in 2014 to no. 9 in the world in 2050. Such projections
prepared by PriceWaterCooper House showed an incredible faith in Nigerian
future.
I delivered a lecture in
February 2005, under the auspices of the Centre for Black and African Arts and
Civilisation, titled “NIGERIA: THE BLACK MAN’S BURDEN”, where I dealt with this
phenomenon in an inverted manner. I will return to this issue later.
Maybe it is not really
very important but to lay the issue of whether the Nigerian exceptionalist
syndrome is authoctonous or not,I would like to draw attentionto the fact that
there were Nigerians who felt the syndrome should be used to enhance the status
of the black race as shown by the views which a former President of Nigeria,
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo ascribed to Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, that
enigmatic figure of January 15, 1966. in his seminal book simply titled
"NZEOGWU", Obasanjo wrote:[17]
" Chukwuma had a dream of a
great Nigeria that is a force to reckon with in the world, not through
ineffective political rhetoric but through purposeful and effective action...He
dreamt of a nation where social justice and the economic interest of its
citizens will not be subjugated to foreign control and manipulation. He
believed in the ability of the Blackman.... Chukwuma, as had been pointed out,
was a well read individual. He was familiar with Marx, Giap and Mustafa Kemal -
the Attaturk. He probably saw himself in the mould of the latter, a kind of
Nigerian military hero on horseback, a moderniser, a nationalist, and a
Nigerian bent on carving a niche for the Blackman in world history, an idealist
who wanted to put the Blackman on the same pedestal as all other races. He saw
Nigeria as pivotal to his dreams. In order for Nigeria to realise what seemed
to him a divine if not self-evident mission, he had to clear the augean
stable..."
Naturally, this is a
loaded passage that one can fill a whole book deconstructing. The only two
issues I wish to draw attention to are firstly, no one can accuse Nzeogwu of
being a character that is subject to manipulation. Secondly, there is
manifested here a recurrence of that theme of "manifest destiny"
characterised here as "divine destiny". Obviously, there is
sufficient evidence here of a domestic fertile ground for a home grown
philosophy of an exceptional Nigeria and its relationship to the emancipation
of the Black race. This is not to imply that aspects of this philosophy did not
only surface abroad but that attempts were made to transplant its overseas
variant back into Nigeria.
The real question and the
core of this lecture is to interrogate this concept of Nigerian exceptionalism
as to whether it is an illusion or not. If it is an illusion, then Nigeria has
been led up the garden path or has allowed itself to be led up the garden path
into believing it could bat above its weight. But if it is not an illusion, has
it achieved it, and if she has not, then where did it as a nation derail?
I have already presented
the comparative statistics showing the relative positions of Nigeria, Ghana and
Ethiopia at Nigerian independence. I have already drawn attention to the red
carpet welcome Nigeria received from the international community at independence.
The ink has hardly dried on the independence document before Nigeria was
invited to send troops under United Nations command to the Congo. Not only did
she do so, but General Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, the Nigerian contingent Commander,
was later appointed the United Nations Commander for the Congo operations, the
first African to be so honoured.
Following that precedent,
Nigeria has taken part in peace-keeping and peace-enforcement operations in
former Yugoslavia, Lebanon, India/Pakistan border, Darfour, etc
As far as national embrace
of the exceptionalism syndrome is concerned, Nigeria sent troops to Tangayika
to suppress an attempted coup detat. When President SylvanusOlympio was
overthrown in Togo, the Nigerian Foreign Minister, JajaWachukwu, declared that
Nigerian border extended through the Republics of Benin and Togo right to the
Ghanaian border.
In terms of enforcement
action, Nigerian experience with the ECOMOG operations in Liberia and Sierra
Leone, the former under the camouflage of ECOWAS, marked the unilateral
projection of Nigerian military power into West Africa.
Nigerian programme of the
Technical Aid Corps is the only scheme of its type in Africa, providing
technical assistance to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries since 1987.
Right from its inception in 1987, the scheme covered twelve countries which
included Fiji and Jamaica, two distinct non-African countries. The following
batch in 1990 expanded to fifteen countries with Dominica joining the list of
non-African countries. The following batch in 1992, saw Belize joining the list
of non-African countries. The following batch in 1994 saw St. Kitts and Nevis
joining the list of the non-African countries. As an average, non-African
countries have been responsible for about a quarter of the yearly
beneficiaries. Of course, General Yakubu Gowon was in fact the first Nigerian
Head of State to go for a global reach
when he offered to pay the salaries of civil servants in the West
Indies. As the original designer of the Technical Aid Corps, let me state
categorically here that Europe was also part of the target areas conceived in
the original plan. There are large black communities in European inner cities
where the African history that is taught is a travesty of the real thing. In a
slightly modified form, the Technical Aid Corps would have included a corps of
African historians who would have been offered to educational authorities in
the inner cities to teach African history - a reversal of the missionary flow
of early years sent to evangelise Africa. Such countries as Brazil, Venezuala
and Vietnam have expressed interest in participating in the scheme. At present,
there are 1500 Nigerian volunteers serving in 32 countries.[18]
Reviewing these actions in
a speech delivered on October 19th 2004, to mark the celebration of the 70th
birthday of General Yakubu Gowon, Professor Ali Mazrui reused the words
"PaxNigeriana" to describe leadership aspects of Nigerian Foreign
Policy.[19]
He, in fact, titled that section of his speech "Towards a
PaxNigeriana." In fact, as far back as 1969, in the conclusion to my
Doctor of Philosophy thesis at Oxford, I had used the very same words
“PaxNigeriana” to describe the adoption of Nigerian vision on Pan-Africanism in
the charter of the Organisation of African Unity. Ali Mazrui argued his
justification of the adoption of the concept thus "almost from
independence, Nigeria's exceptionalism included a potential leadership role to
keep the peace in West Africa - a kind of PaxNigeriana".
POWER STATUS AND NIGERIAN EXCEPTIONALISM
The first issue to
interrogate is whether Nigeria has the power status to underwrite an
exceptional vision and mission. The power/realist school will still hold that
Nigeria is still a regional power. I used the word “still” because as far back
as 1982, I had titled my lecture at the Royal Institute of International
Affairs in Brussels, “The Emergence of Nigeria as a Regional Power”. Her
military prowess is still second to none in West Africa and presumably the fourth
in Africa.
As
of 4/1/2016, out of a total of (126) countries surveyed in
the CIA World Fact Book and included in the Global Fire Power (GFP) database.
Nigeria is ranked 44 out of 126 countries.
If we localise Nigerian military status within the context of Africa ,
Nigeria is ranked no 4 out of the 30 countries, out ranked by only Egypt,
Algeria, and Ethiopia in that order. South Africa comes in no. 5 which
is surprising. Nigeria falls into sixth position in terms of expenditure on the
military and of the highest 25 countries
in terms of military expenditure as percentage of the GDP Nigeria is conspicuously
missing. The fact is Nigeria woefully underfunds its military.
Military expenditure size from 2006-2010 [in millions of US Dollars]
|
||||||
Rank
|
Country
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
1st.
|
Algeria
|
3,557
|
4,173
|
4,862
|
5,281
|
5,586
|
2nd.
|
Egypt
|
4,413
|
4,444
|
4,139
|
4,017
|
3,914
|
3rd.
|
Angola
|
2,728
|
2,393
|
2,479
|
3,165
|
3,774
|
4th.
|
South Africa
|
3,782
|
3,713
|
3,647
|
3,813
|
3,735
|
5th.
|
Morocco
|
2,490
|
2,565
|
2,861
|
3,055
|
3,256
|
6th.
|
Nigeria
|
879
|
1,021
|
1,435
|
1,504
|
1,724
|
7th.
|
Kenya
|
530
|
594
|
567
|
580
|
594
|
8th.
|
Tunisia
|
551
|
507
|
550
|
532
|
548
|
9th.
|
Cameroon
|
312
|
327
|
339
|
343
|
368
|
10th.
|
Botswana
|
301
|
331
|
346
|
363
|
352
|
11th.
|
Ethiopia
|
469
|
429
|
343
|
340
|
338
|
12th.
|
Namibia
|
204
|
228
|
282
|
300
|
329
|
13th.
|
Uganda
|
263
|
296
|
346
|
315
|
276
|
14th.
|
Zambia
|
209
|
151
|
252
|
212
|
243
|
15th.
|
Chad
|
. .
|
479
|
638
|
436
|
242
|
16th.
|
Senegal
|
182
|
205
|
204
|
208
|
207
|
Military Expenditure as Percentage of
GDP, 2006-2009[20]
Rank
|
Country
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
1st.
|
Chad
|
. .
|
5.5
|
7.1
|
6.2
|
2nd.
|
Angola
|
4.4
|
3.4
|
2.9
|
4.2
|
3rd.
|
Algeria
|
2.6
|
2.9
|
3
|
3.8
|
4th.
|
Mauritania
|
3
|
. .
|
3.4
|
3.8
|
5th.
|
Namibia
|
2.9
|
3
|
3.4
|
3.7
|
6th.
|
Morocco
|
3.3
|
3.2
|
3.3
|
3.4
|
7th.
|
Swaziland
|
2
|
1.9
|
2.2
|
3.1
|
8th.
|
Botswana
|
2.8
|
2.7
|
2.7
|
3
|
9th.
|
Lesotho
|
2.5
|
2.5
|
1.6
|
2.8
|
10th
|
Egypt
|
2.7
|
2.5
|
2.3
|
2.1
|
11th.
|
Kenya
|
1.6
|
1.8
|
1.9
|
2
|
12th.
|
Mali
|
2.2
|
2.2
|
2
|
1.9
|
13th
|
Central
Afr Rep
|
. .
|
0.1
|
1.6
|
1.8
|
14th.
|
Uganda
|
2
|
2
|
2.2
|
1.8
|
15th.
|
Zambia
|
1.9
|
1.3
|
2
|
1.7
|
16th.
|
Cameroon
|
1.4
|
1.5
|
1.5
|
1.6
|
17th.
|
Senegal
|
1.6
|
1.7
|
1.6
|
1.6
|
18th.
|
Rwanda
|
1.8
|
1.5
|
1.4
|
1.4
|
19th.
|
Tunisia
|
1.6
|
1.4
|
1.4
|
1.3
|
20th.
|
South
Africa
|
1.4
|
1.3
|
1.3
|
1.3
|
21st.
|
Burkina
Faso
|
1.2
|
1.3
|
1.4
|
1.2
|
22nd.
|
Seychelles
|
1.9
|
1.9
|
1.2
|
1.2
|
23rd.
|
Tanzania
|
1.2
|
1.1
|
1.1
|
1.1
|
24th.
|
Congo,
Dem. Rep.
|
2.4
|
2
|
1.4
|
1
|
25th.
|
Ethiopia
|
1.7
|
1.3
|
1.1
|
1
|
“. .” = data unavailable.
One would have expected
that given the insurgencies in the North-East and the Delta, the data would
have changed considerably but World Bank 2015 figures show that Nigeria in 2015
still spent only 0.42% of its GDP.
There is no doubt in my
mind that the data adduced so far confirm a credible military status for
Nigeria as a medium power. But there is a school of thought that has raised the
bar for Nigerian exceptionalism militarily. In 1979, Mazrui delivered the Reith
BBC lectures and argued for Nigeria to develop a military nuclear capability as
a means of restoring the balance of power between the West and the Third World.
He returned to this theme in a lecture which he delivered at the Nigerian
Institute of International Affairs, titled, "NIGER-SAKI: DOES NIGERIA HAVE
A NUCLEAR OPTION?"
As the Foreign Minister of
Nigeria in 1987, I called for Nigeria to develop a Black Bomb as I was and am
still firmly convinced that you do not clap with an open hand in foreign
affairs.
Has Nigeria achieved its
manifest exceptionalism? I believe that the majority view which I disagree with
is in the negative. Perhaps the most cutting view was that by the then Senator
(now out-going President) Barack Obama:[21]
I hear
Nigeria makes the metaphorical claim as the Giant of Africa. That claim I make
bold to say, is not only unfounded but absurd. Forgive my observation. That
country’s claim of gianthood is only proved by the relative size of its
population. Forty eight years after bidding farewell to colonial rule, that
nation is still struggling to get on its feet, like a toddler. Nigeria has
clearly failed to be the beacon of hope for other African nations. Will the
Nigerian people ever speak of their country as that where leaders make
unselfish calculations that prepare them for the challenges of the global
economy? Will they ever speak of a nation where every child male and female has
the right to achieve his or her dream? So long as people are trapped in poverty,
so long as there are evidences of gross marginalization of certain regions, so
long as opportunities are open, but not for all, the dream of a true nation
will remain out of reach
Perhaps,
one should remind Barack Obama that at the time the United States embraced the
concept of American exceptionalism, slavery was still legal, Blacks, Women and
non-land owners who were adult and white were not allowed to vote. Blacks
secured the right to vote only in the mid1960s, long after the United States
had laid claim to being a superpower.
As
of 2014, the poverty figures for the United States show that even under him as
President, the wealth of the United states was skewed against
African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans. The United States is a deeply
divided country even after eight years of Obama administration.
Poverty
Rates 1[22]
Overall
Poverty Rate: 14.8% :Percentage of people who fell below the poverty
line—$23,834 for a family of four—in 2014
Twice
the Poverty Level: 33.4%Percent of people who fell below twice the poverty
line—$47,668 for a family of four—in 2014
Half
the Poverty Level: 6.6%: Percent of people who fell below half the poverty
line—$11,917 for a family of four—in 2014
Child
Poverty Rate: 21.1%: Percentage of children under age 18 who fell below the
poverty line in 2014
African
American Poverty Rate: 26.2%: Percentage of African Americans who fell below
the poverty line in 2014
Hispanic
Poverty Rate: 23.6%: Percentage of Hispanics who fell below the poverty line in
2014
White
Poverty Rate: 10.1%: Percentage of non-Hispanic Whites who fell
below the poverty line in 2014
Native
American Poverty Rate: 28.3%: Percentage of Native Americans who fell below the
poverty line in 2014
The
other high profile American with negative viewswas retired General Colin Powellwho
many years ago, had reportedly publicly referred to all Nigerians as “crooks”.
“Nigeria, for example, leads the world in criminal enterprises. Every level of
Nigerian society is criminal, with the smart ones running Internet scams, the
mid-range ones running car theft rings, and the stupid ones engaging in piracy
and kidnapping. At the University of Lagos, you can major in credit card
fraud.”[23]
I
have often wondered if these are not symptomatic of cases of unrequited love.
Disappointed at Nigeria not fulfilling its manifest destinyvis a vis the Black
World.
The
issue of failed expectation was delicately put this way in a recent publication[24]
On many
international occasions, Nigerian diplomats and senior officials in different parts
of the world have been confronted with similar questions as I have had to
endure from known true friends as well as detractors of Nigeria, During a
cocktail soiree in Seoul, South Korea, in 2011, a self-confessed admirer of our
country informed nicely: ‘every year, we receive several delegations from your
country asking us to come invest in your economy. Invariably, they make the
same boast of how your country is blessed with abundant human resources, oil,
gas, solid minerals and vast estates of arable and pastoral land. Why, he asked
ever so politely “is Nigeria, so generously endowed, unable to develop and take
its rightful place among the major contending nations of the world?”
The
biggest international snub in recent years was the formation of BRICS IN 2010.
BRICS stood for a group of economically emerging countries made up of Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa. With the exclusion of South Korea,
Malaysia and Turkey, the group lacked credibility ab initio. But the exclusion
of Nigeria was an unjustifiable snub. Even in this season of sorrow and woe,
the President of the African Development Bank, Dr. AkinwumiAdesina, has
insisted “that Nigeria remained the strongest economy in Africa” [25]
The IMF has just announced that by the end of the year, Nigerian economy would
have regained its position as the largest economy in Africa.
CONFRONTING FAILED EXPECTATION
Obviously
from the data and comments above, the problem has nothing to do with the power-status
level of Nigeria. The comment by Obama focused mainly on the problems posed by
a divided nation.
Nigerian
troops have performed creditably overseas in Liberia and Sierra Leone under the
ECOMOG umbrella. There, the Army demonstrated its capability to mobilize,
deploy, and sustain brigade-sized forces in support of peacekeeping and
enforcement operations.
Under
the United Nations flag, Nigerian armed forces had deployed in former Yugoslavia,
Angola, Rwanda, Somalia, Lebanon, Congo (several times, latest being 2004),
Darfur, India/Pakistan border, Mali and the UN observer mission, UNIIMOG
supervising the Iran-Iraq ceasefire in 1988, East Timor 1999. Nigerian officers
have served as Chiefs of Staff of Sierra Leonian and Liberian Armed Forces
respectively.
Unilaterally,
Nigeria has deployed troops in Tangayika, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. When a
coup d’etat took place in Sao Thome and Principe, the threat by Nigeria to
deploy troops there persuaded the coupists to return power to the constitutional
authorities there; When there was a constitutional crisis in Togo, again, the
refusal of the Nigerian government to rule out military intervention
contributed to the solution.
I
am aware of the debacle during the Boko Haram operations, 2009-2015, but the
unanimous judgement is that this was due to inadequate equipment rather than the
competence of the troops.
NIGERIAN SPACE PROGRAMME
If there is one manifestation of Nigerian exceptionalism that is
undisputed, under reported and under credited, it is the Nigerian Space
programme. Nigeria has launched five satellites into space namely NigeriaSat-1
which was launched in September 2003, NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X which were
launched in August 2011, NigerComSat-1 in May 2007 and NigComSat-1R launched in
December 2011. The CNN which is not usually positive about Nigeria carried the
following commentary: “But Nigeria's space program is no joke, and it is making
steady progress. The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA)
has launched five satellites since 2003, with three still in orbit delivering
vital services. The most recent - NigeriaSat-X -- was the first to be designed
and constructed by NASRDA engineers, and more advanced models are in development.The
space agency has made extensive and creative use of the satellites, from
analyzing climate data to improve farming practices, to retrieving hostages
from Boko Haram, and officials argue this proves space exploration is essential
for Nigeria.”
NASRDA has close to 500 skilled and trained staff, some up to PhD
level.
The programme has ambitious goals. By 2018, it hopes to build
indigenous satellites, by 2025-2028, it hopes to build a national spaceport and
develop indigenous space launcher, by 2030 it intends to put a Nigerian
astronaut into space. These are lofty goals that have received international
acclaim. The CNN commentary continued :” Launching an astronaut into orbit
represents a greater challenge than Nigeria's previous missions, but leading
figures from the space industry are optimistic. ‘"To train an astronaut
from selection to flight takes about eight years," says Dr. Spenser Onuh,
head of the Centre for Satellite Technology Development. "2030 is
realistic in my opinion...Responses from the international collaborators are
very supportive and encouraging."’ Professor CalestousJuma, a specialist
on space programs in developing countries at the Harvard Kennedy School,
suggests the mission represents "lofty ambition" that "may or
may not happen as planned."But he believes that the vision is more
important than the outcome."Scientific, technological and engineering
capabilities would have direct economic benefits to Nigeria long before the
decision of putting a person in space is made," says Juma. "Space
walks are probably the least important. It is the scientific and technological
infrastructure and its linkages to the rest of the economy that matters."
“The Nigerian space program has ambitions beyond its borders, and it is hoped
that bold statements -- such as a manned mission -- will inspire stargazers
across the continent."This would be a landmark achievement for Nigeria and
Africa, which will encourage the rest of Africa to get involved," says
Ale.Nigeria already shares resources from its space assets, such as providing
satellite imagery to Mali, and has supported the idea of an African Space
Agency.”[26]
Such is the strategic importance of this programme to the concept of
Nigerian exceptionalism that I have attached as an Appendix, the official documentation
on the Space Programme. Nigeria is the only African country with satellites in
space and yet there is no single advert on the international airwaves
proclaiming this feat.
The tardiness and reticence in giving publicity to this programme is
not the only shortcoming worth correcting. This is such a high profile
programme that its location within the system should reflect its priority value
in the actualization of the Nigerian exceptionalism. At present, the programme
is located in the Ministry of Science and Technology. It should be located in
the Presidency with access to generous resources to achieve its goals.
Nevertheless,
until Nigeria becomes a nuclear military power, the perception will be that it has
not yet fulfilled its mission.Earlier in the course of this lecture, I had made
reference to the views of both Professor Ali Mazrui and I on this issue.
Before
proceeding further, let me give you Ali Mazrui's pedigree so that you may give
this concept the seriousness it deserves. He received his university education
at Manchester, Columbia and Oxford where he bagged his bachelors, masters and
Doctorate degrees. Professor Mazrui was the Director of the Institute of Global
Cultural Studies and Albert Schweitzer Professor in Humanities, State University
of New York at Binghamton, New York, USA. He was also Albert Luthuli
Professor-at-Large University of Jos, Nigeria; He was Andrew D. White
Professor-at-Large Emeritus and Senior Scholar in Africa Studies, Cornell
University, Ithaca, New York, USA. He was also a Professor-at-large of Jomo
Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya. He was a
Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre for Afro-american and
African Studies, University of Michigan. He had been Professor of Political
Science and Dean, Faculty of Social sciences Makerere University Uganda. He had
been a visiting Professor at London, Harvard, Stanford, Nairobi, Singapore,
Delhi and McGill universities.
In
1979, and in 1981, first as part of the sixth BBC Reith Lecture titled “In
search of Pax Africana” and later at the lecture at the Nigerian Institute of
International Affairs titled “NIGER-SAKI: Does Nigeria Have A Nuclear Option?”,
Ali Mazuri had concluded thus:[27]
The nuclearisation of Africa thus
becomes part of the quest for peace. Pax Africana has to become PaxAtomicana
before humankind abandons its most dangerous toys so far. Nigeria’s largest and
potentially most creative country cannot escape the burden of its nuclear responsibilities
indefinitely
In
1987, as the Minister of External Affairs, I called for Nigeria to develop a
nuclear weapon, infelicitously called the Black Bomb. I believe I was right
then and I believe I am still right. In 1987, when I made the call, the only high-ranking
public official who called to say he agreed with me was General Abacha, not
known for making calls. The media, the intellectuals and practically everyone
thought I was mad. I was a little comforted thirty years later when in 2016,
Ambassador OluSanu, one of the brightest and the best of our Ambassadors
published his memoirs, Audacity on the
Bound: A Diplomatic Odyssey, and wrote that the retired Ambassadors were on
my side .[28]
I wished they had offered me that warm hand on the harmattan days I went
through.
When
General Abacha became Head of State in 1993,he raised the feasibility of such a
programme with me but I said the United States would not permit it. I still
remember his reply “I don’t intend to get along with the United States.” Maybe
I should have taken him at his word.
Let
me be as categorical as I can be. Even If all roads in Nigeria were to be paved
with gold, and every Nigerian were to own a Rolls Royce in his or her garage,
Nigeria will not secure respect from the world, the kind of respect extended to
Pakistan or India or even North Korea which has a per capita income of only
$1,800.00 but has a nuclear programme.
At
the moment, no country will speak to India or Pakistan or even North Korea, the
way Nigeria is spoken to or spoken about.
Nigeria
is not the most corrupt country in the world. Latest figuresshowed Nigeria is
the 7th among the top 10 countries with the highest measured cumulative illicit
financial outflows between 2001 and 2010 with the list showing China as first
with $2.74 trillion followed by Mexico with $476 billion, others are Malaysia:
$285 billon, Saudi Arabia: $210 billion, Russia: $152 billion, Philippines:
$138 billion, Nigeria: $129 billion, India: $123 billion, Indonesia: $109
billion, United Arab Emirates: $107 billion. And yet of all the countries in
this list, only Nigeria was referred to by a British Prime Minister as
“fantastically corrupt.” Why?
Another
illustration, was the ridicule Nigeria was subjected to during the coverage of
the last Rio Olympics by the international media with the failure of the same
media to highlight the successes at the para-olympics Nigerian athletes, some
of whom broke world records.
Nuclear
weapons create an aura of its own which no wealth can create. I was a student
of international relations in the United States in the 1960s when China was
spoken off with such contempt and derision. The day China performed its nuclear
test, the tone changed overnight to one of awe and respect and yet China had at
that time had a per capita income of only $103.00.
I
am realistic enough to accept the fact that any attempt by Nigeria to build a
nuclear arsenal will meet with fierce opposition from the existing nuclear
powers, especially the United States. It is not an insurmountable opposition.
Israel uses the Jewish population in the United States to protect and advance
its interests. Nigeria should endeavor to cultivate the Africans in the
diaspora and use them as allies to protect and advance Nigerian interests. The
major argument advanced by Mazrui and I imply that with Asia having three or
possibly four nuclear powers, Euro-America having three nuclear powers, the
Mediterranean having two nuclear powers, it will amount to racism to deny the
Black race its own opportunity to balance the racial equation. This is an
argument that will resonate with the Blacks in the Diaspora.
In
the meantime, Nigeria needs to adopt a strategic doctrine that enables her to
inflict unacceptable damage on any African country that invades her territory. She
does not need to aim at strategic parity with Egypt, Algebra, Ethiopia and
South Africa. She needs to raise defence spending from the abysmal 0.42% of the
GDP to a credible level.
A major issue which has
contributed to the perception of non-performance is the lack of assertiveness
in Nigerian Foreign policy except for one brief shinning moment called the
Murtala/Obasanjo administration, 1975-1979. Given the fact, as already shown
that the factor responsible for the promotion of Nigeria at independence unto
the world platform was the need to counter Kwame Nkrumah’s radicalism and
assertiveness, it should come as no surprise that the seeds of reticence had
taken deep roots within the Nigerian executive and administrative
establishment.
The only exception was the
Murtala/Obasanjo military regime. Within six months, it had overturned the
decision to locate the ECOWAS headquarters in Lome Togo, overturned the
decision of Nigeria to support a National Government in Angola for support for
a fully MPLA government, made a grant of $20m to the new Angolan government,
set up the Southern Africa Relief Fund, set up the Nigerian Trust Fund as a
subsidiary to the African Development Bank. During the life of the regime, it nationalized
Barclays Bank, nationalized Shell-British Petroleum, gave military assistance
to the Liberation Movements in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. The
personalities of Joe Garbaat the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Bolaji
Akinyemiat NIIA engaged the media in collaborative engagement to advance
Nigerian interests.
Other administrations have
been too apologetic about Nigerian national interests while promoting peculiar
and narrowand personal interests. Murtala did not want to be loved. He was not
seeking a Nobel Peace Prize. He wanted Nigeria to be respected. Till today,
nobody has forgotten his “Africa has come of age” Addis Ababa speech. Yes it is
only one speech. But most people in the world only remember John F. Kennedy’s
“ask not what your country can do for you…” That is the power of the word.
Nigeria has to recapture
the magic of the Murtala years. We should be prepared to contest any and every
international post we are interested in. South Africa has never been apologetic
about its size and has gone ahead to head the African Union, while we continue
to parrot that it is our tradition not to contest leadership posts in Africa.
Aclassical example will
suffice. In 1984, a very senior Nigerian diplomat was the acting
Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity. Several African leaders
approached the then Nigerian Head of State, General Muhammed Buhari to allow
the Nigerian official to continue in the substantive position. General Buhari
refused absolutely to countenance such a proposition and another African
official got the job. In all my years as a scholar, I have not come across a
single case where a country had to be dragged kicking and screaming into
considering a position of international honour for one of its citizens.
An adjunct of this
non-assertiveness has been that countries that had solicited and received Nigerian
aid had turned around to vote against Nigeria and generally adopt hostile
attitudes towards her because they discovered that all they needed to do was
play up to the larger than life egos of our Presidents. We need to let nations
that we assist know that there will be a cost to voting against or being
hostile towards Nigeria on issues.
Another factor is the
perception and reality of a divided nation. Nigeria is a plural nation, made up
of many cultures, many peoples, many religions and many ideological
dispositions. The narrative boils down to two competing visions of the
divisions. A multiple-sum vision will perceive Nigeria as a mighty river made
up of tributaries which we call divisions. The volume and richness of the river is the sum total of the
contents of the tributaries. A zero-sum vision of Nigeria will focus on the
tributaries and not the resulting river. If you have a multiple-sum vision of
Nigeria, then you will regard the gain to one part as a gain to all parts, and a
tragedy to one part as a tragedy to all parts.
Our history shows that we
have regarded Nigeria as a zero-sum case where our differences have been
regarded as unbridgeable cleavages. As a former Foreign Minister, I can attest
to several occasions when non-Nigerian state officials used our perceived
cleavages to undermine me by using fellow Nigerians to gain access to high
Nigerian officials to overrule my positions.
A practical illustration
of this multiple-sum approach to Nigeria on the issue of diplomatic postings is
illuminating. Having a large Moslem population enables Nigeria to pick and post
eminent and capable Moslems as Ambassadors to Moslem countries. Having a large
Christian population, enables Nigeria to pick and post eminent and capable
Christians to Christian countries. But a country shows infantile diplomacy when
it decides to post a Christian to Pakistan or Saudi Arabia and a Moslem to
Spain or the Vatican unless that country is only uni-faith. Influential and
result-oriented diplomacy depends not just on aide memoirs and formal meetings but
also on the type of informal contacts that worshipping together, and meeting at
entertainment functions facilitate. But in Nigeria, where it is a zero-sum
vision that predominate, posting an Ambassador who is Moslem toSaudi Arabia and
posting an Ambassador who is Christian to Italy are perceived as gains or
losses depending on which side of the divide you are on.
FOREIGNERS VS NIGERIANS
Only in Nigeria do we
prefer Non-Nigerians to fellow Nigerians. This shows up in employment
practices, in the choice of business partners and even on security
partnerships, such as foreign instigation of military coup d’etats.
In order to cement the
bond that binds us and create a genuine feeling of inclusiveness, I had in a
lecture delivered on 14 March 2013 under the auspices of the Niger State
Government advocated the following[29]
·
No federal office holder
should have an ADC, Press Secretary, Special Assistants or Chief of Staff from
his own zone.
·
In each state Assembly,
10% of the seats should be reserved for non-indigenes.
·
In each state cabinet, at
least two cabinet posts must be reserved for non-indigenes.
·
Federal Ministries should
be graded in terms of strategic importance and appointment of Ministers should
be such that all zones are represented in each grade.
As the Director-General of
the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs from 1975 to 1983, and as
Minister of External Affairs from August 1985 to December 1988, I practiced
what I advocated.
Another behavioural
aberration is the desecration of state offices by occupants who are so patently
unfit and unqualified for such offices. How in the world would political
parties sponsor for gubernatorial or presidential offices, people who have no
political or career track record, no record of achievements, whispers of
questionable reputation in the 21st century and with the complexity
of governance to confront? If we don’t take ourselves seriously, why should the
rest of the world take us seriously?Professor Ayo Olukotun put it more
pungently:[30]
“Today, in a shockinglowering of the bar of public office, most politicians are
educatedilliterates, several of them with forged or doctored certificates; do
notread any books or engage in intellectual activity at any serious level”
I felt so diminished
recently when the British Prime Minister, May, stood before the United Nations General
Assembly (the whole world and with our President in the audience) and said:[31] “We
are also using our aid budget to create a dedicated fund focused on high risk
countries where we know victims are regularly trafficked to the UK.And
yesterday, I committed the first £5 million from this fund to work in Nigeria
to reduce the vulnerability of potential victims and step up the fight against
those who seek to profit from this crime” Apart from the fact that most of this
money will be spent on British goods and personnel, and debited to Nigeria,
there are over 100 Nigerians who could singly or together put down £5m. Only in
Nigeria would we usher into the Villa foreign businessmen whose capital export
from Nigeria outweighs their investments, whose sole business is importation of
tooth paste or bottled water or tomato paste or baby milk. etc.
An adjunct of this is to
avoid the pitfall of self-denigration. You are what you say you are. I have
visited countries where the levels of poverty are mind boggling. But their
Presidents don’t go around the world proclaiming their poverty. Donald Trump
has spent the past one year revealing the ugly underbelly of the United States.
No President of the United States will go around the world revealing that ugly
under belly. We have a successful Technical Aid Corps Scheme, proclaim it as
Dubai advertises its on aid scheme on CNN, BBC and AL-JESIRAH. We have a Nigerian
from Sokoto who is a world renowned designer with General Motors and a Nigerian
who is the Deputy National Security Adviser in the White House.
Here is another example: Dr.
Olurotimi John Badero is a Specialist Consultant in Internal medicine, Nephrology
and Hypertension, Interventional Nephrology and Endovascular Access,
Cardiovascular Medicine, Nuclear Cardiology, Invasive and Interventional
Cardiology; and also Peripheral Vascular Intervention. They are our best faces.
Should Nigeria accept my proposal
for a nuclear option, I hope it will be regarded as a special enclave project,
manned by the brightest and the best and free from bureaucratic cobwebs.
Another factor is the
misapplication of resources which I have already dealt with ad nauseum.You also
have the reckless misapplication of resources in building of unneeded and
useless airports that are unutilized most of the year. On 15th September 2016,
your Chancellor, His Eminence, AlhajiSa’aadAbubakar, Sultan of Sokoto, at the
Convocation of the National Post-graduate Medical College of Nigeria drew the
attention of the audience to a Governor who spent N28billion building an
airport when there was no functioning medical facility in the state. There are
other Governors who have built or are building airports which are only 15mins
flight time from other nearby airports and yet have not paid salaries for
months or pension for years. Not to be ignored is the competition to acquire
private jet planes for the sole use of the Governors, with some acquiring
multiple planes. Indicative of the level of corruption is the the annual
outflow of illicit funds from Nigeria with Nigeria losing figures such as
$26billion in 2009 and $28billion in 2013.
All of these while Nigeria
is faced with infrastructural decay and all kinds of socio-economic challenges.
Hence the Nigerian position of 152 out of 188 on Human Development Index. This
has not gone unnoticed by the international community.
CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENT AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONDITIONAL LOANS
An aspect of the Nigerian
financial peculiar mess is Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, the most
illiterate provision, which provides that all money collected by Nigeria shall
be deposited in a central pool and then distributed to the three tiers of government.
There was no provision made for savings. Compare the Nigerian experience with
the Norwegian experience which set up a Government Pension Fund Globalinto
which 100%of the government’s revenue from royalties and dividends are paid. In
any one year, no more than 4% is allowed to be drawn from the account. No
President has found it fit to seek a Constitutional amendment to rectify this
situation. Blaming the Governors [32]
or past administrations is misapplied demonization. The fault is in the
constitution. My proposal is for a Constitutional amendment embodying the
Norwegian model. To take account of the Nigerian peculiar federalism, the
amendment should include a provision that withdrawals from the account should
not be before 25 years and only by a unanimous decision of the National
Economic Council.
Some have suggested that
irrespective of the constitutional lacuna, each of the three tiers of
government should have embarked on voluntary savings. But in a situation where
there is no effective institutional control over the Executive, where it is not
the party that controls the government but the other way around, what is the
guarantee that savings by one regime would not be squandered by a successor
regime?
In the interim, the
Federal Government should take advantage of the silver lining on this economic
mess to effect some temporary repairs. The Federal Government is now in the
business of giving giant bailout funds to rescue states from bankruptcy. Yet
the Government is missing the opportunity to use the loans to instill some
measure of fiscal discipline on the states. Before any more bailout funds are
disbursed, states should sign on to some conditionalitiessuch as cabinet
members/special assistants/special advisers must not exceed a limited number,
no white elephant projects such as airports, resuscitation of abandoned
projects etc.
We must also address the
issue of structural instability.At independence, we inherited a stable Federal
structure based on a tripod of three regions. This structure was characterized
by positive competitiveness. It was not accidental that each region installed a
regional Radio/TV system, a marketing Board system, a free primary education
system (in the case of the North, students were even paid to go to school.) In
other words, no region wanted to be left behind in producing an educated
citizenry. Each region built a University.
All regions invested in industrial estates. No region wanted to be left
behind. Each region monitored developments in other regions with a view to replicating
them.
Then came the declaration
of emergency in the Western Region in 1962, which led to the emergence of a
regional government that was dependent, not on the will of the people but on
the power of the Federal Government. I need not dwell on the disasters that
followed---the violence and paralysis in the Western region, the two 1966 coups
detat, the civil wars and the various
state creation that dominated this period. A Swahili proverb states that you
don’t have to learn how to fall into a ditch. Just take the first step off the
edge and all the other steps would follow. The important thing to note is that
from positive competitive federalism of pre 1962, we now have negative
competitive federalism characterised by a competition among state governments
as to which government will have the most reckless financial profiles.
CONNECTING THE BLACK NEXUS
Finally, we have to revert
to the issue of the Black Diasporic nexus. You will recall that much earlier on
in this lecture, I had explored the connection between the concept of
exceptionalism thus: “It is absolutely critical and crucial to bear in mind
that of significance is the fact that critical to the concept of exceptionalism
is the issue of the purpose of the policies designed to actualize the exceptionalism.
The purpose is usually designed to promote dominance internationally. Rome bred
a Roman Empire, Britain, Spain, Portugal and France, each bred an empire,
Russia bred an empire under the cloak of a worker’s revolution and was clever
enough to mask it by calling it a Soviet Union.”
But Nigeria has made no
such claim to dominance, or irredentism. Nigerian response to the Black
aspirations has been cultural rather than political.On official level, Nigeria
sought to concretise its nexus with the world Black Community by announcing the
"establishment of a Museum of Black and African Arts and
Civilisation...the Nigerian Federal Government pledges further its willingness
to subscribe to any such efforts based in institutions of higher learning or outside,
in the belief that a proliferation of Centres of African Studies all over the
world, is one of the firm guarantees that a break-through will be made in
giving a sound basis for what we are trying to achieve in FESTAC '77".
But the fact is the
cultural angle is begging the question. No one is denying that Nigeria or
Africa has a culture, a culture of stamping feet, wiggling waist and bottom,
talking drum and kakaki trumpets. I am not saying that is all African culture
is. We now have African literature which have earned several Nobel Literature
Prizes, African paintings and ancient and modern sculptures. But what Nigerian
governments focus on is the stamping feet and wiggling waists.That is not part
of the existentialism that the Diasporic Blacks are demanding from Nigeria.
They are demanding the evolution of a modern powerful state.
The Blacks in the diaspora
who have been enervating agents driving the Nigerian exceptionalism dream have
made no demands of employment or foreign assistance. A clue to their expectation
is embedded in Obama’s criticism of Nigeria when he said “ Nigeria has clearly
failed to be the beacon of hope for other African nations.” That is it. Even
though Obama limited his reference term to Africa, whatthe Blacks in Diaspora
are looking for is a Black Star in the firmament, an effervescent illumination
representing a Black nation, a Black nation that has progressed from “The Third
World To (beyond) The First World”[33].
This is what makes Nigerian exceptionalism unique. The external beneficiaries
are not asking for anything for themselves. They are just asking Nigeria to be
successful.
Let me for the purpose of
emphasis make reference back to EdemKodjo, a normally urbane diplomat, a former
Secretary-General of the Organisation of AfricanUnity and a former Prime
Minister of Togo, who could not have been more direct when he wrote "...I
am getting furious that Nigeria is not totally assuming the role which should
be hers ever since...The country must first of all overcome her own problems to
assume a sound management of her resources, effect national consensus to help
the consolidation of the country by the Central Government before turning to
the external world... Nigeria is too much undermined by centrifugal forces,
selfish interests and religious upheavals. All these are set-backs to this
great country and to the whole Africa."[34]
It is within this context that in the February 2005 lecture at the Centre for
Black and African Arts and Civilisation, I referred to Nigeria as “The
Blackman’s Burden”.
EdemKodjo and Nzeogwu,
quoted above, struck at the core of the BLACKMAN'S BURDEN argument. To most
Nigerians, Nigeria through its aid programme is already carrying the Blackman's
burden. But my position which is shared with those who have been associated
with the exceptionalist school is that in fact it is Nigeria that is letting
down the Black race by not achieving all aspects of its manifest destiny.
Let us stop boasting about
having the largest Black population in the world. In any case, we had nothing
to do with that. That credit belonged to Frederick Lugard. We can claim some
credit in the sense that we have shamed the Cassandras by keeping the House
from falling.[35]
It is what we do with this Black population, and our various assets that will
determine the judgement of history as regards whether we fulfil our manifest
destiny or not.
[2] Ibid
[3]Law Professors Forum….14 September 2016
[4]Complete &Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
[5], Democracy in America (Foreword: on American Exceptionalism;
Symposium on Treaties, Enforcement, and U.S. Sovereignty, Stanford Law Review,
May 1, 2003, Pg. 1479) (( Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Vintage
Books, 1945) (de Tocqueville, Alexis.
Democracy in America (1840), part 2, page 36:
[6] Kipling, Rudyard. 1899. The White Man's Burden. Published
simultaneously in The Times, London, and McClure's Magazine (U.S.) 12 February
1899
[7]It is a tribute to Kwame Nkrumah that two
seminal books on Leaders both include
Kwame Nkrumah: LivresGroupe (ed) Nationaliste: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Heinrich
Friedrich Karl vom Stein, Thomas Sankara, Kwame Nkrumah…. Youssef Karam (Oct.
2012) and Ivan Van Sertima (ed) Great Black Leaders: ancient and modern (1988)
[8]Editorial, “ill-timed visit”, Daily Service, 8 April 1958
[9] Daily Times, 17 June 1960
[10](John F. Kennedy: “Statement by Senator John F. Kennedy on Nigeria
Independence,” September 22, 1960. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T.
Woolley, The American Presidency Project.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=74155)
[11](see Robert B. Rakove, Kennedy, Johnson and the Non-Aligned World,
2013, New York: Cambridge University Press).
[12]Ibid.
[13]See J. Wayas “Nigeria’s Leadership Role in
Africa”(London, Macmillan Press Ltd…..); OlayiwolaAbegunrin, NIGERIAN FOREIGN POLICY UNDER MILITARY
RULE, 1966-1999 (Greenwood Publishing Group) especially p.160 where a
former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalam was quoted saying “we are the hope of the
Black nations…”; Law C Fejokwu, NIGERIA, A VIABLE BLACK POWER , (Polcom
Ltd 1996)
[14]data.world Bank.org.
[15]Preface in Bolaji Akinyemi, Essays on International Politics: Foreign and Domestic Affairs,
(Nigeria: Macmillan 2002) p.x
[16] former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, October 22 & 23, 2015, www.herald.ng/nigeria-and-the-future-of-the-black-world-walter-carrington/
[17]http://www.okadabooks.com/book/about/nzeogwu/7820
[18] See 201 AAC3621810 Examining the geopolitics of aid in
education: A comparison of the United States Peace Corps and the Nigeria
Technical Aid Corps in Namibia Webb,
Tamara Sheree Teachers College,
Columbia University Ed.D. 2014
[19]He first used it in a lecture at the Nigerian
Institute of International Affairs, NIGER-SAKI IN 1981.
[20] .”GDP(Gross Domestic product) is the value of all goods and
services produced in a country in one year. It indicates the size of a given
country’s economy.The comparison to GDP is a rough indicator of the proportion
of national resources used for military activities, and therefore of the
economic burden imposed on the national economy” as per the GFP
[21]quoted in Tunde Decker, Matrix
of Inherited Identity, A Historical Exploration of the Underdog Phenomenon in
Nigeria’s Relationship Strategies, 1960-2011, (2016, University Press PLC,
Ibadan p.5)
[22]https://talkpoverty.org/basics/
[23]http://www.economist.com/node/465047
[24]Humphrey Orjiako, Nigeria: The Forsaken Road to Nationhood and Development, (Rasmed
Publications Limited, Ibadan, 2016),p.xviii:
[25]Vanguard, September 28, 2016 p.5
[26]
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/06/africa/nigeria-nasrda-space-astronaut/
[27]NIIA
LECTURE SERIES NO 33, p.19
[28]P.136
[29] THE ONE-DAY NATIONAL SEMINAR ON CORRUPTION HOSTED BY THE GOVERNMENT
OF NIGER STATE MINNA, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA
14 MARCH 2013
[30]http://punchng.com/nigeria-56-adversity-opportunity
[31]https://www/government/speeches/theresa-mays-speech-to-the-un-general-assembly
[32]Vanguard, September 28, 2016, p.2
[33]An adaptation of Lee KuanYew From Third World to First: The Singapore Story - 1965-2000,https://www.amazon.com
[34] See Akinyemi, ibid.
[35] Karl Meier, This House Has Fallen: Midnight in Nigeria, Public
Affairs, 2000
Photo: Courtesy The News
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