The arrival last week, in the United States, of a high-powered Nigerian government delegation somewhat made me recall a popular movie “Coming to America” in the late 1980s. Afro American actor Eddy Murphy plays the principal character, a fabulously rich prince from an African kingdom, who decides to taste life in America. He arrives pretending to be poor and looking for a job. The power of the film lies in its huge dose of humour that immediately grabs the viewer’s attention, pulling him through the action. Unlike the film’s hero, though, the Nigerian delegation wasn’t in Washington, DC. to catch some fun. It was there for serious business.
The delegation, led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, had hastily left on this “Mission Impossible”, it appears. A week earlier, American President Donald Trump had declared Nigeria a “Country Of Particular Concern”, based on reports that said Christians in the country were victims of genocide, carried out by Islamist and criminal groups. Trump said he was concerned because the Nigerian government wasn’t doing anything to stop the “genocidal killings of Christians.” Few days later, he followed up with a declaration to unilaterally intervene to save Nigerian Christians. It was this threat of a military expedition that sent the Ribadu delegation to Washington to try to appease Trump. And while it was still on its way, Congress gave the president an overwhelming endorsement of his Nigeria plan. That approval made the Nigerian delegation’s task doubly awkward.
Nigerian presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said on Monday that the Nigerian emissary was heard by “senior officials” of the US Congress, the State Department, the White House Faith Office, National Security Council and Department of War. Those officials were not named. Onanuga didn’t say if the Nigerians managed to see Trump, the warmonger himself. Apparently, they didn’t. No surprise. He said the discussions with American officials would “help strengthen security partnerships” between Nigeria and the United States. One outcome he was already sure of – the “opening of new avenues for cooperation to protect Nigerian citizens.” Onanuga said the delegation “refuted” the allegation of “Christian genocide”, stating that “the violent attacks affected families and communities across religious and ethnic lines.” According to him, the delegation “strongly rejected wrongful framing of the situation” because doing so would “only divide Nigerians and distort the realities on the ground.”
Another result of the engagements, according to Onanuga, was that “the United States Government affirmed its readiness to deepen security cooperation with Nigeria.” He said, “This includes enhanced intelligence support, expedited processing of defence equipment requests and the potential provision of excess defence articles, subject to availability, to reinforce ongoing operations against terrorists and violent extremist groups. The United States also expressed its willingness to extend complementary support, including humanitarian assistance, to affected populations in the Middle Belt and technical support to strengthen early warning mechanisms.” The Nigerian presidential spokesman stated that both countries “agreed to implement immediately a non-binding cooperation framework and establish a joint Working Group to ensure a unified and coordinated approach to the agreed areas of cooperation.” On its part, the Nigerian delegation, according to Onanuga, “affirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening civilian protection measures.”
The agreements, as Onanuga has called them, appear wide ranging but they say nothing about the status of that Trump threat to enter Nigeria, guns blazing with or without the Nigerian government’s approval. Does this silence suggest unilateral intervention is on hold for now? The two governments must clarify this vital point. Another loose end, what does “strengthening civilian protection measures” mean? To me, this is admission of failure. Trump alleged that the Nigerian government was complicit in the alleged genocide by not showing concern. Might the government be confirming this? These loose ends need tying up. As it is, the government has already lost the public’s confidence. The only way to restore this is for it to be seen to be engaging robustly the brigands. One good thing, though, is its admission that it needs outside help, whatever the source.
