In case you did not know, Washington likes ceremonies but the one President Muhammadu Buhari was treated to this week in his state visit to the United States was one of a kind. Not since Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa’s July 1961 visit has a Nigerian leader been so treated and accorded first class United States Government hospitality. So, after those beautiful pictures, seemingly productive meetings, feel-good news reports, what is next?
We would have to start with the agenda of the engagements. Top on that list is the war on terrorism. President Buhari already got the commitment of the US Government and the G7 at the Germany session of the group just after his inauguration. Whatever commitments President Obama made on Monday was only a reiteration of what the Group of seven advanced countries already promised. We have been here before; China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the likes made similar promises and commitments in the wake of the abduction of the Chibok girls. Nigeria did pettily cancel a US military training for its officers at the trough of what was left of the US-Nigeria relations under the ill-fated Jonathan government but the other countries made just as much commitments. As we speak, nothing substantive has come off that. There is an argument for how the previous government must have hampered whatever support promised by these countries but that government has since been booted out and the problems remain. This is the more reason why the recent commitments of the US Government must be immediately backed up with real progressive movement. Nigerians want to see immediate and effective progress on the rescue mission of the Chibok girls. That in itself is apart from the overall mission to rid the northeast of Nigeria of the menace of terrorism. No same person expects Boko Haram to be wiped off in days but a major onslaught should help provide some much needed respite. The terrorists have been particularly bloodier since the end of May. Something needs to happen on that front urgently.
President Buhari In a meeting with Pres Obama
On trade, things could not be worse. According to census.gov, the numbers are declining year on year and the difference between the first five months of 2015 versus those of 2014 already shows a sharp decline. In January 2014, the volume of trade was $752.1 m ($369.9m in exports and$382.2m in imports) but by January 2015, the numbers had suffered massively with a total of $376.1 m ($230.8min exports and $145.3m in imports). The trend followed year-on-year with February as the 2014 numbers indicated a total of$783.6m ($518.2m in exports and $265.4m in imports) against the mediocre February 2015 numbers; a total trade volume of $386.6m, with $326.7m in exports and $59.9m in imports. March 2014 had a total trade volume of $1.09bn with $456.1m in exports and $634.8m in imports. Compared to March 2015, you’d see the trend continue: total trade volume $381.1m, with $286.5m of that in exports and $94.6m in imports. April 2014 numbers recorded $1.3b in total trade volume with $644.9m in exports and $656.1m in imports. The declining trade volume between both countries showed again with April 2015 having a total trade volume of $428.4m with $250.2m in exports and $178.2m in imports. May 2014 had $1.2bn with $715.4m in exports and $505.4m in imports. May 2015 could not match that figure as it turned over $372.6m in total trade volume with $235.6m recorded for exports and $137m for imports. You need not be a mathematician to see something is happening here: Trade relations between the US and Nigeria are suffering a major decline. If not arrested, we could be talking about even more appalling numbers for 2016. Whatever rhetoric anyone comes up with on the US-Nigeria trade relations, the numbers are clear enough; something has gone wrong and it needs to be fixed.
The fixing is what Buhari’s Washington trip has started but beyond what happens in Washington, Nigeria needs the residual effects of the engagements. The one advantage of being hosted in the US instead of hosting the US President is that the scope of engagement of the Nigerian government is wider. There are people that’d not travel with the US delegation that’d be available for meetings in Washington, not to mention the fact that there is a limit to how many people that can travel with the President. So, it does help that Nigeria’s government made the trip. Like the government-to-government end, the trade and commercial side of this engagement cannot be overemphasised. We need assistance in fighting terrorism but we also need to expand the frontiers of trade to improve our earnings as a country.
On corruption and the recovery of looted funds, the assistance could not have come at a better time and to a better leader; President Buhari is desperate to nip corruption in the bud and that right from the beginning of his administration. The recovery of looted funds featured greatly in the Washington engagements and Nigerians can expect some immediate results on that front. Looters need not keep their money in the US to have Washington know about it; the US Government has access to wires that move around the world beyond a certain amount. In certain cases, even if such financial transfers are below the standard for tracking, they are open to tracking once they are done in certain sequences. These are measures put in place to track the flow of money for sponsors of international terrorism. But the wires do not go blind when they see transfers that are not related to terrorism; those in charge simply file such transfers under different headings. If there was one thing President Jonathan was right about, it was in his saying “America will know” if any money had been stolen. Hate them or love them, they truly would know and Nigeria is now counting on them to tell.
The fight against corruption would also include technical support for Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission got a lot of technical support from the US in its early days and that sort of support could prove useful at a time like this.
It is not all about Nigeria taking though, this could be a symbiotic relationship if the country gets its acts right. The US needs us to help maintain peace and order on the continent; to at least keep our end of the continent, West Africa, in peace. To ensure the continued thriving of fundamental human rights, the rule of law and the prosperity of the West African sub-region. They know that a Nigeria that moves forward will drag the rest of the continent along. Nigeria has a lot to offer the world like President Obama himself said on Monday but the world will not wait for Nigeria. This country must get itself together and truly begin to live in the reality of its purpose; a nation destined by God to lead other nations. There is nothing wrong with getting help to stand up; what matters is to stay responsible to what we must do as a nation to realise our vision and dreams. On this one, the US is certainly a friend as long as we are not looking at taking fish from them; this relationship should strictly be about us learning to fish better.
Omojuwa is a public speaker, social media entrepreneur, political commentator, and is the Chief Strategist on www.omojuwa.com
This piece first appeared on www.punchng.com
