Some time ago, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s media adviser, Paul Nwabuikwu issued a statement in which he alleged that some “powerful and well-connected forces” in Nigeria were working hard, manufacturing controversies, and “peddling outright lies” to sabotage Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s chances for the WTO top job.
Paul Nwabuikwu could not have issued that statement without Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s approval.
It is shocking that some people would take as their own personal priority and task, the sabotaging of a compatriot whose elevation and success would rub off positively on Nigeria and the continent. Nigerians complain about many issues in the country, but they often overlook the fact that there are many sado-masochists in this country, complete sadists who are perpetually seeking the downfall of others.
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Such persons do so for a variety of reasons: their own Luciferian complex, mischief, ethnic, or religious reasons or plain wickedness to the other. Mental health preservation should become a national priority to mitigate the damage that these victims of the Lucifer Effect do to the Nigerian national psyche.
The sabotage that Nwabuikwu referred to has to do with an attempt to link Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The claim is that she and IPOB share the same PR Consultants, Mercury LLC in the United States. Mercury LLC is a high-profile public affairs firm in Washington DC. Although it is not impossible that the agency may have done some work for IPOB, but to take a leap from that and use it to blackmail Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala does not make sense at all.
Certain persons may disagree with the methods of IPOB and the style of its leadership, but self-determination is certainly not a crime.
Even if the matter of Biafra were to be subjected to a referendum tomorrow or any time in the future, it would be difficult for IPOB to get enough votes to pull the South East out of Nigeria.
Igbos and the rest of Nigeria are so enmeshed, so intertwined, so umbilically linked that a separation 1967-style as proposed may be more difficult today. In the same manner, those calling for an Oduduwa Republic can also agree that it would not be an easy task.
Where the challenge lies is: How to finally turn Nigeria into a nation-state where all groups and stakeholders can share a sense of belonging, informed by the principles of equity, justice, and fairness? Nigeria as it is, is an unbalanced nation-state and a theatre of injustice and inequities. These are the fault lines that promote and fuel the opportunistic resort to primordial sentiments and tactics.
Okonjo-Iweala is not a member of IPOB. And Mercury LLC have officially put out a statement that they are not involved in her WTO campaign. She has also publicly declared that she cannot even afford a PR agency. To project Nigeria’s local politics unto the canvas of her bid for the WTO top job is yet another ugly manifestation of the Nigerian factor.
Who the hell is behind this? Her media adviser did not say.
There may be need in the future to name and shame those persons who stand in the way of Nigeria’s interest on the global stage.
Okonjo-Iweala can be considered the best person for the job because Europe which has more or less dominated the position should not be allowed to take it again.
Many African leaders, and particularly the ECOWAS, have expressed support for Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, but only Africa has three candidates in the contest! Nigeria’s foreign affairs is guided by the principle that Africa is the centre-piece of the country’s foreign policy process. Accordingly, Nigeria has done so much for Africa, but whenever Nigeria’s interest is involved, other African countries are ever so eager to sabotage Nigeria and the interest of its citizens be it at multilateral, bilateral, or citizen-to-citizen levels.
Perhaps the time has come for the Father Christmas character of Nigeria’s foreign policy process to be reviewed. Of what use is the country’s benevolence to other African nations if Nigeria can not pull it’s weight and exert influence in return for the enormous goodwill Nigeria has invested?
It is safe, however, to assume that the treatment we receive outside is a measure of how we treat ourselves shabbily within. Of all the eight candidates vying for the position of WTO Director-General, only Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has had cause to protest that she is being sabotaged by some of her “powerful and well-connected” compatriots.
Nigerians need to get their acts together. To go back to the WTO matter, the selection process has become far more competitive than it was in June. Nigeria still has a chance to stand up for its candidate because Nigeria deserves the position and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is an excellent choice.
THE EASTERN UPDATES
