So, it all started when a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, and a former Director with Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Prof. Robert Rotberg made public their takes over Nigeria and the sate of insecurity in the country.
Campbell and Rotberg co authored an article titled, ‘The Giant of Africa is Failing’ which was published in the May/June edition of ‘Foreign Affairs magazine, where they shared their takes about Nigeria.
Meet: John Campbell and Robert I. Rotberg according to the article the duo said it is time for the United States to acknowledge that Nigeria is a failed state in light of the many security threats plaguing the country.
They both shared in opinion and analysis that it is left for the country(Nigeria) to save itself stating that America can only do its best to help.
“Regional quasi-police forces and militias—generally related to state governments however not often formally sanctioned—train de facto authority in some areas. However in lots of others, the federal authorities have successfully ceded management to militants and criminals,” the article read.
The authors of the article maintained that most failed states in Africa such the Central African Republic, Somalia, and South Sudan are small or marginal but Nigeria, in contrast, boasts a rising inhabitants of over 200 million people and could be the third-largest country on earth by 2050.
Campbell and Rotberg said happenings in Nigeria also affect other areas of Africa which shows Nigeria’s importance.
They said even though Nigeria still has some signs of being viable, its structure which relies largely on oil receipts, undermines growth as well as deep-rooted corruption.
“However the Nigerian state has long failed to supply its residents with social companies and Nigerian politics is basically an elite sport disassociated from governance.
“The Federal Government doesn’t or cannot tax the true wealth of the nation, stays too depending on income from oil and gasoline, and lurches from one fiscal disaster to a different. Corruption is structural, too, casting almost everybody as each perpetrator and sufferer,” the article read.
They argued that the US ought to assist the push for a formidable Nigerian-led state reconstruction effort.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Presidency fired back in what could best be described as war of word and crossfire intonation in its response to the published article about the country.
It said the article on Nigeria published by the Foreign Affairs (Magazine) titled, ‘The Giant of Africa is Failing’ is unfair and distorted opinion.
Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, made the condemnation in a statement in Abuja on Thursday while reacting to the article.
In a letter addressed to the publishers of the magazine, the presidential aide frowned at the way and manner facts were being bent to support distorted opinions.
The letter read in part: “The latest article on Nigeria in Foreign Affairs titled ‘The Giant of Africa is Failing’ is unfair both to a magazine with such an esteemed pedigree and to its readers.
“Ambassador Campbell has been predicting the collapse of Nigeria for several years. He is of course entitled to his opinions, even where events consistently prove him wrong.
“But facts should not be bent to support distorted opinions.
“Let me give you one example.
“The authors write:
‘At an April meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Buhari reportedly requested that the headquarters of the U.S. Africa Command be moved from Germany to Nigeria so that it would be closer to the fight against jihadi groups in the country’s north.’
“President Buhari did not request that AFRICOM move to Nigeria. The transcript of the call with Secretary Blinken is available on the State Department’s own website.
“It’s not just a question of the invented addition of ‘to Nigeria’ with regard to AFRICOM. It sums up a piece that attempts – subtly but revealingly – to shift facts to suit an argument.’’
According to Shehu, Nigeria faces multiple challenges, not least of which is the dissemination of fake news and prejudiced opinion.
He said: “This is something we have come to expect from partisan blogs and politically motivated lobbies.
“It is still a surprise, and a disappointment, to see them joined by Foreign Affairs.’’
