In a previous piece, we focused on the plethora of tributes that attended the 80th birthday of the Nigerian-Scholar Diplomat; Professor Bolaji Aknyemi. However, we went beyond the tributes to contend that while Akinyemi dared Nigeria to gaze at the stars, we were still really in the gutter. This is because our domestic variables were such that, in substantive terms, we could not pursue a dynamic and new foreign policy. However, we were not deterred. After all foreign policy is about substance and style. Clearly, we possessed the latter, while we lacked the former. It was as if we were sleep-walking.
This is where, I believe that the likes of Akinyemi, missed the boat. But there is the need to enter a caveat here. As Foreign Minister and DG NIIA, it was not his primary responsibility to reset our domestic variables. There were those manning the shop on the domestic front. Their responsibility was to put in place structural indices which would have served as a filip to our foreign policy. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Perhaps the most obvious of this remission was how we ran our oil industry. In terms of revenues, we were there. But unfortunately and to date, we lack the capacity to run this important industry.
We must also ask ourselves hard and frank questions as regards why, this once promising nation, fell into hard times in the self-same area of foreign policy
Looking back, there was something of a tragic inevitability to what is being said here. This is because; a Scholar like Terry Lynn Karl has argued that the structures which receive oil in any social formation will determine the ensuing outcomes. In the specific case of Nigeria, we were just emerging from colonial rule when oil was discovered.
Moreover the new hegemon, Washington was hovering around and as such, the new Nation virtually had no chance. This was why we should have kept our expectations in check. Still, there were voices of restraint that could have served as a caution on our unbridled enthusiasm in foreign policy. But this was not to be.
The suspicion here is that the factor of oil revenues coupled with the military contributed to our dismal outcome. Money is such a seductive commodity. It has a way of fuelling ambitions. Even at the personal level, this happens. And same goes for a country. This is why there is a word like parvenu or if you like arriviste. Even then, it is also simplistic to isolate the military for blame.
Rather, we must fall back on the arguments of Ken Saro Wiwa. According to him, the military is not solely responsible for our woes. He contended that we must also take on board what he called those who colluded with the military brass. These include Academics, Bureaucrats, Journalists and Businessmen.
Read also: Bolaji Akinyemi: The dream and the nightmare (1)
And today, we are all seeing the consequences of our ignorance and wrong choices. The ultimate is this; for a country to talk tough in world Affairs, there must be a solid domestic base in terms of critical variables like power, petrochemicals and the steel industry. Perhaps the most obvious one is that Nigeria is contending with regression in the comity of nations. we can no longer posture as we used to. South Africa is now free. But today anybody can see the difference between these two social formations.
South Africa is so industrialized that her companies currently dominate Nigeria. MTN, Chicken Republic, Shoprite and the rest of that crowd. The converse is not happening. Rather, what we have is a situation in which various shades of our human capacity can be found in post-apartheid South Africa.
For instance, on every University Campus in South Africa, a Nigerian Professor is plying his trade. Whereas, you do not find South African Professors here. This is because of the obvious reason that our school system does not pass muster. It is relevant to state here that, since the demise of apartheid, successive Nobel laureates have emerged from that country.
Incidentally, even at the height of our moral crusade against apartheid, there were voices to the effect that social justice was also lacking in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. And that indeed the end of apartheid will show up the underbelly of the Nigerian State.
And this is precisely what has happened-the disrobing of the Nigerian State. Meanwhile, searing dimensions of the regression can also be seen in the fact that there is a scramble by our youths to exit from Nigeria. The children of the elite are wanting out to places like Canada, the UK and the U.S. Those who cannot, are busy taking their chances across the Sahara desert. Meanwhile, as things stand, medical tourism is the order of the day among the various members of our elite.
The nightmare gets deepened by one or two features that also try the soul. Very recently, Turkey summoned us along with the rest of Africa to a summit in that country. That was, to say the least, a cheeky invitation, which speaks clearly to our diminished status in world affairs. Meanwhile, in the West African sub-region, which in reality is our backyard, we have been reduced to mere bystanders concerning the subsisting and evolving realities.
In Mali, Paris has withdrawn its troops, and they are being replaced by those from Russia. Incidentally, and given his intelligence, Akinyemi, the birthday boy must be acutely conscious of these various shades of a nightmare, which continue to define or better still undefine Nigeria in contemporary times
So what happened to the dream which has since become a nightmare. Is it possible for us to get our mojo back? So while, we justifiably celebrate Akinyemi, one of our great minds in foreign policy, we must also ask ourselves hard and frank questions as regards why, this once promising nation, fell into hard times in the self-same area of foreign policy and other critical areas of our national life.
Still, Professor Bolaji Akinwande Akinyemi, Happy Birthday. Incidentally, his lot is not unique. Here and there, we have successful individuals in our Country. But such success, do not rub off in any way on Nigeria itself. There must be something wrong then. Therefore, it is time to reappraise ourselves. This is to ensure that there is a fit between individual accomplishments and national success.
