Ignatius Chukwuemeka Olisaemeka, Nigeria’s former minister of Foreign Affairs, has condemned the rush with which Nigeria and other African countries attend foreign summits organised by single countries in Europe, America and Asia, describing it as “disgustingly humiliating”.
The former minister made the observation while giving his lecture on the theme ‘ Nigerian Foreign Policy: Evolution, Trends and Prospects since Independence,’ organised by the Association of Retired Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN) and chaired by Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former head of state, held in Abuja on Tuesday.
The former Nigerian ambassador to Israel said Nigeria and Africa must discontinue holding such undignified summits as ‘ Franco-africa’, ‘Sino-africa’, ‘Africa-japan’, ‘Africa-turkey’, ‘ India-africa’ rounds of meetings.
The minister was apparently reacting to a plethora of summits such as Forum for China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD), Russia-africa Summit that just ended in Sochi, among others.
He warned that if the continent does not desist from such unproductive meetings, soon it would, with utmost respect, be ‘Iceland-africa’ summit.
“The idea of fifty- four (54) African Heads of State trooping, cap in hand, to meet with one counterpart European or Asian Head of State, undermines the strategic importance of Africa in global politics, and not by any means flattering to the image of the African continent and its leaders. Indeed, it is disgustingly humiliating,” he said.
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He however, lamented that the vulnerable economic situation of most African countries exposes them to such exploitation even as he called on the continent to adopt a more effective way to boost their economies.
The former envoy also noted that Nigeria’s Foreign Policy is too “foreign’’ and far too unduly externally focused and not sufficiently internally directed, which he attributed to Nigeria’s desperate search for identity and international recognition.
“We are, therefore, inclined to see foreign policy as a rather detached and abstract exercise, not sufficiently related to tangible, concrete, internal domestic needs and objectives,” he said.
He also averred that Nigeria is yet to conceive foreign policy as an instrument of national development. “Our Foreign Policy has not sufficiently, to the degree desirable, served core internal needs, as it should or ought to have been doing. The fault lies not only in the lack of sufficient awareness of the full potential of foreign policy as an instrument for national development, but more in the absence of an overarching policy to attain these goals through diplomacy and foreign policy engagements,” he said.
He also bemoaned that foreign policy has not been consciously used as instrument for forging and promoting national unity, “hence our entrenched ethnic and religious proclivities.”
He also advised that Nigeria should widen its policy of naturalisation in order to narrow the bridge of ethnic and religious differences by enhancing a healthy competition with other nationalities.
The former diplomat urged the Nigerian Government to be cautious of its approach with China, saying, “While we appreciate the fact that they are reaching out to Africa with a new approach to development, we must bear in mind the adage that says ‘once bitten twice shy’.
“It is therefore, our responsibility to engage China with clearly outlined interests and appropriate strategies for advancing and achieving them. We cannot afford to have Africa ensnared in another round of imperialism,” he warned.
In his remarks, Abubakar praised the meritorious service Olisaemeka rendered to the nation, adding that the event was very important and timely especially when development at the global stage tasks Nigeria’s diplomacy.
President of ARCAN, Oladapo Fofowora, lamented that inadequate funding has contributed to the general decline of the Nigeria’s foreign policy, which has been widely described as ‘tepid.’
