Terence McCulley is United States (U.S.)
Ambassador to Nigeria. In an e-mail interview with Assistant Editor
(News) OLUKOREDE YISHAU, the envoy bares his mind on multi-lateral
issues.Excerpts:
Boko Haram challenge
I
think that Nigerian government faces significant challenges and that
requires a multi-faceted response. We have an ongoing dialogue with the
Nigerian government on this matter. Clearly, there is a significant
security threat that prevails across the North. It was previously
confined to Borno but we have seen attacks in Bauchi, Niger, Kano
Plateau and Kaduna. This kind of insurgency requires a response by the
security forces but it also requires a lot more, and I think the
Nigerian government does understand that. We believe the Nigerian
government needs to have a strategy which addresses these acts of
violence which reassures the Northern population there is a plan to
ensure their security. Our hope is the actions by the security forces
will target extremists and perpetrators of violence in a way that does
not inflict civilian casualties or damage properties and violate human
rights. It is incumbent upon government to react with a broad-based
strategy by addressing security as well as the questions of development
and poverty which feed underlying grievances that can promote acts of
violence.
Ministry of Northern Affairs
There
are also some who say that Boko Haram is comprised mostly of
non-Nigerian foreigners, and that the group is being funded by a handful
of resentful politicians nursing their wounds from the last election.
This would be deeply unfortunate if true, but I have not seen any
evidence to support either of these theories.
To
fix the Boko Haram problem, the government will have to develop a new
social compact with its Northern citizens. It will have to develop an
economic recovery strategy that complements its security strategy. It
will have to draw on the support of Northern governors, traditional
Hausa and Fulani leaders and local officials and organisations. The
Nigerian government should consider creating a Ministry of Northern
Affairs or a development commission similar to what it did in response
to the Niger Delta crisis.
Northern
populations are currently trapped between violent extremists on one
hand and heavy-handed government responses on the other. They need to
know that their President is going to extraordinary lengths to fix their
problems.
Achieving
this will not be easy. Although the problems are not the same, it has
taken the central government in Abuja nearly a decade to bring the
problems in the Niger Delta under some semblance of control. Resolving
the problems in Northern Nigeria will require the government to act more
swiftly and to make a strategic course correction. It will need to
adopt a comprehensive strategy, and remain disciplined and committed to
its implementation, especially at the state and local level where
accountability is low and corruption high.
Despite
the challenges that Nigeria faces with Boko Haram and other issues,
Nigeria is simply too important to be defined by its problems. Nigeria
must be defined by its promise and its enormous potential, as well as
the resourcefulness of its people.
Transparency, public funds
We
encourage the Nigerian Government to take steps to ensure greater
transparency in the use of funds and to prosecute public officials who
misuse public funds.
Petroleum subsidy
The
United States supports measures by the Nigerian Government to remove the
subsidy on gasoline. Further, we welcome the statements made by the
Nigerian Government in January regarding reforms in the energy sector,
in particular swift passage of the PIB (Petroleum Industry Bill).
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s bid for World Bank’s Presidency
We
supported an open, merit-based, and transparent process for the
President of the World Bank. The U.S. has played a major role, and has
been very supportive, of reforms in the World Bank, the IMF and other
international financial institutions to significantly increase the voice
and vote of the major emerging economies in those institutions.
U.S. assistance to Nigeria
As
Nigeria consolidates its democratic institutions and rebuilds its
economy, the United States stands ready to deploy its programmes and
resources in support of the country’s national priorities, from public
health to education, from food security to national security, and from
the battle to contain malaria to the daily struggles of the millions of
Nigerians living with HIV and AIDS.
Nigeria
is a country blessed with both abundant human and natural resources,
and the United States seeks partnership not dependency; we seek to build
capacity not undermine local initiative.
The
U.S. Government-funded Malaria Action Programme for States in Nigeria is
a major health initiative under President Obama, to mention just one
example. USAID will provide $82 million to fund this activity for five
years. The project will improve the health of women and children in
Nigeria by increasing the use of proven malaria prevention and treatment
services, and the use and accessibility of malaria products and
services. Malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in
Nigeria. Because it directly affects school attendance and workers’
productivity, malaria can impose a heavy burden on poor households. The
mosquito-borne illness causes over 100 million clinical cases, and is
responsible for nearly 300,000 deaths in children under the age of five,
as well as 11 percent of maternal mortality cases reported each year.
USAID
has an agric sector programme in Nigeria called MARKETS which is
intended to support farmers who are looking for technical assistance to
help improve crop yield - to help them understand better how they can
get their crops to the markets and sell at a good price. There is a
commercial sector that looks at improvement in yield of rice production,
for instance. We are working in Kano to support a state-of-the-art rice
mill which is producing rice for the local market. We are working in
Benue State on some other projects. I recently visited Oyo State and
while there visited two aquaculture enterprises in Ibadan which have
benefited from MARKETS technical assistance.
We
are committed to assisting Nigeria’s important efforts to facilitate
reform of the power generation and hydrocarbon sectors, including
funding technical assistance for renewable energy initiatives.
Assistance to military
We
have trained thousands of Nigerian peacekeepers through the ACOTA
programme in the last decade. We are also providing ongoing
anti-terrorist training, as well as sharing information and expertise,
and stand ready to assist as needed.
Proposal to scrap EFCC, ICPC
As we
understand it, the Federal Government may decide to consolidate
anti-corruption agencies, rather than eliminate the important functions
that they perform. Currently, as in the past, we provide training to
investigators and prosecutors. We are very supportive of the EFCC and
its work to fight corruption and financial crime in Nigeria and look
forward to working with Chairman Lamorde as he rebuilds the agency.
Taming corruption
With
sufficient political will and resources dedicated to the effort, Nigeria
can effectively control corruption as well as any other country.
How to attract American businesses to Nigeria
If
Nigeria can create an enabling environment for investment, including a
frontal assault on corruption and lack of transparency, I am convinced
you will find American businesses and investors eager to enter the
largest market in sub-Saharan Africa, creating jobs here in Nigeria
while offering expertise, innovation and some of the world’s finest
products.
The
United States Energy Trade Delegation led by Deputy Assistant Secretary
for African Affairs, William Fitzgerald met with President Goodluck
Jonathan as well as Energy Minister Barth Nnaji, in Nigeria’s capital,
Abuja, on Monday, February 13, to discuss U.S. private sector interests
to invest in the energy sector. The delegation, including executives
from U.S. EXIM Bank and energy companies also met in separately with
officials of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and
Independent Power Producers Association of Nigeria (IPPAN). The basic
objective of the trade mission is to make significant progress on
increasing U.S. private-sector investment in power infrastructure
projects that have the potential to increase overall development in
Nigeria.
On
October 19, 2011, the EXIM Bank of the United States and the Nigerian
Ministry of Power signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at
securing up to $1.5 billion of U.S. exports of goods and services
directed at a ten-fold increase in power output in Nigeria by 2020.
Jonathan’s first anniversary
The
building of democracy is a hard slog, and it requires engagement,
integrity and commitment at once from citizens and from the men and
women who aspire to lead. The April 2011 election was arguably the most
credible and transparent in Nigeria’s history as an independent nation.
From the commitment of President Goodluck Jonathan to preside over a
free and fair process to the inspired leadership of Professor Attahiru
Jega at INEC to the patriotic diligence of the National Youth Service
Corps (NYSC) to the massive, patient and peaceful participation of the
Nigerian people in the process, Nigerians came together collectively to
reaffirm their aspiration for a democratic country. The hard business
of governing has begun, and the greater challenge is to ensure Nigeria
moves forward, addressing the challenges in fighting corruption, growing
the economy, encouraging investments in agriculture, the energy sector,
in manufacturing, in information technology, and meeting the security
challenges which threaten Nigeria’s prosperity and seek to sow divisions
among the country’s communities.
In
America we believe we find strength in our diversity, and I am convinced
Nigerians – more than 160 million strong, composed of more than 250
ethnic groups and speaking over 500 languages – will leverage this great
country’s diversity to inspire their sense of nationhood and build on
April’s electoral success.
Nigeria’s future
I am
very optimistic about the future of Nigeria. Clearly, this country faces
significant challenges in terms of security, in terms of power, of
infrastructure and diversification of the economy, but this country has
survived greater challenges, including prolonged periods of military
rule, and a divisive civil war. It is a country composed of 250 ethnic
groups and 500 languages and dialects. I think it is a country that
profits from its diversity. I expect Nigeria will play the role we and
other friends hope and expect Nigeria to play on the international
stage.
Culled from: The Nation
