Secretary of State visit to motivate Nigeria’s support for US policies

 

President Bola Tinubu receives US Secretary of State, Antony Blinklen during his visit to Nigeria's presidential Villa Abuja on Tuesday. Credit: State House.

Antony Blinken, United State secretary of state’s visit to Nigeria and other West African states is meant to acknowledge and further strengthen Nigeria’s support for US policies.

The visit will also strengthen the bilateral relationship that had existed between the two countries over the years.

In 2022, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, and Ivory Coast, as well as Kenya in East Africa, joined the United States in a United Nations vote to condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

Nigeria has always shared the US stance on arming Ukraine and, more recently, US support for Israel in its war with Hamas. The relationship between Nigeria and US

This is in sharp contrast with another continental power, South Africa, which the US has accused of allowing arms shipments to Russia and which most recently pushed a genocide case against Israel before the International Court of Justice.

Consequently, Blinken will not visit South Africa but he will visit Angola, which played a crucial role in mediating to end unrest in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Blinken said the United States is determined to remain a strong security partner for Nigeria, whose military is backed by the U.S., Britain and other allies in a long war against Islamist insurgents.

He said the US would provide an additional $45 million to West African nations as part of a plan to battle instability, bringing total funding under the year-old programme to nearly $300 million, 

Blinken discussed challenges to democracy and security in the region during his meeting with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in a visit that comes after last year's coup in neighboring Niger, one of a series of coups or attempted power grabs over the past few years in West and Central Africa.

"The United States is determined to be and remain a strong security partner for Nigeria," Blinken said.

He added that he discussed how it is vitally important there be a focus on ensuring civilians are protected and humanitarian considerations.

Observers have noted a pattern of deadly aerial assaults by the Nigerian military that have killed civilians.

Blinken said repatriation of capital and corruption were among challenges that need to be tackled for companies to invest in Nigeria.

Africa's biggest economy has about $7 billion in forex forwards that have matured, a major concern for investors as foreign currency shortages continue to weigh down the naira currency, despite assurances by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clear the backlog.

So far, about $2 billion of the backlog across sectors such as manufacturing, aviation, and petroleum have been paid, CBN spokesperson Hakama Sidi Ali said in a statement.

United States' relations with Nigeria have alternated between periods of close or special relations and periods of indifference, neglect, and hostility.

Major developments in the relationship include a period of cordial relations from 1960 to 1966, strained relations from the first Nigerian coup through the civil war 1966-1970, and a growing rapprochement from 1970 to 1979 due to mutual economic interests.

The Nigerian civil war and Angolan independence were events which led to low points in the relationship.

 In the post-Cold War period, U.S.-Nigeria relations reached a new low point due to the changed priorities of U.S . foreign policy, the continuing turmoil in Nigeria's political system, and the deteriorating state of Nigeria's economy.

Arguably, the US – Nigerian relations before the events on 25th of December, 2009 was a healthy one. However, the attempted suicide bomb on that day had serious ramifications to the extent that it threatened the, otherwise cordial relationship between the two countries.

Consequently, the United States of America put Nigeria on a watch list of potential terrorist countries. This did not only irked the generality of Nigerians (both home and abroad), but also generated calls for a retaliatory response from the Nigerian government.