Okonjo Iweala’s Victory as WTO DG Needed to Consolidate on Moderate Foreign Policy Feats of President Buhari’s Administration -By Moshood Olajide

Unlike when President Muhammadu Buhari was the head of the military government between 1983-1985 where diplomacy was replaced by bull fighting. Nigeria was not courting friends then but creating enemies, the breaking of ties with Israel further buttressed this fact. Buhari has since his assumption of office in 2015 redefine the country’s foreign policy by targeting it towards fight against corruption, repatriation of stolen funds, international peace missions and insurgency in the North East as well as liberalization and diversification of the nation’s economy of which some of these has yielded negligible results so far.

For instance, during the President state visit to China in 2016, an agreement was reached between the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s biggest lender, and Nigeria’s central bank also signed a deal on Yuan transactions. Yuan has been flowing freely among different banks in Nigeria since then, and has been included in the foreign exchange reserves of the country with the Central bank implementing the diversification of its foreign exchange reserves away from the dollar by switching a stockpile into Yuan while framework on currency swaps was agreed with China making it easier to settle trade deals in Yuan.

Chinese President, Xi Jin Ping also signed agreements to develop infrastructures in Nigeria, this explains the reason why the current revolution in the Nigerian railway system and other critical infrastructures was financed by the Chinese corporations and Banks, and all these are not accidental but by planning and the 2016 state visit to Beijing triggered this.

The state visit to the United Kingdom and the United States was entirely driven on the need to repatriate stolen funds; a significant level of results has been actualized in this regard as the Ibori and Abacha loots was successfully repatriated back to Nigeria. Funds repatriated are centrally disbursed through monthly federal allocation to state governments and some part of it form the stimulus capital used to finance federal government social security schemes for the underprivileged class of the society.

The election of Nigeria as non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council is also worthy of mention including those of, Muhammed Babandede as the President of United Nations General Assembly [UNGA], Chile Eboe Osuji elected as the President of the International Criminal Court [ICC ], Amina Muhammed as the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Yonov Fred Agah as the Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization [WTO] and Akinwumi Adeshina as the  President of African Development Bank, including the leading role Nigeria played in the emergence of Ethiopian Tedros Ghebreyesus as the head of World Health Organization [WHO] . These feats should be capped off by mobilizing all available diplomatic networks in ensuring that Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala who has served the country meritoriously as Finance and Foreign minister before emerge as the next Director General of the World Trade Organization and lessons should be learned from the country’s failed 2011 World Bank Presidential bid by trading horses where it is necessary, gain the support of the majority of BRICS countries including their allies which was instrumental in the 2011 World Bank Presidency loss as Russia and China despite their vociferousness against the United States went ahead to endorse Jim Yong Kim, the American candidate and the eventual winner in the last minute.

 
The President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government also needs to be reminded that Nigeria is the hope of Africa. But the terrain of African leadership is no more an exclusive preserve of Nigeria. It has become an open space with Rwanda, South Africa and some North African countries leading Nigeria in terms of infrastructural growth, military strength, cyber warfare and electricity supply. Time is also no longer on the side of the country in consolidating on democratic structures by improving on credible elections, Human Rights credentials and safeguarding the sanctity of  Law while the government should also institute more programmes that will promote international prestige of the country and contribute to the well beings and respect of its people at home and in the diaspora.

Moshood Olajide is the Principal Head of Ibadan based MIPAG Policy Think Tank Group