By Prisca Mbah
The United States Embassy Abuja recently issued what it referred to as “Security Advisory” in which it alerted of an alleged plans by terrorists to attack the nation’s capital.
But the coalition of patriotic non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Nigeria in a world press conference said: the so called security advisories by the U.S. and its allies ‘’are distractive in form, and destabilising in content”. The Federal Government confirmed the destabilising and distractive content of the US security advisory when it “asked those (Nigerians) disseminating such security advisory to stop the de-marketing their home country’’
Observers of US political behaviour believe that this ‘’misguided, misdirected security advisory a few months before election in Nigeria ‘’ was not only aimed at demarketing the country as a foreign investment destination , but also aimed at whipping the country deeper into the economic orbit of the United States away from China’s economic domain . It is no coincidence that a few days after , a similar security alert was issued by Americans to South Africa which China is currently boosting her economic growth .
The Asian country is at present a major investor in Nigeria and an alternative to other sources of development finance like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and other bilateral lenders. It is currentiy Nigeria’s largest bilateral lender with loan of $3.48bn.
The country’s rapproachment with China has grown so much that the nation is reportedly being speculated to soon join the economic club of BRICS – an acronym coined to associate five emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa , the biggest player in the Southern African sub region. This group accounts for more than 30 per cent of the global territory and constitute 45 per cent of the world’s population and about 26 per cent of the global economy.
Okonjo-Iweala, Director – General of the World Trade Organisation and former Finance Minister, had once noted that “Nigeria has all the fundamentals to be one of the BRICS. We are the largest country in terms of population, we are growing at a very respectable rate of 7 per cent and better for the past couple of years, and we have got the natural resources base but also the human resources base to be able to do better.”
Until South Africa’s application was ratified in 2011, there were speculations about 7 to 8 years ago that Nigeria could emerge as the first African country to join the economic bloc. BRINCS – the N in BRINCS was supposed to be Nigeria. This idea was bandied because Nigeria’s membership would be of immense benefit to the country , in addition of making her a respectable force in the committee of nations .
Interest in the BRICS has grown in recent years given the glaring unfairness in global financial transactions. The president of Brazil visited Nigeria recently and sealed a deal to boost trade between the two countries . That Nigeria and Brazil have reportedly shown interest in supporting their candidates for international positions is an indication that BRICS and potential BRICS countries are determined to coordinate their positions in global groups, as seen in the United Nations.
Motives for BRICS collaboration could eventually downgrade the US status in the world as the BRICS countries have a mission to duplicate the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and create an alternative reserve currency for global exchange. Therefore BRICS is an alternative power center in the international system . And Nigeria, the leader in the West African sub-region, is increasingly hobnobbing with the BRICS countries for its economic growth to the anger of the US government. For China, the BRICS group allows it to express its leaders’ aversion to western high handedness and policy demands while exerting its leadership.
The US will go to any length to protect its interests and resist any threats to its global dominance. The coalition of patriotic NGOs in the country affirmed that “it is customary with the so called ‘world police’, nations considered not to be in tune with her aggressive disposition, are often whipped into line.”
Under the Jonathan presidency, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, governor, advocated that the new Managing of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that was about to be chosen then in 2011 should consider the needs of emerging economies. The IMF directors for the BRICS countries supported him when they said that it was time to scrap an “obsolete unwritten convention” that requires the head of the IMF to be a European.
The US power brokers punished Nigeria for supporting BRICS and rejecting same-sex relationship, by blocking Israel to sell arms the country needed in 2014 to fight Boko Haram insurgency.
The American government that is issuing security Advisory now to its citizens in Nigeria stopped $875m arms sale to the country only last year, 2021 , over so called concerns that President Buhari’s government was “drifting towards authoritarianism ,”(China) . And this was at a time Nigeria was besieged by multiple security challenges which have now morphed into full-scale insurgency.
It is on these grounds that the patriotic NGOs affirmed that “It is pertinent to note that the said alarm underpins international politics: psychological warfare, scorched earth policy, or gunboat diplomacy against Nigeria.
Prisca is a Public Policy Analyst.
