Reuben Abati needs to assured that there millions of other africans, probably
the majority, who love Nigeria and Nigerians if anything for what Nigeria has
done them and their countries. I personally am a great respecter of "the Giant
of Africa". What Mr Abati should realise is that one rotten egg spoils the rest.
The reasoning that for every five Africans, one is a Nigerian logically extends
to the ratio of criminals or crooks etc. Nigerians are are not a lone in this
sort of over generalisation. Even Senegal too has her own share since it is no
secret that Senegalese have been victimised in many countries, including African
ones, for simply for being Senegalese.
The Gambia too is no exception. At one time, an ordinary Gambian passport was
viewed as a "diplomatic" passport by those in our subregion an beyond especially
for those wishing to travel to Europe. Now the situation is different partly due
the behaviour of some Gambians or those travelling with Gambian identity (since
I understand Gambian passports can be bought with relative ease) particularly in
drug trafficking at the retail level. Present a Gambian passport (including the
real diplomatic one) to immigration officials anywhere in Europe and you are
automatically suspected being a drug pusher! What else warrants the long
interogations and verification of credentials over and above the norm?
Those on this forum must help to promote understanding and discourage divisive
tendencies among all Africans (of all shades) as a necessary precondition to our
attainment of a United States of Africa, whatever the political configuration.
Madiba Saidy wrote:
> GUARDIAN
>
> Sunday, April 23 , 2000
> Attack From Senegal
>
> By Reuben Abati
>
> WHEN 79-year-old Abdoulaye Wade became President of Senegal about a month
> ago, his victory was hailed world-wide as yet another indication of the
> continuing triumph of democracy in Africa. Abdou Diouf, Senegal's President
> since 1981 graciously accepted defeat. Wade, himself, is the epitome of
> perseverance and commitment. For 25 years, he had made every effort (1974,
> 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993) to become president of Senegal, and each time, he
> failed. Always, he alleged electoral malpractice, and again another time.
> Collectors of political tit-bits would easily find some parallels between
> him and Abraham Lincoln, father of American democracy. Wade's victory is
> occasioned largely by a certain fatigue among the Senegalese with the
> Diouf's way of doing things. The people wanted change, and Wade has always
> spoken of change arising from the possible death of midnight, and the rise
> of a new dawn, which is to say that Senegal poses great challenges for a
> post - Diouf Presidency: in terms of the achievement of change beyond the
> soap-box.
>
> However, Abdoulaye Wade, within one month, has shown that he does not intend
> to focus only on the problems of Senegal. Like every Senegalese who
> considers Senegal the melting pot of African civilisation and philosophy,
> Wade has been waxing lyrical and poetic about what he calls "the United
> States of Africa." Not a particularly new idea. Pan-Africanism is older than
> Wade's political career. But like Senghor, Cheik Anta Dioup and Kwame
> Nkrumah, Wade wants a stronger Africa, that is arranged along confederal
> lines. Not in itself a bad response to the felt need to re-position,
> re-energise and re-activate Africa if it must compete in an increasingly
> competitive world. Africa contributes less than six per cent of global
> trade. And yet, it has the highest prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS as well as
> other diseases. It is in addition, the poorest continent in the world - the
> only continent that still reminds the world of plague, disease and epidemic.
> Every contribution to the re-orientation of the African reality is
> necessarily welcome, and the strengthening of African states into economic
> blocs may help remove the stigma, on the long run, that this is "a dark
> continent," "a basket continent," "the last frontier."
>
> What is controversial in Wade's recommendation is his Nigeria-phobia in two
> different interviews granted Jeune Afrique and Newsweek. President Wade
> speaks of a United States of West Africa, a United States of Central Africa
> and a United States of East Africa with the caveat that Nigeria should stand
> alone. His reasoning is that with its size and population, Nigeria will
> create problems for other African states particularly in West Africa. In the
> Newsweek interview, he suggested that 10 million Nigerians could take over
> another West African country, and mess it up thoroughly. He says Nigeria is
> "unbalanced and unjust:" It adds: "Nigeria itself is in the mind and its
> government does not succeed in maintaining order in its territory, how much
> more in community of states." In the same breadth, President Wade, perhaps
> to illustrate his point at an individual level, singles out President
> Olusegun Obasanjo whom he accuses of ingratitude. Wade is supposed to have
> done a lot for President Obasanjo at the time of his imprisonment during the
> Abacha years, but now that Obasanjo is president, he has maintained towards
> Wade what the aggrieved Senegalese calls "a radio silence." The metaphor is
> intelligent. A radio is not like telephone or the internet: it doesn't give
> immediate feedback. Wade must have been seeking to connect with Obasanjo,
> and our president apparently snubbed him. So, now that Wade is president in
> Senegal, he is grabbing his pound of flesh. Obasanjo offends him, in return,
> he attacks Nigeria.
>
> Wade proves one point: you never know people until you give them power. For
> 25 years, Wade sought power. Now, he has it. May the Good Lord protect all
> the likely victims of his power. If Obasanjo did not support his bid for the
> Senegalese presidency, is that the reason why Nigeria is in the mud. Are we,
> really, in the mud? At a lower depth than Senegal? If Wade wants a United
> States of Africa, can he single-handedly impose his recommendation? His
> attack on Nigeria is misplaced. It is undiplomatic. The truth is that a
> United States of West Africa that excludes Nigeria would be a very strange
> arrangement indeed. Wade talks as if he is still in the opposition. He
> sounds as if he is still on the campaign rostrum. President Wade is
> suffering a hang-over. He is now president: he needs to be reminded of that
> fact. And the campaign ended a month ago. The president of Senegal should be
> a statesman, a diplomat, not a loose canon in international diplomacy. Wade
> and Obasanjo can sort out their personal problems whichever way suits them,
> but President Wade owes this country an apology. His comments are racist,
> unkind and tactless.
>
> The only other point that needs to be made is that President Wade's comments
> ought to be situated in the larger framework of relations between Nigerian
> and other African countries. What we find is that the primary element of
> Nigeria's foreign policy has been the maintenance of good relations with its
> African neighbours, security, stability, and co-operation in Africa, and
> assistance in any form to other African countries. Nigerians consider their
> country, the giant of Africa. We like to see ourselves as the big brother.
> One out of every five Africans is a Nigerian. But the truth is that other
> Africans do not like us. A principal outcome of Nigeria's foreign
> consideration is that our positive efforts at co-operation have only turned
> other Africans against us. When President Wade speaks negatively about
> Nigeria and Nigerians, he is not merely being unfair, rather, he expresses a
> mind-set that is widespread in the continent.
>
> In South Africa, Nigerians are generally considered criminals even if there
> are more South Africans who are drunkards, rapists and crooks. There are
> Nigerians in South Africa who are excelling in sports, business,
> advertising, science and scholarship but these are not the ones who are used
> to determine the South African conception of the Nigerian character. In
> Ghana, Nigerians are held responsible for any crime at all. Even when there
> is no Nigerian on the scene, a Nigerian name is invented to promote a
> growing stereotype in the Ghanaian society. "God," Ghanaians usually insist,
> "is not a Nigerian." When Ghanaians commit crimes, they simply supply a
> Nigerian name. It is that bad. We had a football match with Senegal, the
> other month, and the Eagles showed class and superiority. Angry Senegalese
> fans in Dakar attacked the Nigerian Embassy, and Nigerian traders. The
> situation in Gabon is not different. Between 1967 and 1970, many Nigerians,
> mostly south-easterners ran away to Gabon, to escape the evil of the civil
> war. For these Nigerians, and their children, Gabon is the the only real
> home they have ever known. Today, the people of Gabon, like the Senegalese,
> are complaining about Nigerians. In Equatorial Guinea, you only need to
> mention that you are a Nigerian, and you watch: it is an attitude thing.
> Cameroun is fighting us in Bakassi. Nigeria spent fortunes to stop the
> carnage in Liberia, and to give Liberians an opportunity to enjoy peace. The
> moment the war ended, and Charles Taylor became president, the first thing
> Taylor did was to ask Nigeria to get off his back. The Murtala-Obasanjo
> regime deployed resources in support of the liberation struggles in Central
> and Southern Africa: what has Nigeria gained from all that? I once tried to
> be friendly with an ECOWAS sister (that was long ago, mind you). The lady
> was friendly until I disclosed my nationality. "You Nigerians are too fast,"
> she declared. And she moved away. Other Africans blame us for being
> talented. They detest our size and population. They blame us for their
> poverty.
>
> The lesson from all this is that we need to re-consider the content of
> Nigeria's foreign policy as regards Africa. Foreign policy must be
> constructed in terms of advantages. If Nigeria's constructive engagement
> with Africa has brought only hate and resentment for the most part, then
> something is wrong with the style, content and execution of Nigeria's
> foreign policy in Africa. It is not enough, then to blame Wade. Nigeria's
> foreign policy must begin at home: it must be anchored on a strong domestic
> policy. Other African countries take us for granted because when we boast
> about our greatness, they don't see it in the way we plan our lives. When
> they had democracy, we didn't have. There is GSM in Republic of Benin, and
> the telephones work in Ghana as well: The Nigerian communications system is
> such a nightmare. There is constant power supply in Togo, here, we are in
> darkness all the time. The Apapa Port in Lagos is so problematic that many
> Nigerians prefer to use the Cotonou port in Benin Republic. Besides, the
> kind of stories that come out of Nigeria are like stories from hell. Those
> who seek respect from others must first respect themselves. If we Nigerians
> do not love ourselves, how can we in good conscience, expect outsiders to
> love us?
>
> Arthur Nzeribe has been using the word, impeachment. Wade is also talking of
> impeachment. As for Wade, he is lucky Nigeria is a different nation. If
> Abacha or Babangida were still president, Wade's position as president of
> Senegal would have been in jeopardy: a coup would have been organised
> against him. But of course, these are happier times. That is why Wade, like
> Nzeribe, can afford to leak from the mouth like a basket.
>
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