President Mohammadu Buhari(L) with US President Barack Obama during a meeting in Washington DC on Monday
| credits: STATE HOUSE
It
was an official visit that attracted not only national, but also
international attention. President Muhammadu Buhari was going to visit
the United States for four days, on the invitation of President Barack
Obama. Was this going to be just another jamboree, or truly an event
that would reset the buttons in the relationship between the two
countries?
Sure, there had been some cooling of
passion between the two erstwhile allies during the dying days of the
Goodluck Jonathan administration and American experts sent here to train
our military had even been asked to leave. She had also refused to sell
us Cobra helicopters and other armaments, which could have made a lot
of difference in our fight against insurgents in the North-East of the
country. America had cited some reasons, including alleged human rights
violations. The then President Jonathan was thus forced to look towards
South Africa for arms. He loaded millions of dollars in a private jet as
if going to Oyingbo market, and got his fingers burnt in the process.
South Africa seized the cash, and also impounded the aircraft for some
time. The Nigerian government could only huff and puff for a while, and
then licked its wounds quietly.
No
doubt, the kiln of passion needed to be kindled anew between Nigeria
and America, and the invitation extended to President Buhari during the
G7 Summit in Germany in June, was a much needed elixir. The Nigerian
leader accepted the offer, and so was in Washington between Sunday, July
19 and Wednesday, July 22.
But another whiff of controversy had
presaged the meeting. America, through its Supreme Court, had recently
legitimised same sex relationship.
It was into the eye of this storm that some Nigerians felt President Buhari would be flying, on his trip.
To America we flew last Sunday, arriving
after a voyage of 12 hours. Our President was accommodated along with
some members of the entourage at the historic Blair House, just a
peeping distance from the White House. A good number of meetings were to
hold at that Blair House in the next four days.
You would be permitted if you had jet lag
after 12 hours in the air, punctuated only by a one hour technical
stopover at a Portuguese island called Santa Maria, to refuel your
plane. But President Buhari was still spry enough to settle down to
business immediately.
After a briefing of what was to come in
the next four days by Professor Ade Adefuye, Nigerian Ambassador to the
United States, the President played host to former American Ambassador
in Nigeria, Thomas Pickering, Professor Jean Herskovits and Ambassador
John Campbell among other people.
The day was not done until Madeline Albright came to dinner with our President. She has aged, but rather gracefully.
The second day was the day the world had
been waiting for. Day of meeting with the world’s most influential
president, Barak Obama. But not so fast! First, breakfast with the Vice
President, Joe Biden. Venue was the Naval Observatory, which is the
official residence of the American number two man. What did he tell our
President?
Biden gave an overview of the objectives
of the entire visit, assuring Nigeria of the goodwill and support of
America. He shared perspectives on the terror war, drawing from
America’s experiences after the September 2001 assault, in which
thousands were killed by Al-Qaeda inspired terrorists. He said Boko
Haram, which has now pledged loyalty to ISIS, should not be battled with
just military option. There was also the need to combine the war with
strong socio-economic programmes. He said the U.S would be ready to work
with Nigeria in that direction.
President Buhari thanked his host, and
added that the role played by America prior to general elections,
sending Secretary of State John Kerry to convey that America would not
tolerate the subversion of the people’s will, went a long way to
guarantee fairness and justice.
Having served as Minister for Petroleum
Resources for over three years in the 1970s, President Buhari did not
forget to mention the oil sector. He said between 10 to 20 billion
dollars may have been lost to oil theft in the past one year, and
pledged to sanitise the sector. He welcomed American assistance.
The much awaited meeting with President
Obama came up a while later at the White House. American leaders have
been known to be fairly parsimonious with praises, particularly when
talking about leaders of other countries. But Obama was effusive. He
described President Buhari as a man of integrity, needed for such a time
as this in Nigeria. He congratulated him for winning the March 2015
presidential election, adding that Nigeria was very important to Africa.
The destiny of the continent was tied to Nigeria’s, he said, pledging
that America would continue to support, as long as Nigeria does the
right things.
The American president charted the same
course as his deputy on the issue of Boko Haram. According to him,
economic and social programmes must run concurrently with military
option, to conclusively defeat insurgency.
Obama said the diversity of Nigeria,
rather than be a centrifugal force, must be a centripetal one. The
disparate parts of the country should be harnessed to become source of
strength, adding that no part of the country should be left behind, or
alienated.
Buhari, the American president observed,
was hugely popular, judging by the enormous goodwill that surrounded his
election. He urged him to use the goodwill to serve Nigeria, alongside
the governors that accompanied him. The governors are Rochas Okorocha,
Imo, Adams Oshiomhole, Edo, Tanko Al-Makura, Nasarawa, Kashim Shettima,
Borno, and Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo.
Speaking on behalf of the governors,
Okorocha assured Obama that the states’ helmsmen would back up Buhari to
bring enduring change to Nigeria.
President Obama made pledges. America
would help Nigeria in diverse ways: checkmate insurgency, train and
equip her military, recover monies siphoned out of federal coffers, and
many others. And with no strings attached.
The bilateral meetings/ audiences with the Nigerian president at Blair House, and other venues, were worth their weight in gold.
A delighted President Buhari said
priority would be given to the resettlement of more than one million
internally displaced persons and directed that a team be set up on the
side of the Federal Government, which would meet and harmonize plans
with the World Bank team as soon as possible.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
also disclosed plans to work with the Dangote Foundation to ensure that
Nigeria gets a clean bill of health on polio.
There were other bilateral meetings with
John O. Brennan, Director of the CIA and Deputy Secretary of Defence,
Robert Work, and Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Martin Dempsey.
Oh, the courtesy call by the Class of
1980 of the United States War College, in which the then Col Muhammadu
Buhari participated, and got glowing recommendations. It was a time to
go down memory lane.
Same sex issue enters the scene. On
Tuesday afternoon, President Buhari was in his right elements, as he
attended a joint session by the Senate and House Committees on Foreign
Affairs at the Capitol Hill. Many issues came up for discussion, ranging
from foreign relations, to growing democracy, human rights, and many
others. Then a senator brought in the clincher. What does Nigeria think
of the rights of homosexuals and lesbians?
Sodomy or anything of such kind is
against the laws of Nigeria, and, indeed, the Nigerian society abhors
such practices, the President declared. Pastor Tunde Bakare of The
Latter Rain Assembly was in the audience, and from the delight on his
face, he could have carried the President shoulder high, if protocol had
permitted such.
To cap that delightful day, the president
headed to the Chancery, Nigeria Embassy. He had two assignments there. A
Meet and Greet session had been packaged by Mo Abudu of Ebony Life TV,
in which Nigerian youths, who are professionals, had been invited from
across America to greet President Buhari, and share their dreams of a
greater country with him. The young people were really happy to have
their president and father figure in their midst.
Next was the meeting with Nigerians in Diaspora, who also came from across America.
The night did not end without the president meeting with the All Progressives Congress members in the US and Canada.
On the final day of the visit, there was an interactive event at the United States Institute of Peace.
President Buhari went to America, he saw,
and he conquered. As I watched him signing the Visitors’ Register as he
attempted to leave that historic monument called Blair House, I
wondered how many people in the world would ever have such privilege.
Not many.
As President Buhari strode out of Blair
House for the last time, with his entourage in tow, one could see that
an invisible Nigerian flag had been hoisted in the American sky, and it
was fluttering proudly. The Nigerian president had come with dignity,
attended all the sessions lined up for him, not missing a single one,
and was returning home with an enhanced reputation, not just for himself
but also for about 170 million of his country men and women. Who says
change will not come to Nigeria?
Adesina is Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, to President Buhari
