Article Citation: Ibrahim M. Jumare & Labbo Abdullahi (2019). Nigeria and the AU in the Control of Regional Insurgency and Corruption, C. 2015-2019. DEGEL: The Journal of the Faculty of Arts and Islamic Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1. ISSN 0794-9316
NIGERIA AND THE AU IN THE CONTROL OF REGIONAL INSURGENCY AND
CORRUPTION, 2015-2019
By
Ibrahim M. Jumare & Labbo
Abdullahi
Department of
History
Usmanu
Danfodiyo University, Sokoto
Abstract
Since independence Nigeria
pursued foreign policies that are in accord with the beliefs and aspirations of
the founding fathers of the country, a foreign policy which has as one of its
core values ‘the Africa Centre-Piece’. It is this core value of the Nigerian
foreign policy that made Nigerian leaders over the years to pursue the goal of
African unity, peace and development with full commitment and vigor. This paper
focuses on the Nigeria’s role in African continental fight against corruption
on the platform of the African Union (AU); as well as the place of the Union in
the fight against Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. The study argues that, the
present fundamental concerns of Nigeria in the AU are in addition to African
peace and security, the fight against corruption and economic recovery. On the
other hand, the major concern of the AU in Nigeria is to bring to an end to,
the activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group and their rising effects in
the country and beyond. Thus, present Nigeria provides a leadership to African
anti-corruption campaign; and the centrality and roles of Nigeria in Africa’s
security and development have made the country’s security issue a top priority
of the AU.
Introduction
From Nigeria’s independence in 1960, Africa has been
the centre-piece of the country’s foreign policy and international relations.
Successive Nigerian Governments had devoted enormous resources to the execution
of this cardinal foreign policy objective. The Organisation of African Unity
(OAU) now the African Union (AU) was established in 1963 to deal with the
continental affairs of the emergent independent Africa. The OAU was established
as a compromise between the aspirations of three blocs: the Casablanca,
Brazzaville and the Monrovia Groups which emerged in search for Africa’s unity
in the 1960s (Sesay and Babatunde, 2015: 106-110). The transformation from the
OAU to the AU began with the Abuja Treaty of June, 1991 in Nigeria that laid
the foundation for the change in name and some structural adjustments of the
OAU. The Heads of State and Government of the OAU member countries took
decision and endorsed the transformation of the OAU to the AU in September
1999. It was on the basis of that endorsement that, a draft report on the
creation of the AU was produced in May, 2000 (Gange, 2000: 2). In both the formation of the OAU and its transformation
to the AU, Nigeria played almost a second to none role that enabled it to
occupy the leadership rank in the organization of the Union.
Throughout the existence of the OAU, the organization
was instrumental in preventing member states from externalizing their problems
while African leaders searched for solutions. The same goal, and in a more
elaborate form has found expression in the AU, as African solutions to the
challenges of peace and security in the 21st century (Sesay and
Babatunde, 2015: 127). Upon the realization of the contemporary security and
corruption challenges in the AU’s member states, Nigeria continued with its
leadership role of salvaging Africa from the quagmire and repositioning the
continent to the path of peace and sustainable development. This paper discusses
how Nigeria has been the Giant Redeemer of Africa, and with emphasis on
President Muhammadu Buhari led-administration from the bondages of corruption,
ailing economy and insecurity. Also the paper is concerned with how the AU has
been responding to the insecurity situation in Nigeria and neighbouring
countries, especially in the Lake Chad region.
An Overview of
the Nigeria’s Role in the African Union
The details of the extent to which Nigeria has been
playing critical roles in the AU right from the time of the OAU cannot be
contained within the limited scope of this paper. This is because; the
contributions of Nigeria towards the political emancipation of Africa as well
as her determination to promote African interests in international organization
are enormous. However, it is the concern of this paper to highlight some of the
Nigeria’s roles in the transformative process of the OAU to the AU as well as
for African peace and security. From the very onset Nigeria by her resources
was expected to be at the front seat of African countries providing others with
a leadership for unity, fight against imperialism and insecurity. These
struggles had been the commitments of various Nigerian leaders on the platform
of the OAU/AU (Odubajo, 2017: 77).
Nigeria’s role in the OAU is best understood within
the larger context of Nigeria’s overall orientation and commitment to Africa in
her foreign policy. This orientation, described as Afrocentrism emphasises that Nigerian political leaders pursue
foreign policy options designed to promote such interests of Africa as unity,
political and economic independence (Okereke,
2012: 5 and Akinterinwa, 2005: 8). Thus, Nigeria’s pursuit of Afrocentrism
included her active engagement in achieving the prime objectives of the former
OAU: decolonisation and the eradication of apartheid in Africa. Meanwhile, the
most important focus of Nigeria’s foreign policy formulation and articulation
has been consistent with the organizational objectives of having political and
economic development as well as peace in Africa (Okereke, 2012: 3). This foreign policy direction made Nigeria
participate actively in the organizational development strategies and conflict
prevention and resolution drives in Africa.
The transition from OAU to AU has been attributed to
the desire by African leaders to work together under a unified framework to
address the many challenges confronting the continent in the 21st
century. The Organization of African Unity founding Charter was increasingly
becoming obsolete. In the Charter, the founding leaders of the OAU in
accordance with the challenges of their time, had shown high level of
consciousness of freedom and dignity as
essential objectives for the achievement of the aspirations of the Africans;
hence agreed to fight colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism and encourage
inter-state unity as contained in the Charter,
We, the
Heads of African States and Governments assembled in the city of Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, convinced that it is the inalienable right of all people to control
their own destiny, conscious of the fact that freedom, equality, justice and
dignity are essential objectives for the achievement of the legitimate
aspirations of the African peoples… determined to safeguard and consolidate the
hard-won independence as well as the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
our states, and to fight against neo-colonialism in all its forms… desirous
that all African States should henceforth unite so that the welfare and
wellbeing of their peoples can be assured, resolved to reinforce the links
between our states by establishing and strengthening common institutions (OAU
Charter, 25th May, 1963: 1-2).
The failure of the OAU to deal with the security and
developmental issues in the 21st century Africa became a clear
challenge (Aja 2015: 350-352). The need for the transformation became necessary
in 1999 when African leaders decided to raise their level of understanding and
cooperation in the continent from that of inter-state to intra-Africa on
effective and gradual basis (Salim, 2001:2). The cardinal motivation behind the
re-structuring of the OAU into the AU was the desire to deepen and enhance
cohesion and solidarity among the countries and peoples of Africa, so as to
confront the 21st century security and developmental challenges in
the continent.
As in the case of the formation of the OAU, Nigeria
was very central in the processes leading the transition to the AU. Nigeria is
in the records of all the preparatory meetings and summits leading to the
change in name and some structures of the OAU to the AU (Aja 2015: 350-352). In
all the processes right from Sirte I, Addis Ababa, Tripoli, Lome and Sirte II,
Nigeria participated actively more than any other African country especially,
as a member of the inner circle of concerned countries (South Africa, Mali,
Algeria, Libya and Lesotho). Firstly, it was the Nigerian President, Olusegun
Obasanjo who at the 1999 Sirte (Libya) OAU Summit persuaded his colleagues to
accept the concept of the AU instead of the controversial proposed United
States of Africa. Indeed, at the 1999 Algiers OAU Summit, President Obasanjo
suggested that the year 2000 be made the Year of Peace, Security and
Solidarity, in order to draw the attention of African leaders to the need for
peace, security and solidarity as basic requirements for African unity and
development (Akinterinwa, 2005: 24). This was followed by a Ministerial
Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa;
proposed and sponsored by President Obasanjo between 8th and 9th
May, 2000, in Abuja (Akinterinwa, 2005: 24). Finally, Nigeria’s support for the
transition was further made clear by Sule Lamido, a former Foreign Minister
during the OAU ministerial meeting in Libya in 2000. According to him:
Nigeria favours the establishment of
a strong African Union, one which would replace, over a period of time, the
existing continental institutions – the OAU and AEC. This should be of such
character, content and form which does justice to the cherished vision of the
founding fathers of the OAU and satisfies the dreams and aspirations of the
peoples of our continent (Shinkaiye, 2002: 17-18).
Consequent upon that and other subsequent meetings,
the public unveiling of the AU as the successor to the OAU was made in July,
2002 at the Summit of the OAU in Durban, South Africa (Okereke, 2012: 7). The AU tried to be a better conflict manager
than its predecessor. Thus, peace and conflict management machinery to deal
with different kinds of conflict in Africa was created (see Aja, 2015: 344). As
usual, Nigeria featured as a major role player in the transformation of the AU
inherited security structure. The key idea to that was again a thought by
Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria who opined that Nigeria could continue to shoulder
the burden of conflict resolution in Africa but the AU would develop the
capacity for burden sharing in its restructuring of conflict resolution
instrument. Consequently, the AU established the Peace and Security Council
(PSC) at the apex of conflict resolution (Dokubo and Joseph, 2011: 566). It was
the Council that made the African Peace and Security Architecture as a
conceptual set of functional tools for comprehensive action in dealing with
issues relating to peace and security in the continent (Istafanus, 2015: 375).
Thus, the transformation represents a major policy shift by which the AU took
it upon itself to resolve conflicts in Africa.
Since the transition, Nigeria has consistently pledged
its commitment to Articles 3 and 4 of the AU Constitutive Act, which
respectively outline the objectives of the transformed organisation and the
principles upon which it is based. Nigeria has been engaged with peace and
security issues on the continent, including pursuit of cooperation and
development in Africa. Nigeria has hosted important AU meetings, including the
4th AU Summit, in 2005 in Abuja and the 44th session of
the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) in Abuja in November
2008 (Okereke, 2012: 8).
In the drive to have a less crisis-ridden Africa
within the framework of the AU, Nigeria’s most important role in Africa became
apparent even before the transition. The country engaged actively in the
prevention and resolution of the devastating conflicts that engulfed Liberia in
1992, which spilled over into Sierra Leone (Folarin, nd: 2). After the
transition, Nigeria became more committed to the drive and continued to invest
resources in conflict resolution and Peace Support Operations (PSO) in Africa.
For instance, the country exerted efforts to ensure that democratic government
was restored to Guinea-Bissau after the military take-over in the country.
Also, Nigeria engaged in conflict resolution in Burundi, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia-Eritrea, and Togo among others
(Folarin, nd: 3).
In the area of continental cooperation and
development, Nigeria has been over the years deploying Technical Aid Corps
(TAC) volunteers: medical doctors, nurses, lawyers and teachers to the needy
African countries. Some of the countries that received Nigeria’s TAC volunteers
included Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Djibouti,
Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, Mozambique,
Namibia, Niger, Senegal, Kenya, Zambia, and Tanzania (Akinterinwa, 2005:
23-24). For instance, by 2004 Gambia received 363 volunteers; and recently,
more than 500 TAC volunteers were deployed to Sierra Leone in 2018 (Premium
Time, 14th April, 2018).
Moreover, up to the era of Boko Haram (BH) insurgency, Nigeria has been instrumental in the
maintenance of peace and security in Africa. Although the transition to the AU
was driven by peace and security and it had improved the regional conflict
management structures, still no sub-region in Africa is free from conflicts.
Africa remains the most crisis-ridden region in the world (Aja, 2015: 343-344).
For instance, the BH insurgency in the region of the Lake Chad Basin has been a
major security challenge for the AU. Furthermore, the insurgency affects
Nigeria which has been very central in the promotion of peace, security and
development in the continent. Thus, the AU has made the fight against BH
insurgency as one of its major concerns.
Domestic
Environment: A Determinant of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy
The foreign policy behaviour of any state is a
function of the underlying principles of the national interest. However, the
approach towards achieving the aims and objectives of the national interest is
conditioned by some internal and external variables. Nigeria’s internal
deteriorating and alarming situation conditioned the country’s foreign policy
formulation and articulation under President Muhammadu Buhari.
As the 2015
elections drew nearer, Nigeria was engulfed by a number of challenges that
include but not limited to insecurity, poverty and corruption. Thus, when Buhari came on board on
29th May, 2015; his administration inherited socio-economic crisis
due to maladministration and corruption in the country by the preceding
administrations. The situation affected Nigeria’s image and leadership role in
Africa and at the international scene. However, of all
the challenges,
BH insurgency and incessant corrupt practices assumed the most frightening
rates. The challenges were further aggravated by the mono-cultural nature of
the Nigeria’s economy.
Beginning with the BH insurgency, generally, insecurity is the major challenge of the
contemporary Nigeria. The level of insecurity since the return of democracy on
the 29th May, 1999 has affected politics and the economy of the
country. However, the Boko Haram
insurgency has been the most alarming threat that affects Nigerian society and
economy as well. For instance, apart from the tragic loss of estimated 30,000
to 100,000 lives and the displacements of 2.2 million people (Kyari, 2017: 271
and Tukur, 2017), the insurgency has created a climate of insecurity with
devastating economic impact on Nigeria and its neighbours. BH affected tourism,
agriculture, trade as well as manufacturing industry; and it was estimated
that, the insurgency cost the country about US$28.48 billion by 2013 (Freedom, et’al, 2015: 5). In addition, Nigeria is
ranked the 3rd most terrorized country in the globe after Iraq and
Afghanistan by the Global Terrorism Index (GTI, 2015). These developments gave
Nigeria negative image in the Africa and on the world stage.
The menace of corruption has over the years impacted
negatively on the Nigerian economy and it continues to aggravate economic
stagnation and poor service delivery. Corruption is believed to be the root of
many of the problems in Nigeria. In 2004, the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development concluded that Nigeria’s poor image across the globe was
due to corruption; thus, denying it the needed Foreign Direct Investment
(Fayomi, Chidozie and Ajayi, 2015:181). Corruption continues to permeate every aspect
of Nigerian people and out of the $60 billion estimated to be illegally
siphoned out of Africa annually, Nigeria accounts for over 68% of the figure
(Freedom, et’al, 2015: 7). Thus, the
country has consistently ranked low in Transparency International Corruption
Perception Index over the years. The country ranked 136 out of 174 surveyed
countries in 2014, making it the 38th most corrupt nation in the
world (Freedom, et’al, 2015: 7).
Nigeria’s over reliance on crude oil export continues
to aggravate the country’s socio-economic crisis especially in 2014 (Jiddere and Manu, nd: 7). Meanwhile, Buhari came on board and he owed his
election victory to his promises to fight corruption, BH insurgency and revival
of the country’s weakening economy.
This he believed will redeem the image of the country in African and the
wider international scene. For Buhari to succeed in bringing
the change that Nigeria needs, he must formulate and implement the right
foreign policy. This is for the President to be able to galvanise regional bodies and
international community to deal with the BH insurgency as well as corruption
and repatriation of stolen funds. Thus, Buhari-led Nigeria’s foreign policy
agenda and the country’s relations with the AU are structured to seek global
assistance in the fight against BH and corruption, as well as economic recovery
in Nigeria and Africa as a whole (Odubajo, 2017: 83).
Nigeria’s
Foreign Policy: Prelude to Buhari-led Nigeria’s Relations with the AU
The definite goal of Nigeria’s foreign relations under
President Muhammadu Buhari is to redeem the Nigeria’s falling image on the
global stage. To achieve that, President Buhari seeks through bilateral and
multilateral understandings to bring to an end, the era of terrorism and have a
corrupt-free and economically revived Nigeria. Hence, this informed the
direction of the country’s relations with the AU and the wider world.
Generally, Nigeria’s foreign policy thrust is triple focus in nature taking
into cognizance three levels of international relationships. The first level is
West Africa, followed by the second level which is Africa and the world is the
third level (Gusau, 2013: 166). In all the three levels, Nigeria’s foreign
policy objectives under President Buhari revolve around fulfilling his campaign
promises of three cardinal issues: the fight against terrorism, anti-corruption
crusade and the revival of Nigerian economy.
Thus, immediately, after his assumption of duty,
President Buhari embarked on a high-power ‘Shuttle Diplomacy’. The shuttles at
both bilateral and multilateral levels are tied to solving the domestic
challenges of insecurity, corruption and the revival of the Nigerian depressed
economy. Within a period of seven months (29th May, 2015 to 31st
December, 2016) President Buhari made about seventeen (17) international trips.
In all the trips the issues of fighting terrorism and corruption as well as
reviving Nigerian economy have been prioritized (Adetayo, 28th May,
2016). The shuttling began with a tour of member-states of the Lake Chad Basin
Commission (LCBC) in West Africa
that are equally affected by the BH insurgency
(Odubajo, 2017: 85-86). However, the most important of such trips are: his
visits to Niger on 3rd June, 2015 for the purpose of anti-BH Summit
and to South Africa on 12th June, 2015 for the 25th AU
Summit on security (Paden, 2016: 82). Beyond Africa, in search of international
assistance against the BH, President Buhari visited United States of America
between 19th and 23th July; and France between 14th and 16th September,
2015. The purpose of the visit to France was to ensure the full commitments of
the West African Francophone countries in the fight against the BH issue. This
first stage of tours resulted in the mould of the Multinational Joint Task
Force (MNJTF) against the BH (Odubajo, 2017: 85-86).
Regarding the fight against corruption, President
Buhari’s determination first featured on African stage during the 25th
AU Summit on Security on 12th June, 2015. During the Summit, he held
a number of bilateral talks with various heads of states at the sidelines for
the fight against corruption (Odubajo, 2017: 85-86). In this regard also, the
first trip to individual African country was on 7th September, 2015
when he visited Ghana. The purpose of the visit was bilateral agreement with
Ghanaian President on the repatriation of stolen Nigerian funds and stashed in
Ghana (Adetayo, 28th May, 2016).
In his efforts to revive Nigerian economy, Buhari
visited the USA in July, 2015, and requested the US authorities to assist
Nigerian government to improve her economy (Duke et al, 2018: 69). During his visit to France in September, 2015
also, he had bilateral talks in order to increase Nigeria-France trade.
Likewise, when he visited Germany for the 42nd G7 Summit, between 7th
and 8th June, 2018, President Buhari requested assistance from the
G7 members to revive Nigerian economy and also met the World Bank President,
Jin Yong Kin at the sideline of the meeting for the same purpose (Adetayo, 28th
May, 2016).
Moreover, since President Buhari’s visit to the USA in
July, 2015, the issues of BH,
corruption as well as the repatriation of Nigerian stolen funds have continued
to feature prominently in his international contacts and discourses on both
continental and world stage (Odubajo, 2017: 85-86). On the continental stage
for instance, and which is also the focus of this paper, he made two most
important trips for the purpose of peace and security in Africa in 2016.
Firstly, President Buhari attended the 26th AU Summit on peace and
security in Addis Ababa on the 26th January, 2016; and secondly, on
13th December, 2016 he led an ECOWAS delegation to Gambia to
persuade Yahaya Jammeh to accept defeat in the country’s election (Adetayo, 28th
May, 2016).
On the wider world stage, President Buhari made a
number of addresses at international fora that posited his determination to
fight terrorism and corruption; for instance, he attended the
2016-Anti-Corruption Summit in London, and played a visible role with emphasis
on the need for a strong global coalition against corruption (Odubajo, 2017:
86). President Buhari also attended the UN General Assemblies, the Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting, the COP21 Climate Change Summit, and the Nuclear
Security Summit among others (Odubajo, 2017: 87). During some of these fora’s
meetings, he addressed the 70th and 71st Sessions of the
UN General Assemblies in September, 2015, and September, 2016 respectively. In
these addresses, President Buhari expressed his passion for peace and his
determination to fight BH and corrupt
practices in the continent. He enjoined world leaders to work together to rid
the world of terrorism for a more peaceful and prosperous future. The President
also explained that his administration supports the development of an
international legal framework to enforce anti-corruption measures and
strengthen the existing international institutions to effectively deal with
corrupt practices (Buhari, September, 2015 and Buhari, September, 2016).
At the sidelines of all the meetings, President Buhari
lobbied foreign governments where monies carted by Nigerian government
officials were stashed for their repatriation. The cooperation of the foreign
governments was also sought in the area of refusal to provide safe havens for
stolen wealth from Africa as well as assistance to revive Nigerian economy
(Odubajo, 2017: 86). Upon his reputation for honesty and general belief that
his military background and zero tolerance on corruption, President Buhari is accepted
worldwide as well-fitted to wage a successful war against BH and corruption in
Nigeria (Odubajo, 2017: 86). Perhaps, this is why President Muhammadu Buhari
attracted a number of invitations to attend and address international summits
on peace, security and corruption.
Nigeria and the
AU under President Muhammadu Buhari
As in the case of Nigeria’s relations with the wider
world, the three critical issues of security, anti-corruption campaign and
economic recovery in Nigeria and African at large, have formed the most
significant part of the basis upon which the Buhari-led administration has
engaged the AU. In the AU, President Buhari and Nigeria have taken the lead to
addressing the three cardinal issues. For example in the area of security,
Nigeria’s leadership in the AU at the wider world stage is posited by President
Buhari’s addresses at the 71st and 72nd Sessions of the
UN General Assemblies in 2016 and 2017, as follows:
… that the Palestinian issue,
despite years and years of international efforts is no nearer to being
resolved. Nigeria in company with member states of the African Union, firmly
support the Two-State Solution with Palestinian rights to statehood… Africa should
be adequately represented on the United Nations Security Council in the
permanent member category. In this regard Nigeria stands ready to serve Africa
and the world on a Reformed Security Council to advance international peace and
security’ (Buhari, September 2016). And regarding the expansion of ISIS,
we must collectively devise
strategies and mobilise the required responses to stop fleeing ISIS fighters
from mutating and infiltrating into the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin, where
there are insufficient resources and response capacity is weak. This will
require strong UN cooperation with regional organisations, such as the African
Union, in conflict prevention and management (Buhari, 19th
September, 2017).
In the above statements, President Buhari firstly made
the position of the AU with regards to Palestinians issue in which the AU
member states support Palestinian-Israel: two states solution with their rights
to statehood. The President impliedly requested for Africa to be represented by
Nigeria in the permanent member category of UN Security Council. Similarly, a
request was made by President Buhari on behalf of the AU for cooperation with
the UN in order to stop the infiltration and activities of terrorist groups in
the Lake Chad Basin Commission region, where the resources and response
capacity are inadequate. The AU concern on security situation in Nigeria and
the role of Nigeria in anti-corruption campaign and economic recovery in Africa
on the platform of the AU are discussed under the following sub-heads:
Nigeria and the
AU in the Fight against Insurgency
Given Nigeria the Giant of Africa and the country’s
roles in African peace and security efforts within the AU framework, naturally,
peace in Nigeria means African peace. This has been aptly made clear by
Akinterinwa’s description of the place of African peace in Nigeria’s foreign
policy as Nigeria is Africa and Africa is Nigeria (Akinterinwa, 2015). In
addition, during his address to the 16th Session of the UN General
Assembly in 1961, J.A. Wachuku, the former Nigerian Minister of External
Affairs, noted that the peace and tribulations of Africa are the peace and
tribulations of Nigeria. According to him,
… we are
independent in everything, but neutral in nothing that affects the destiny of
Africa. The moment Africa is affected we are involved. We want to make this
absolutely clear! Nigeria finds itself involved in anything affecting the
African continent anywhere, any square inch of African territory- we are
involved… The peace of Africa is the peace of Nigeria. Its tribulations are our
tribulations… (Brownson, 2002: 8).
In line with Nigeria’s commitments and sacrifices
towards African peace and security in words and actions, the issue of BH insurgency, became an AU issue.
Consequently, the issues formed the basis on which the Union’s relations with
Nigeria revolved. Couple with President Buhari’s determination to fight the BH
activities, the Nigeria-AU ties had become consolidated, and the AU continued
to be increasingly concerned with not just the BH insurgency but all the
violent terrorist activities on the continent (Paden, 2016: 82). On every
occasion of the BH attacks, the AU condemned the act in strongest terms and
sympathized with Nigerians. In addition, the AU’s solidarity with the
Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as the Union’s
determination to eliminate the BH were also reiterated (AU Press Release, 1st
February, 2016a; AU Press Release, 17th March 2016; AU, 12th
December, 2016; AU Press Release, 23 March 2017; AU, 19th July,
2017; AU Press Release, 22nd
November, 2017). AU is determined to combat BH and other security
threats in Africa through global cooperation and the instrument of the
Multi-national Joint Task Force (MNJTF). In this regard, foreign countries
provide financial and logistical supports to the MNJTF Mission through the AU
either on individual or collective basis.
The AU and international
partners had been instrumental to the operationalization of the MNJTF; and the
Federal Government of Nigeria made huge financial contributions to that similar
purpose. The AU and Nigerian efforts resulted in the establishment of the MNJTF
Headquarters and Sector Headquarters including the sustenance of its forces.
The AU and the LCBC signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the mobilization
of additional support to the MNJTF in October, 2015 and the Support
Implementation Agreement was again signed on 29th January, 2016
(Chergui, 24th February, 2017). The agreement was followed by a Donors’ Conference in
February, 2016; organized by the AU
Commission. During the Conference, the Chairperson of the AU reiterated
the importance and necessity of MNJTF in the fight against the BH. The
Commissioner for Peace and Security Council welcomed contributions in cash and
in kind to allow the swift constitution of the AU Trust Fund for the MNJTF
operations. The AU Member states and international partners pledged to provide
financial and technical support for LCBC countries in the fight against the BH (AU Press Release, 1st
February, 2016b). Some of the pledges made, include: European Union (EU) and
United Kingdom (UK) pledges of €50 million and £5 million to the AU Peace
Facility for the operations of the MNJTF, respectively (Chergui, 14th
May, 2016).
Subsequently and based on partners pledges, EU made €31.67 million available to the AU out of the pledged €50 million in August 2016. The UK on the
other hand provided the £5
million; bulk of these funds was used to execute various aspects of supports to
the MNJTF. The funds enabled the AU to procure and delivered vehicles,
motorcycles, electrical generators and information technology equipment among
other facilities (Chergui, 24th February, 2017). For example,
in October, 2016 using the UK’s funds, the AU Peace and Security Council
procured and delivered 15 utility vehicles, 30 motorcycles and 8 electrical
generators to the MNJTF (AU Press Release, 29th October, 2016).
Similarly, the Government of Turkey redeemed it pledge of some equipment in
which over 129 Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) were given to the MNJTF in April, 2017. Likewise, on 15th
March, 2018, the AU delivered 61 utility vehicles of different types to the
MNJTF (AU Press Release, 4th April, 2018).
The Place of
Nigeria in the AU Anti-Corruption Campaign
President Buhari’s historical antecedents and his
personal passion for anti-corruption crusade gave Nigeria a new outlook in
Africa and the wider world. As discussed earlier, since his assumption of duty,
he has been campaigning for the fight against corrupt practices in Nigeria and
beyond as well as collaboration with international community for the
repatriation of stolen public resources to Nigeria. His personality and
popularity in the international community improved Nigeria’s image in the
world. In this regard, President Buhari’s efforts have made him fit for the
leadership of the continental fight against corruption. Thus, he earned Nigeria
a position in the AU at leading Africa out of the menace of corruption. In
January, 2018, the AU declared 2018 as the African Year of Anti-corruption with
the theme: ‘Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to
Africa’s Transformation; President Buhari was entrusted by the AU member states
with the responsibility of serving as the Champion of the theme of the year.
Thus, in his address, President Muhammadu Buhari emphasized the necessity of
strong institutions in the continental fight against corruption. According to
him,
A judiciary which stands firm
against arbitrariness and injustice by the executive is a vital pillar in the
anti-corruption fight… We have to encourage increased institutional
collaboration between Law Enforcement Agencies and anti-corruption Agencies in
order to win this fight… corruption breeds unequal societies; renders
vulnerable groups prone… to recruitment into armed groups and militia…
corruption deprives young citizens of opportunities to develop meaningful
livelihoods… Tackling corrupt acts and greed require a reorientation of our
attitudes and perceptions. To win the fight against corruption, we must have a
CHANGE of mindset... Changing the state of play requires retraining a greater
awareness as a means to instill better and more transparent values in the
political class and the citizenry, especially people in positions of trust”
(Buhari, 28th January, 2018).
In addition, during the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the International Criminal
Court (ICC) in July, 2018, President Buhari as the leader of the AU
Anti-corruption crusade submitted that,
… ICC can also act as a catalyst for
other justice efforts, expanding the reach of accountability. These could
include serious cases of corruption by state actors that severely compromise
the development efforts of countries and throw citizens into greater poverty.
These could also include cases of illicit financial flows where countries are
complicit and obstruct repatriation of stolen assets. As the African Union
Champion on Anti-corruption, these are issues dear to my heart (Buhari, July,
2018).
From the foregoing, it is observed that the emergence
of President Buhari to lead continental fight against corruption in Africa
indicates that Nigeria is blessed with a kind of leadership that attracts not
just recognition by African leaders but the wider world. The leadership is
believed to usher Africa into free-corrupt continent and lead not only
Nigerians but Africans to a greater height. In addition, it is a kind of
reawakening from the unwillingness of African leaders to adopt and implement
African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) as
legal and policy framework in anti-corruption crusade in their individual
countries. Despite the strides that have been made towards combating corruption
in Africa by the AU, the menace continues to erode people’s sense of equity and
this is reflected by citizen’s general sense of despair, given the failure of
individual countries to effectively address corruption from its roots. Thus, no
much progress has been recorded in promoting the fight against corruption and
impunity on the continent as a sustainable path to a prosperous Africa, guided
by the frameworks since 2003. President Buhari made a call for serious
campaigns to instill discipline in the minds of African political elites; and through
implementation of the AUCPCC by all AU member states as well as entrenching
effective institutions to influence African agenda in the fight against
corruption (Buhari, January, 2018).
Economic
Recovery
In the area of economic recovery, Nigeria and other AU
member states negotiated economic deals with other part of the wider world. The
deals and agreements were made to improve African dwindling economy through
international trade and assistance. For instance, between 26th and
30th October, 2015, Buhari attended the Third India-Africa Forum
Summit in India. It was the biggest India-Africa Summit ever with
representatives from all fifty-four (54) African countries. Likewise, between 4th
and 5th December, 2015, he attended the China-Africa Cooperation
Forum in South Africa (Adetayo, 28th May, 2016).
However, despite Nigeria’s ardent support for African
unity and development, Nigerian government under President Buhari appears to be
addressing the challenge by shutting down some of the diplomatic missions that
are considered unviable and not important to the national interest. For
example, Nigeria refused to sign the African Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA) agreement. The agreement which was signed during the AU Summit in
Kigali, Rwanda on 21st March, 2018, to increase intra-regional trade
in Africa; and Nigeria is yet to sign it (Nordic Africa Institute, 2018).
According to President Buhari, Nigeria refused to sign AfCFTA because,
We will not agree to anything that
will undermine local manufacturers and entrepreneurs or that may lead to
Nigeria becoming a dumping ground for finished goods (Mumbere, 2018).
This shows that Nigeria’s commitment to the AU is born
of careful articulation with her national interest priorities. Although,
President Buhari has passion for Africa’s peaceful co-existence and economic
development, he has not been overridingly unmindful of Nigeria’s national
interests.
Conclusion
The paper discusses the place of African Union’s
affairs in Nigeria’s foreign policy formulation and the actualization of the
AU’s commitments to President Buhari-led Nigeria, especially regarding the
fight against BH insurgency. It is indicated her that right from the country’s
independence, Nigeria’s commitments to the development of Africa through the
OAU/AU is total and has been without reservation, except where such commitments
seem to undermine the country’s national interests. Moving the continent forward
within the framework of the AU has been the overriding determinant factor of
various Nigerian leaders’ foreign policies and President Buhari-led
administration is not an exception. The operation of Nigeria’s foreign policy
under President Buhari is a reflection of a conscious policy and determination
to protect Nigeria and Africa at large from the menace of corruption,
insecurity and to recover the continental weakening economy at all cost. Thus,
in all his international interactions and affairs, President Buhari posited a
clear focus, a focus that was conceived out of his ardent passion for
corrupt-free and secured Africa with strong economy. He believes that an ideal
society without corrupt practices is the one that begets human and capital
developments. Consequently, Nigeria and President Muhammadu Buhari became the
vanguard of Africa’s continental fight against corruption, violent terrorism
within the framework of the AU; and the AU on the other hand has been making
efforts to get rid of BH insurgency in Nigeria.
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