Few opinions I have read captured my opinion on this prevailing issue of the international community especially the US position on this issue of stolen mandate and the coming inauguration. Two opinions from two former American officials capture the American idiosyncrasy and attitude in matters like this. One was the remarks of the former Secretary of states James Baker when he was reminded that one of the leaders they were dealing with was an evil and repressive dictator. The then Secretary of State retorted and said: Yea! He’s a son of the bitch, but he’s our son of the bitch. The second is the so-called political attaché to the US embassy in Nigeria in the early 90s – I’ve forgotten his name. Reacting to the issue of annulment of the June 12th elections and the emergence of Gen. Abacha, in his official residence as he was being sent forth at the end of his tour of duty, he said: I do not know what else they will do to the Nigerian people before they will rise up.
So many misread what the United States has said or done regarding the issue of the illegal declaration of Tinubu as the president-elect and the ongoing preparation for his inauguration on May 29th 2023. What so many seem not to understand is that, as long as there are no official sanctions against Nigeria or the leadership as we speak, the American official and basic diplomatic formalities towards Nigeria will continue to flourish regardless of what may be the true realities as witnessed in this past presidential elections that INEC declared Tinubu the winner. The truth is that the US and other nations’ intelligence communities perhaps have a deeper knowledge of what transpired in the last elections in Nigeria. They knew it was a sham. More like a charade and state capture. They will express their disgust privately but must follow the official position of their policy until when such compelling reasons will cause them to alter such pre-existing standing policy – we have not seen such compelling reasons from those their mandate was stolen through what’s essentially a civilian coup.
They clearly understand that what happened in Nigeria is simply unprecedented. Like a good Judge who will never, regardless of how he feels about the circumstances of your case will never suddenly become your solicitor or advocate in that case before him or her. The Judge will remain focused as a judge, but can only pray and wish that whoever you hire as a lawyer can raise such issues and the legal precedents and authority he could stand on to unleash opinion and judgement that will now truly convey how he or she as the judge had actually felt about the matter before his or honourable court. This has not happened in this case. In this situation before us, it is on what the Nigerian people started here, the level of opposition and rejection of this open heist and state capture by the Lebanese global criminals like Gilbert Chagoury, the man standing behind Tinubu and his cohorts attempt to hijack Nigeria and deliver to them while Nigerians are either dwelling in ambivalence or are simply scheming around to be invited to the dinner table, even if only to pick the crumbs from under the table. This is what’s playing out as it is today.
It is the level of our rejection of this which will reach a considerable critical mass before the global official position will shift. As a good Judge, it is only then that we shall hear their true opinion and judgement on all that has transpired. So it is Nigerians that will make the case for the situation Nigerians find themselves in today. But it seems that even the educated have such unreasonable expectations of others. It is like expecting from others what you are not willing to give to yourself and that ain’t going to happen. Nigerians must carry their own cross for liberation and freedom, and there’s no better time as PMB the last member of the axis of evil that has held Nigeria in a chokehold is facing the inevitable sunset on his career and life. As a matter of fact, the US authorities in what appears as straddling their position, they’ve been doing a lot of balancing act in this situation. While some official reports condemned the process and the outcome of the elections, even as far as proposing a Visa ban on the arrowheads of election malpractices that produced the same leader they congratulated- more like a contradiction but in reality a deliberate strategy of reserving the right to play either way it goes. After all the US authorities are reputable to make deals with devils to remain relevant and protect their strategic interest as the case may be.
The Biden Administration through Antony Blankin engaged the INEC declared winner Tinubu in a phone conversation and they also proceeded to put together what in my opinion as well, was one of the lowest level of American officials for the inauguration of President of the most populous black nation on earth as well as African economic giant and a net supplier of global energy. The calibre of the team sent by the Biden administration is the clearest indication of their shallow opinion of the incoming administration – if you know you know.
In fact, if all things are equal, this will be considered a slap in the face of this Country. But trust the desperate APC team. They have like the proverbial ant that went around boasting that the gift of yams it received from the grandparents is as huge as its legs. But then as it turned out the ant’s legs are nothing to write home about.
And for the US delegation to Nigeria for the May 29th Inauguration? It speaks bundle for those who understand. It is way less than impressive as many are hyping it up to be. Compare this to the level of officials that grace this kind of inauguration for just ordinary Ghana or in the past, before this controversial one. In fact, under normal circumstances, this is an insult to such a strategic and important Country in the global circle. But that goes to show how short we’ve sold ourselves and how low we are rated.
By Chris O. Maduka Esq.
Disclaimer:
The opinions and views expressed in this write-up are entirely that of the Writer(s). They do not reflect the opinions and views of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or any of its employees. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of materials herein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or its employees concerning the legal status of any country, its authority, area or territory or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. Equally, the sketches, images, pictures and videos are obtained from the public domain
Images of the nine-member delegation sent by President Biden for Tinubu’s Inauguration
