State Emissary, November 2017. Issue 1 2017 Edition | Page 14

SM | POLITICS
Additionally, our past military leadership also
explains Nigeria's dominance of the ECOWAS
military peacekeeping operations (ECOMOG) in
Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Murtala/Obasanjo
leadership played a key role in the Angolan crisis by
swinging support for the MPLA while Nigeria's
former Foreign Minister Joseph Nanven Garba served
as Chairman of the UN Special Committee against
Apartheid. Unsurprisingly, these are a few of the
hallmarks that encouraged many Africans to think of
us as the big brother, a role we may now struggle to
keep.
The Jet-setting President
After his inauguration, President Buhari spent a
quarter of his first 100 days in office outside the
country. Nigerians had to deal with two issues with
Buhari's foreign trips – the occasional faux pas such as
when he displayed his ignorance of Germany's leader
and the fact that Nigerians hear more from the
President when he travels abroad. The latter is even
more frustrating when Buhari addresses issues that
are domestic and could be easily covered at home.
Thanks to his firm control, the perception is that
President Buhari drives foreign policy personally,
which will no doubt stagnate now that his ill health
has hindered his ability to travel.
The trips were spun as a blitz to repair foreign
relations with countries that the previous
administration had mishandled. A closer inspection
shows the flaw in this rationale. Of the nine countries
Buhari visited in his first 100 days, seven were African;
all of which could have been handled with adequate
12 |NOV. 2017
representation from the Foreign Ministry if Buhari did
not wait for six months before naminga Foreign
Minister. In short, his delay set the scene for a
President-led approach to foreign policy.
The Gambia, an opportunity missed
One of the biggest African crises that the Buhari
administration encountered was in the Gambia.
American Presidents are popularly identified by
foreign policy successes or failures – Nixon in
Vietnam, Bush Jr. in Iraq, Obama in Libya.
Nigerian Presidents surprisingly have a similar record
as Obasanjo in Liberia and 'Jonathan in Cote DIvoire
come to mind. Gambia was Buhari's chance to show
that Nigeria was going to continue to lead the region.
But even as Nigeria played a part and Buhari visited
Gambia, the decisive actions and leadership came
from Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and
Senegalese President Macky Sall.
In fairness, Senegal's proximity to the conflict made
them a natural choice to act, but Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire
and Mali, all sites of previous Nigerian foreign policy
triumphs, are not immediate neighbours. Historically,
when West Africa is concerned, Nigeria is the big
brother. Therefore, it is clear that Buhari could have
been more effective in Gambia.
Even though Sall and Johnson-Sirleaf were more
decisive, Buhari had more tools for action. As Nigerian
President, he could have ensured that the
NigerianJustice who served as the Chief Justice of
Gambia presided over a constitutional resolution of