7 September 2000
Popular constitutional lawyer and human rights and pro-democracy activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome is one individual who is usually very painstaking in keeping himself abreast of developments of national and international importance. And this is why as a renowned public commentator and social critic his views cannot be ignored as they are usually well informed.
The recent visit of American president, Bill Clinton was one development he could not havemissed. And in an encounter with Vanguard Midweek Features, he expresses the view that the visit was a big plus for Nigeria, although the expectations were rather too high.
"I would think that definitely the euphoria was too high. And I think it was Susan Rice, the U.S. Special Secretary of State for Africa who cautioned that the expectation regarding Clinton's visit should not be too high and that we should not expect miracles. I was there in the US and I believed her. You see Clinton by virtue of his lofty standing in the world is the president of the world as it were, because America is so powerful, so wealthy, so rich, so developed, so advanced, that having Clinton in Nigeria is like having the world coming to here. But I want to tell you that the entire attention of the whole world was focused on Nigeria while Clinton's visit lasted. But I think that the expectations were too great in the sense that we were expecting a Father Christmas coming to visit us to solve all our problems, bind our bleeding injuries and heal our wounds so quickly, so magically, so instantaneously, diplomacy does not take place like that. So a lot of Nigerians were disappointed because they thought that Clinton's visiting would just, he would just wave abraka dabra wand and all Nigeria's problems would vanish. That can never be correct.
But, I would prefer to look at Clinton's visit from a more philosophical angle, not from the mundane or transient material angle which is the angle of what he had given to us. It is fine enough that he promised us about ten million dollars I think for AIDS, gave us some for education, some for transportation, some for rural development, health care and all that, promised to build our military, help to equip it, retrain our soldiers and professionals them. That is okay, all these are okay. But, at the end of the day you ask yourself one simple question: how much do all the promises amount to? The ten million dollars voted for AIDS is nothing more than one billion Naira. That is what some ministers and senators pocket when they are executing contracts.
That one billion Naira could not have been enough for Abacha's son to play around with his girlfriends on a weekend, because on one occasion he actually carried seven hundred million dollars which is 70 billion naira and kept it in his house in Abuja. So in terms of material gains it was like a droplet of water from an oasis in a large desert. But like I said I want to look at the visit from a more philosophical angle and that is the angle of the final recognition and admission of Nigeria into the committee of civilized nations. It was a symbolic cleansing of the stigmatized perception of Nigeria being a pariah nation which was its image throughout the military juntas particularly under the Abacha regime.
So for Clinton, the most powerful president in the world, to have come to Nigeria, stayed with us for three days is a very positive sign of plus for Nigeria in terms of where we are going from now.
So we should therefore be happy and be gratified and thankful to God that Clinton's visit marks the beginning of international respect and reverence which befits Nigeria as a great nation well-endowed with human and natural resources. It is from that angle I look at Clinton's visit."
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