Smart Uhakheme is an American based Nigerian scholar who has bias for international politics.

An associate professor of political science and Surrogate Dean, School of Social Sciences, Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida, Uhahkeme's years of sojourn in the United States revolve around giving perspectives on global politics.

He was home recently to present his latest study on Nigeria-United States relations, focusing on both countries' perspectives on political change in Africa in the waning years of decolonization. In this encounter with Sunday Vanguard, Uhakheme speaks on a number of issues bordering on Nigeria-United States relations, the pitfalls in the nation's foreign policy as well as solution to the lingering crisis in the Niger Delta. Excerpts:

GOING by your recent studies on the Nigeria-United States relations, what would you attribute as being the strengths and weaknesses of the bilateral relations between the two countries?

From the Nigerian angle, it is the civil society that are really sustaining the issue of relationship between the two countries.

That's we are talking about good governance and promotion of democracy. The civil society in Nigeria are the ones that are championing entrenchment of democratic government in the country.

They led the fight against military dictatorship of yesteryears. It should be a thing of interest because the United States is known for promoting democracy all over the world. So, Nigeria needs US to help out in its effort to sustain democracy and also to avoid going back to the days of dictatorship that undermined the prospects and progress of the country. Another point that needs to be stressed here is that of the hinterland.

The United States depends on Nigerian oil and seems to show more concern in respect of the interruption of the nation's oil flow. And that's why the US today wants the crisis in the oil-rich Niger Delta resolved with urgency. Nigeria is the third oil supplier-nation to the United States. And America cannot afford to lose that supply . Come to think of it, about three of the multi-national companies operating in the Niger Delta are owned by the United States. US is opposed to using force to resolve the crisis in the Niger Delta. They want the crisis to be resolved amicably and I think that Nigeria government also wants the Niger Delta crisis to be resolved once and for all. But I believe that the United States wants the crisis resolved through negotiation, and not through force.

From the point you have raised, where would you place the British government's interest in terms of reaching a decision to lend military support to the country as a way of tackling the crisis in the Niger Delta?

The military support that the British government is pushing for is borne out of the need to protect its economic interest in the region. There is a history of that. Britain and the United States particularly adopt what we call "gunboat diplomacy" which is a situation whereby whenever the governments of the two countries need anything from a country, what they normally do is move their warships on the country's coastline as a ploy to cow that country. They later open up negotiation with that country. The European countries are known to have perfected this kind of act.

As scholar of international politics, in a situation of agitating for a just cause, do you think that using the force of arms as Britain is advocating will bring about the much desired peace in the Niger Delta?

I don't think that using force will solve the lingering problem in the Delta region. The Niger Delta people have a very legitimate agitation. Their problems have been documented all over the world. The government of Nigeria just needs to have the political will to right the wrong in the oil rich region.

Now, that you have said this, if you are asked to advise the government on how to tackle the problem, what would you proffer as a solution to the crisis in the oil rich area besides the creation of Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs?

The Federal Government should do the right in the Niger Delta. The successive governments allowed the problem to linger for too long. When the Niger Delta crisis started initially, the government should have dealt with it at the early stage. But it was allowed to linger for too long. The government needs to be fair to the people. As for the proposed Niger Delta summit, there is need for the Federal Government to appoint credible entity that would deal with the crisis without fear or favour for either parties, a credible entity that will be objective in addressing the Niger Delta issue. That's they way forward for the Delta region.

The crisis in the Niger Delta needs to be addressed. The Nigerian government cannot wish it away. The question of employing foreign military aid to deal with the crisis is out of the way. Nigerian government does not need any outside influence to address its eternal problem. There is no need for military presence in the Niger Delta. All the government needs to do is just to be fair to the people, and also to develop the area once and for all. My advise to Umar Yar'Adua's led government is for it to do the right thing in the Niger Delta. Let Mr. President rise to the occasion by endeavouring to take care of the agitation of the people. And he would have been sure that hostage-taking and kidnaping will become a thing of the past in the Niger Delta.

Aside oil and political understanding between the two countries, in what other areas of interest do you think America would want to throw its weight behind Nigeria?

There are about 33 million Africans who are based in the United States. In any political set up, that number remains a strong bloc. And if they are organized, they can pressurize the American government to support the developmental efforts of the Nigerian state and indeed African countries. The chances are there for Nigerians and the African-Americans in the United States to explore other areas of interest in the two countries bilateral relations. I think US is gaining more in its relationship with Nigeria. And that's not because US is entitled to that. But because, as a nation, we have not been able to leverage our own resources.

There are so many things that Nigeria needs to do to win America's support for the developmental agenda of the government that we are not doing till today. For instance, being able to articulate our interest, putting our house in order and projecting viable economic policy. Because, today, some of the issues we are concerned with tend to take away what we are supposed to be doing in terms of strengthening our economy.

The Niger Delta crisis is a distraction. We cannot expect America to assist Nigeria develop her technology, when we are begging the country to provide the nation with security to stem the tide in the Niger Delta. I think Nigeria should be able to sit on the negotiation table with US government to seek compensation, having been supplying oil to US for a good number of years now. We don't just have to allow America to take our oil without putting anything back into our economy.

My book chronicles the relationship between the United States and Nigeria, dating back to the years of decolonization, the role Nigeria played in the past in helping African countries such as Namibia, Angola, Zimbabwe and South Africa to attain independence, a the role the United States played in the struggle for political emancipation of South Africans.

As a scholar in international politics, how would describe the direction of Nigeria's foreign policy?

Initially, Nigeria played the big brother role to many African countries very well. But it was not sustained. It is the fault of our past leaders who were not able to leverage all the resources that we have had, and all the things that we have done for other African countries. If we have been blessed with the gift of good leadership, our leaders would have known how to leverage all these things. I know that we are also faced with our own problems, but we still need to extend brotherly help to other African countries, since we are better placed than these countries.

In the process of doing that, we should be promoting our own national interest. Looking at the various governments that have emerged after Murtala Muhammed's regime, none of them was strong in terms of strengthening the nation's ties with other countries.

I give credit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who during his eight years rule tried to excel in the area of debt reduction and servicing, revamping of the economy and the recapitalization that we witnessed in the banking sector. But there is need for consistence in the nation's foreign policy.

That's why the need for strong institutions to sustain these policies come to play. If we have strong institutions in place, it does not matter who becomes the president. Because these institutions, rather than individuals, will carry on the affairs of the state when the politicians have left the stage. Now, every government that emerges tries to reverse policies that are already in place. So, there is no continuity in our nation's foreign policy. And the absence of continuity creates a vacuum in our foreign policy.