Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki's position in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)- led government is awesome. As chairman of the Governors' Forum, he speaks for all the 36 governors. He was also a kingmaker and played a pivotal role in the enthronement of Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in the flawed elections of 2007.

When he spoke to journalists after meeting with visiting United States of America's Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, nobody was left in doubt as to what the stand of the PDP would be on Mrs Clinton's message for Nigeria, by her verdict and admonition on the "failure of leadership" in the country.

But Gov. Saraki, rather than pouring invectives on the visitor, kept reporters in suspense after their interactive session with him. He probably had to dialogue with the minister of Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe, at whose instance he attended the meeting with the nation's main guest on Wednesday.

"Let the secretary of state finish her visit and we would know who she met with," he enthused. Prodded to comment further on the issue of Mrs Clinton's parley with opposition elements, Saraki enjoined reporters to wait and see.

They didn't have to wait for longs. As the visitor was embarking on the sixth leg of her seven nations' tour of Africa - a visit to Liberia - the spokesperson for the ruling party, Prof Rufai Ahmed Alkali spoke. He took umbrage at the remarks of the United States' secretary of state.

Wait for it... "However, while we welcome her visit to Nigeria...we are at the same time concerned that some of her remarks are not only way of the mark, but also based on misinformation. However, sweeping statements on what she calls a 'failure of leadership' do not correspond with the reality of present-day Nigeria, where a committed leadership operating within the realm of the rule of law holds sway," Alkali said.

The professor of International Relations further insinuated that Mrs. Clinton's meetings with opposition elements fueled her cynicism, even when the US lead foreign policy executor did not a yeoman's job of not directly condemning the administration led by Umaru Yar'Adua.

Alkali continued his undiplomatic diatribe, "Mrs Clinton seems to have taken her briefs from individuals or groups and other failed politicians who have an axe to grind with the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We do not believe that her mission was to confer legitimacy on these groups, who are pursuing narrow interests.

LEADERSHIP WEEKEND learnt that the visiting diplomat at a meeting at the United States' ambassador Ms Robbin Sanders' residence, met with former presidents, a former chief justice, a former president of the Senate, to dissect the crisis of governance and other challenges facing Nigeria, prior to the joint press conference held with her Nigerian counterpart, Ojo Maduekwe.

Alkali's position, however, contradicts Ojo Maduekwe's position. Ojo had admitted that "there is a national consensus strongly in favour of all the issues that the secretary of state has raised." He also took her criticism in good faith. According to the minister "Not all of the criticism is intended to annoy or provoke us. Rather, it is based on a genuine concern that maybe we should do better," he said during a press conference on the second day of the august visit.

The visiting secretary of state had raised issues concerning Nigeria's tardy electoral reform process, the Niger Delta and the sectarian violence that streaked through five states in Northern Nigeria recently, and the lack of rule of law.

Couched in refined diplomatese, she had subtly indicted Nigeria's leading party as not doing enough to ensure sustainable democracy in these words:

"Now we know too that Nigeria faces a range of tough challenges, including the challenges of government capacity and the rule of law and corruption and keeping this large, diverse country moving forward," she courageously stated.

The former US first lady, who by her own admission during a meeting with US embassy officials had garnered over 17 years of representing the world's sole super power 'strongly' called on the government of Nigeria "to increase transparency, reduce corruption, and provide support for democratic processes in preparation for the 2011 elections."

Clinton also promised that the United States would encourage the electoral forums, including the creation of an independent electoral council in preparation for the next elections.

Mrs. Clinton reminded her host, President Umaru Yar'Adua that he should ensure that "money from the earth and its riches were spent on the people."

Mrs Clinton's position re-emphasised President Barack Obama's inaugural speech re-echoed in Accra Ghana, that every nation will be responsible for its own developmental fate.

At his inauguration in January, the US president had said: " To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect."

Underscoring the likelihood of the presence of an Al Quaeda- like sect in Nigeria, Clinton had evasively quipped: "Al Quaeda has a presence in northern Africa, in the Sahel. There's no doubt in our mind that Al Quaeda and like organisations that are part of the syndicate of terror would seek a foothold anywhere they could find one and whether that is the case here or whether this is a home-grown example of fundamentalist extremism, that's up to Nigerians to determine."

She contended that the future of Nigeria is up to Nigerians, reiterating the countries challenges: "the goals of development, electricity generation, food security, road construction, education, and health care that the Nigerian people are seeking and deserve."

But when it came to the topic of corruption - and Nigeria is notoriously corrupt, from top ministers in the government to the plump police officers on the street - Mrs. Clinton took a decidedly different tone.

She told a crowd of civic leaders that the reason so many millions of Nigerians were desperately poor, despite the nation's having so much oil, was "a failure of government at the federal, state and local levels."

She also spoke of flawed elections and a lack of public trust that has seriously eroded the credibility of the Nigerian government.

According to her, "We strongly support and encourage the government of Nigeria's efforts to increase transparency, reduce corruption" and prepare for a clean national election in 2011, after a deeply flawed one in 2007.

Mrs. Clinton avoided answering a question about the Nigerian government's recent crackdown on an extremist Islamic group. According to some reports, more than 700 people were killed a few weeks ago, many of them civilians, and the rebel leader was widely believed to have been executed in police custody.

Mrs. Clinton said she did not have enough information to comment on the operation. The group at the heart of the assault - Boko Haram, a Hausa expression meaning "Western education is prohibited" - has no known links to any broader organisations. Still, Mrs. Clinton said that "we have no doubt that Al Quaeda has a presence in North Africa" and that terrorists would "seek a foothold wherever they can".

In all, her verdict can be encapsulated in "Nigeria is at a crossroads".

America's ties to Nigeria are a crucial piece of the reinvigorated relationship that the Obama administration is trying to strike with Africa. It has 150 million people and is the world's fifth largest supplier of crude oil to the United States. It could supply even more, but heavily armed insurgents in the oil producing areas have hampered drilling operations by blowing up pipelines and kidnapping oil workers, seemingly at will.

There is some hope that this problem, which has been raging for years, may finally be easing. The Nigerian government recently offered an amnesty programme to rebel fighters, and despite ample skepticism from experts and the rebels themselves, Nigerian officials said that many combatants had indicated that they were willing to surrender.

"There was a need to be bold and imaginative," said Nigeria's foreign minister, Ojo Maduekwe, who met with Mrs. Clinton for more than an hour on Wednesday. "Old methods were not going to be good enough."

The United States and Nigeria already cooperate closely on military affairs, with many of Nigeria's top officers having passed through American military academies. Mrs. Clinton said that the Nigerian defense minister asked her on Wednesday for specific American military help to quash the remaining rebels in the oil producing areas, and that the American government would look closely at the request.

Nigeria is the fifth stop on Mrs. Clinton's 11-day, seven-nation African tour. Next she went to Liberia and Cape Verde, then headed back to Washington yesterday.

Local folks still talk about Alkali's rebuttals. In a swift reaction to allegations that Nigeria was not pursuing the anti-graft war with vigour, national vice chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Senator Joseph Waku, said it "unfair and illogical" to say the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had "fallen off" in the last one year.

For Waku, it was an "undiplomatic attack on the EFCC", or at best an exposition of "her bias against the present leadership of the Commission". Waku's position fell flat against the grain of popular perception locally and internationally that sees the hand of the Nigerian government and Nigerians in corrupt deeds across the globe, such as the Halliburton saga and deliberate intervention to scuttle or end the trial of top-notch Nigerians in Europe and America.

At the town hall meeting held in Musa Yar'Adua Centre, largely anti-government questions were asked. The Moshud Erubami-led Transition Monitoring Group that moderated the event was reminiscent of an opposition platform. Nigerians from all walks of life derided Yar'Adua and PDP's hypocrisy and less than competent approach to solving the myriad of the nation's problems.

Corruption, economic mismanagement, extra-judicial killings and lack of political will by government were issues raised. They also lampooned the tendency to foist a one-party state on Nigeria. To all the issues, Mrs Clinton had told the well-attended event that:"No matter how much President Obama and I want this future for you, it will be up to you (Nigerians) to decide whether it will happen or not. You are the ones with the opportunity and the responsibility". She assured the gathering that the US would side with the people in returning Nigeria to prosperity and credible democratic reforms.

The conversation between two local staff at the Information Resource Centre in the presence of this reporter brings the views of Nigerians on Mrs Clinton's positions more succinctly. It is instructive: "There seems to be a coincidence in the name of the author of this book and the national publicity secretary of the ruling party - the Peoples Democratic Party", said a reader at the Information Resource Centre at the United States embassy in Abuja, yesterday, as he tossed up a copy of a textbook with the title 'International Relations and Nigeria's Foreign Policy.'

His acquaintance drew a closer look at the back of the book, with a fixation that spoke volumes. "They really look alike," he answered. "You know why I asked?" he continued the conversation. "Read this statement credited to this man and see if it correlates with the logic of the man who also wrote 'Cornucopia' or 'Pandora Box', at least you read that." After a few minutes of silent reading, he blurted: "The man is doing his paymaster's bidding. He is not the only researcher or scholar to commit this kind of ideological summersault. But it's really a shame. Did the secretary of state lie?"

But by the frenetic pace of activities at the office of Ambassador Joe Keshi, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week, underscored the importance attached to the visit of the United States' secretary of state, Hilary Rodham Clinton, who was setting foot on Nigerian soil for the second time. Her first visit was as spouse of America's 42nd president, William Jefferson Clinton, who made a state visit to Nigeria in August, 2000.

A leading international relations expert, Dr. Adeyemi Adewunmi posited that the visit was a eye-opener that the Nigerian government should be receptive to.

"The bi-national commission is instructive. It means that a lot of follow-up could be done. Yes, they discussed. But the more important thing is to follow up on issues discussed, "he advised.

Rather than find fault with what Mrs Clinton said or didn't say, Amb. Joe Keshi lauded her courage and noted that everything said was food for thought. "She came and at every meeting was very respectful of our views. She very clearly articulated the challenges as partners and proffered how we can partner on issues concerning Nigeria and indeed in the whole of Africa," he asserted.

For Hilary Clinton, the seven-nation visit to Africa renews her bond with the continent. It is also a call for sober reflection.

Only Nigerians can tell.