NIGERIA’S PRAGMATISM IN THE NEW WORLD ORDER

Realism is the new synonym for diplomacy, argues JOSHUA J. OMOJUWA

Kemi Badenoch, the Leader of the UK Conservative Party often divides opinions. One never thought that a day would come when we’d would see her as an example for best practice. Ms Badenoch gives it to the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, daily. She never holds back. This is expected of her as leader of the opposition. She is also a fan of President Trump and has been quick to align with some of his most vocal allies like Elon Musk. The United States looking to annex Greenland has divided the West in a way it’s never been for several decades. That division has created a need for European leaders to take a stand.

When you read, “A terrible idea. President Trump is completely wrong to announce tariffs on the UK over Greenland. People in both UK and US will face higher costs. These tariffs will be yet another burden for businesses across our country. The sovereignty of Greenland should only be decided by the people of Greenland. On this, I agree with Keir Starmer”, you’d be forgiven to ascribe those words to anyone but Ms Badenoch. But those are her words. When push came to shove, when time came to choose between her country and the United States, she was unequivocal in choosing her country. That doesn’t make her special in a country where patriotism is the norm. In Nigeria, that would be an exceptional act for a leader of the opposition.

As each country had this unwanted attention focused on them, you just hope that in this case, Nigeria would be ignored. This was one of those times we could do with indifference. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s turn landed. Being called a “disgraced country” was not the worst of the humiliation.

When time comes for retrospection, at the quiet of time, unusual as they are, when a new era dawns and hopefully brings some respite, we’d come to see that for all our faults, we did all we had to do. Because these times have never been. As we navigate them, we will not have enough presence of mind to appreciate how unusual they are; because survival is our primary intention. When we have survived and we look behind, we’d come to see that things could indeed have been worse. We’d also remember that those who ought to stand for the country chose to play politics, a presidential aspirant even saying he wouldn’t mind an American invasion.

The New York Times report about the Screwdriver Salesman whose activities influenced narratives and some of the actions of a global power is an indication of the current order. Postmodernism and its appurtenances precede our contemporary society, what makes it more dangerous than ever is that its effects enjoy the liberty and power of the ubiquity of today’s media and modern technology. Anyone is an influencer in today’s world. In the end, Nigeria was at odds with the United States and it needed to act. So far, this has led to a U.S. air strike in Sokoto and the supplies of ammunition in support of Nigeria’s anti-terrorism efforts, something the U.S. deemed an act of ‘partnership.’

Nigeria had turned chaos into profit. Because no one appreciates a safe landing until they experience some trouble landing, that smooth navigation has been treated like a non-event. But the discovery that Nigeria spent $4.9m on lobbyists, which those who were asking for accountability increased to $9m, has brought the country’s Washington efforts back to the fore.

Those who criticised those efforts must feel justified, but it is a justification borne out of ignorance. Ignorance in this case is better than an intentional commitment to blindness. You’ve got to know the workings of Washington to understand that lobbyists, though often controversial, have been a staple of this city since the 1790s. It started from the lobby of a famous Washington hotel. Lobbyists are the bridge between different interest groups, like foreign governments, corporations, NGOs, organisations like FIFA, individuals, etc., and policymakers. They don’t always succeed. You are free to do the leg work of course. You can go from block to block in Washington, trying to advance your agenda or you can just secure a solid lobbyist.

In Nigeria, lobbying is associated with corruption. Because it is crass, undefined and blatant in practice. The U.S., as it often does, created a legal pathway with defined rules for people and organisations, to legally achieve the same ends as the perceived ‘corruption’ in Abuja would earn you. That Trump’s tweets, with all the hysteria they created, have ended with the U.S. Government now using words like ‘partners’ and ‘partnership’ to describe some of the outcomes of those tweets did not happen by accident. Those things don’t happen by government officials just shaking hands and posting the photos on social media. Those are already outcomes.

You won’t access the rooms, let alone the people to shake hands with without the work of the people who know the lay of the land. There are seemingly invisible people that make things happen in Washington. Especially today’s Washington. This is not a secret to those who know how that city and the country itself works. If you are shocked, well, the pleasure is mine. We learn everyday. As long as you don’t see it as an opportunity to double down on your ignorance. That is not to say you aren’t free to do that too. You have at least been briefed.  You cannot get anything done at scale in Washington without lobbyists. Even state governments in the U.S. hire lobbyists to drive their agenda.

We had a complicated knot to fix in the United States, one that could have evolved into a design problem over the course of the Trump administration. These things don’t look right to the naked eye, but the thing is, the New World Order isn’t one for the naked eye. Pragmatism is the new synonym for diplomacy, at least for the next three years. That, or chaos. The evidence is on show everyday.

Omojuwa is chief strategist, Alpha Reach/BGX Publishing