Nigerians Lobbyists: To Support! (or Condemn)? Nigeria

By Paul I. Adujie

It is great news to me that Diaspora Nigerians are emerging as lobbyists! It is overdue!

Diaspora Nigerians are emerging in large numbers as lobbyists or potential lobbyists!

These confluences and convergences of interest groups in post general elections period in Nigeria is quite interesting indeed!

First, Nigerians were inundated with a letter written by a saber rattling group, a self-styled, 100 Concerned Nigerians Abroad” And soon after that, Nigerians found another group pestering us! Another rabble rousing group, apparently nudged into its public whining by their Nigerian friends, no doubt, these Nigerians made up of obviously disgruntled and defeated partisans, some of them at least, some are clearly friends of these bunch of foreigners, who wrote under the aegis of “48 Nobel Laureates”

Furthermore, another letter-writing followed on the heels of the others above; This time, the Nigerians called themselves Alliance for Credible Elections or the ACE, their letter was directed at Chancellor Angela Merkel the current political head or leader of Germany, urging her to revoke the invite issued to President-Elect Yar’Adua to attend the forthcoming Conference of Group of 8 Industrialized/developed nations scheduled to hold in Germany. Thereby taking a swipe at Nigeria by slighting our president? ACE, is in essence, demanding and urging Germany to disrespect Nigeria, in the name of ACE!

This attempt at taking international public swipe at President YarAdua led Dr. Ola Kassim in Canada to say, “I am so amazed at how supposedly mature, sophisticated and highly educated Nigerians, could demonstrate this profound degree of naiveté about world affairs?” He further asked a follow-up question, “how naïve and sickeningly naïve can some Nigerians get?”

There are clearly, many Diaspora Nigerians who are desirous of new avocations and vocations! Lobbying is certainly a very green and virgin field for Nigerians
It is perhaps a good thing that Nigerian voices are being heard in Nigeria as well as in America, Britain, Canada and in Germany etc!

After all, debates, occasional dissents, and even protests, all form parts of some of the essential elements, and ingredients of vibrant and vigorous democracy. This is welcome in Nigeria. Nigerians want and deserve a vibrant and robust democracy.

Additionally, it bears repeating, even for another billion times, that the best cure for imperfect democracy is more democracy!

In furtherance and in pursuits of these ideals and tenets of democracy therefore, it is hoped that Diaspora Nigerians would put Nigeria’s national interests first and foremost, in all activities, efforts and dealings. Nothing must be done to manipulate the current or future Nigerian leadership from within Nigeria or from afar, in foreign capitals. Nothing!

Nothing must be done that may be anathema to Nigeria’s national interests overall, and nothing must be done to damage Nigeria image and esteem, on the world stage.

Diaspora Nigerians must ensure that they and their supporters are accountable, transparent and honest in all their activities, dealings and efforts pertaining to Nigeria. They must make sure to make full and complete disclosures, and assiduously avoid conflicts of interests. They must be seen to demonstrate meticulous transparency.

Diaspora Nigerians making private and public pronouncements and proclamations in the name of Nigerians and Nigeria, must ensure that they are not rabid partisans lacking in integrity, credibility, fair and balanced transactions in matters Nigeria. As they may lose credibility and respect, if they are seen as vindictive partisan elections losers, who have resorted to chicaneries and shenanigans in campaigns of calumnies!

There is this added concern that I must express. I certainly cannot help but wonder right now, why Diaspora Nigerians, who are among the most educated, most enlightened, the most sophisticated and the most savvy, in America, Britain and Canada etc, now seem, all of a sudden, to be exhibiting some sorts of herd mentalities? Why does it appear as if, some Diaspora Nigerians are suddenly paying attention to the crucially important arts and science of lobbying? And for what, one may ask?

It is equally important to ask why, every current lobby activity, must be to castigate?

Why these recent upsurge and spates of lobbying in most acerbic, bellicose and corrosive in tones and outlooks, an outlooks that are so offensively caustic and sulfuric!

Why does it appear as if these Diaspora Nigerians are lobbying for short termed and shortsighted goals and clearly partisan purposes? Why is it that the same individuals are driving these petitions?

Curiously for instance, Professor Bolaji Aluko has been broadcasting e-mails to many Nigerian politics internet websites and groups, Professor Aluko is a partisan, a well known member of the Action Congress political party of Atiku Abubakar, I have observed his distributions and commentaries on all the letter writings and petitions that I have mentioned above in this article. “100 Concerned Nigerians Abroad”, “48 Nobel Laureates” as well as the one written to the German leader Chancellor Angela Merkel, by a so-called Alliance for Credible Elections or the ACE. Whatever these letter writing and petitions were supposed to be worth, if at all, such have been clearly rubbished by the coloration of them, by vapid Atiku Abubakar partisans like Bolaji Aluko! Aluko resorted filthy and unprintable gutter language due to my criticism of his partisan and offensive campaigns against Nigeria! Talk about Internet Area Boys!

These letter writing and petitioning must therefore be seen for what they are! They taking sides with persons, agents and political parties defeated at the just concluded general elections in Nigeria. These are not objective, neutral or dispassionate efforts. These are persons who are knowingly fomenting unsettling conditions, and if unknowing persons, persons who are unwittingly being used by persons, agents and defeated political partisans

AND, this is these activities are suspect. Why else does every efforts so far, at least, appear as attacks? Attacks! Aggressive and vindictive attacks! Attacks it appears, merely intended to frustrate and intimidate the political opponents of those who were out-voted and outmaneuvered at the just concluded general elections?

These are these same partisans and their agents, who did not have any core values or core philosophy for public good? Are these agents of those crying over spilled milk, politically speaking? Are these agents of political parties which presented no manifestoes to the Nigerian electorate? Are these agents of those who did not care to present or debate alternatives for Nigeria? Are these agents of those who did not demonstrate any chance that they actually could be “better”?

Shall we not, in all fairness, ask why all these lobbying to spite and take swipes at political opponents? Shall we not question these apparent vindictive actions of vendettas by elections losers, directed against political opponents, who were declared winner at the last elections?

How about, Diaspora Nigerians lobbying instead, for Nigerians and Nigeria’s common and greater good? How about lobbying for better trade and foreign policy by America, Britain and Canada etc towards Nigeria? They lobbied against Nigeria for appointment to International Criminal Court of the United Nations. They lobbied against Nigeria over Charles Taylor, they always seem to lobby against Nigeria how about lobbying FOR her? Edifices are so easy to destroy, but how about building super-structures for Nigeria?

How effective anyways, do these sudden lobbyists Diaspora Nigerians think they might be with their “48 Nobel Laureates” American friends, if they were to ask their Americans friends, say, to write letters or petition, to the American Senate or the entire United States Congress, demanding that the US bestow better trade and foreign policies toward Nigeria? Or that the US Congress remove American subsidies and trade tricks to benefit Nigeria? And award Nigeria most favorite trading nation status yearly? How effective do these newly minted Diaspora Nigerian lobbyists think they would be, in garnering the attention of the British Parliament, Canadian Parliament and a bunch of 48 Nobel Laureates to advance Nigeria’s national interests? Particularly so, if such interests conflicts with American, British and or Canadian national interests?

Would these 48 Nobel Laureates, American friends of these Diaspora Nigerians write to Halliburton Company, to demand that Halliburton pay taxes as and when due, to Nigeria?

Nigeria Lobbyists will do well to lobby foreign individuals, institutions and governments for Nigeria’s development, advancement and greatness!

Robot  Villager

# 1 How about, Diaspora Nigerians lobbying instead, for Nigerians and Nigeria’s common and grea...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 25.05.2007 10:51

truthsayer33  Villager

# 2 just like the bully who expects you to stand still and keep quiet as he pummels you.....hell no,patriotism applies to all of us. If OBJ and his goons want to loot and shoot their way to power,then it is the duty of every right thinking nigerian to make sure they experience maximum discomfort as they swallow their ill gotten gains. If diaspora nigerians are not even allowed to vote from abroad(now we know the reason) how can the same government talk about loyalty and national interest? You insult us and insult our intelligence.....expect what James Baldwin called the 'Fire next time' Remember OBJ's declaration that the election would be a do or die affair? And for those who don't know their history it was the German Schroeder who told OBJ to tackle corruption before begging for debt relief.....that is why the lobbying of the present German leader makes sense. And what was that Nigerian diplomat in India doing with millions of dollars in his diplomatic bag? Don't we have banks in Nigeria for handling government money? I guess he was laundering Nigeria's national interest. Posted by truthsayer33| 25.05.2007 12:42

akuluouno  Villager

# 3 Hon P. Adujie Esq, Sometimes you confuse friendly fire with that type which we used to sit around in the village and roast corns or goats for festivities as well as warm our hands. :D :D :D In reality, it is a bullet aimed mistakenly which comes like a thunder from the blues and kills a friend or compatriot especially in times of war. It is always deadly and there is nothing friendly about it. I have warned that patriotism is a feeling, a positive attitude of mind and love for a nation, and it cannot be compelled or forced down the throats of right thinking citizens. Indeed it is one behaviour which is provoked in people by examples more than precepts. So far I believe that there is something very sinister in the patriotism spectrum that makes those at the opposite end to think that they have monopoly of the patriotic high ground. I was almost afraid that you would describe Mrs Merkel as unpatriotic and an enemy of Nigeria, but thank God it never happened. My people always frown when a masquerade is being pushed into the arena where other masks are performing, by its followers. I think we have such a mask on our hands either by accident or desig and if the global community frowns at us and some of us who still retain some modicum of the virtue of shame say it, let us not be visited with friendly fire.:idea: :twisted: Posted by akuluouno| 25.05.2007 16:30

I Love Nigeria  Villager

# 4 Subject: RE: Re: Nigerian Lobbyists: To Support! (or Condemn)? Nigeria Date: 5/25 5:15 PM From: Rotimi.Osunsan@dc.gov Subject: RE: Re: Nigerian Lobbyists: To Support! (or Condemn)? Nigeria Date: 5/25/2007 5:15:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: Rotimi.Osunsan@dc.gov Reply To: To: abujaNig@yahoogroups.com, LAWCAREER2007@aol.com, NaijaElections@yahoogroups.com, naijawomen@yahoogroups.com CC: BCC: Sent on: Sent from the Internet (Details) Internet Address Card Attached Subject: RE: Re: Nigerian Lobbyists: To Support! (or Condemn)? Nigeria Date: 5/25/2007 5:15:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: Rotimi.Osunsan@dc.gov Reply To: To: abujaNig@yahoogroups.com, LAWCAREER2007@aol.com, NaijaElections@yahoogroups.com, naijawomen@yahoogroups.com CC: BCC: Sent on: Sent from the Internet (Details) To All Readers: Greeetings. It is realy depressing to read through the cyberspace the trashing of our leaders in Nigeria by those who should have known better - those who were taught the ABC and given the opportunities to secure some of the best education money could buy free of charge - those who betrayed the country when their acquired skills are so much needed by the country that had nurtured them - those who, despite the forgiving spirit enshrined in the nature of our motherland, see only evil and speak only evil of their benefactors - those who should be made to pay back, amounting to billions of dollars before they are allowed back into the country, for they are debtors, in some real sense (ask those who are still paying college loans back in the United States!). In the Yorubal land, the adage goes - "only *******s do point to their homes with the left hands" as those 'non-patriotic' Nigerians not only betray our country but also invite foreigners to do even worse. What's the business of the German Chancellor, the 48 Nobel Laureates, the United States of America or any other country for that matter, has to do with our internal affairs. And so what if they thought we rigged elections in Nigeria? Its Nigeria and it's a Nigerian thing which they can never understand! It doesn't really matter how many internationa observers are there present. Our leaders are sure not stupid - they have to do what they need to do to win. And what's wrong with winning anyway? Whatever it is, it's none of their business. It is ours, however to make sure we do it better with time. And we will. They have the liberty to choose their friends and if any country or group prefers not to trade or be friendly with Nigeria , so be it. It takes two anyway. The fact is Nigeria is such a strategic partner to so many countries, her significance cannot be overlooked or diminished by the others. Nigeria is one of the greatest countries on earth. Period. However it has the potential to be the greatest if there is a change of attitudes - a vision - a focus - a mission to set long terms goals for the generations to come. I always dream of a country greater than even the United States in 100 years if we're (including the so called 100 concerned Nigerians out of the 20 millions living outside of the country) determined to make it so. We should think of the contributions of the American early Presidents, like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, to mention a few. Did they have a dream of the present day America ? You bet, they did. Generally, we're just too selfish, self centered and short sighted to realize our blessings. We should be grateful to Nigeria and continue to build rather than destroy. Yes, we all need to harness our resources to invoke a new frontier and build the greatest nation on earth rather than bash it all of the time. Our leaders need our help - the guidance and direction - and not our pandering for our share of the goodies - the loot. As I mentioned in a posting a few weeks ago, for example - we need not a Diaspora Village now - it's pandering at best - fine bara - rather, we need to give back. We need to return to our various bases and see how we can empower our people - those we left behind. We need to see how we can rebuild the infrastructures and build vibrant communities of where we hailed from. Not Abuja , not a Diaspora Village ! The concept and method are too compromised, anyway! I don't mean to attack NIDO, please. We need to begin the process of enfranchising ourselves first to be a factor in the affairs of Nigeria . A block of 20 million potential votes is very powerful by any standards. We have squandered the opportunities for relevance over and over. Our first lobby should be directed to ensuring the absentee voting mechanism is in place by all means to bring us to the table of governance and policy making. I believe we deserve to have representatives at the branches of government - legislature and the executive, considering our mass and financial strength. We should expend our energies on systemically building both political and economic forces to be reckoned with in Nigeria and internationally. This will be the basis and synergy for an effective lobbying on behalf of our country and our people. Again, let us all refrain from 'pointing to our father's house with our left hand' lest we'd be perceived as *******s by the Merkels, the Laureates (can you believe that?) Thomas-Greenfiels (Linda Thomas-Greenfield that I know is a very fine diplomat with a lot of respect for Nigeria - I wouldn't know where the statement attributed to her in a recent article came from) and all others we encourage to insult our leaders. When our leaders are insulted so are our people. It hurts me when my people are thought to be incompetent or stupid. I know they are not. I know poverty is a leveler and I know poverty is actually perpetuated by those foreign partners who now criticize our leaders (think Julius Berger!). We must not continue to encourage them. We must protect our national interests at all costs. We must be thankful and not remorseful for all the blessings endowed through Nigeria - we were once and still a vibrant economy but we must begin to restructure our decays to bring all our people, with none left behind, from the shadows of prosperity and into the sunshine wealth of Nigeria . With the help of all, we can do it. We are the pride of Africa the Giant of Africa. Let no man dry our dirty linens in the public any longer. Now, let us all roll up our sleeves and be the best lobbyists for Nigeria. Oh, it's healthy if we disagree on issues but our focus must be beamed on the best interests of Nigeria. I wish everyone the best. Thank you Paul Adujie and Dr. Ola Kassim for this discussion. Finally, if anyone believes or even thinks Nigeria is invited to the Group of Eight (G8) for the sole purpose of a photo op with President-elect Yar'Ardua, let them think again. So long, folks. Rotimi Osunsan Former 1993 Presidential & 2003 Gubernatorial Aspirant Washington D.C. From: abujaNig@yahoogroups.com On Behalf Of OlaKassimMD@aol.com Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 12:59 PM To: LAWCAREER2007@aol.com; NaijaElections@yahoogroups.com; naijawomen@yahoogroups.com; abujaNig@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: Nigerian Lobbyists: To Support! (or Condemn)? Nigeria Dear Paul: Thanks for speaking out for the 'silent' majority of Diaspora Nigerians worldwide. I couldn't have said it any better. Those in the Diaspora who engage in lobbying against Nigeria, Nigerians and the Nigerian government certainly have the right to do so. Similarly, those amongst us who would rather lobby for the advancement of Nigeria (notwithstanding the shortcomings of our political leaders) also have the inalienable rights to free speech. The tendency in the past is for most progressive Nigerians to keep quiet and let the anti-Nigeria lobbyists have a field day no matter the topic under discussion concerning Nigeria. I believe this is about to change! We must engage our fellow compatriots who are inclined on reversing whatever gains we've made in Nigeria since 1999 in open but civilized debates. When they carry they placards to protest against Nigeria in front of the White House in DC, in Trafalgar Square in London or on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada those who think otherwise should also organize counter demonstrations in these locations at the same time. The naysayers are definetely no less Nigerian or less patriotic than the rest of us. The only difference between the two camps is one of perspective! I also agree with you that it is only fair to the reading public that anyone entering the debate must declare any potential conflicts of interest that he or she may have. It is difficult to be objective about the outcome of an electoral process (no matter how flawed) when one has so much at stake in the process. My hope is that as the debate for the soul of Nigeria heats up both at home and amongst the Diaspora that we will keep the the language civil and avoid resorting to name calling and making threats that can be easily misconstrued as blackmail. It is a new dawn in the fight to remake the Nigerian Image worldwide! Bye, Ola -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See what's free at AOL.com. Posted by I Love Nigeria| 25.05.2007 19:42