It is such a privilege to be here in a conference in honour of Professor Chinua Achebe, an inspiration and teacher to all of us.
I have a long connection to Nigeria. Not only was I, an Ambassador there, I have travelled to and from Nigeria for a number of years and have a deep and abiding vital emotional attachment to the Nigerian people, their magnificence, their courage, artistic brilliance, their irony, sense of humour in the face of challenges, etc.

And, I hope that we keep that in mind when I say some things that I think are counter to what we normally say about Nigeria. And, I say that with all due respect to Eric Silla, who is doing a magnificent work at State Department and to our good friends from the legislature; because I have a feeling that we both Nigerians and Americans may be doing Nigeria and Nigerians no favour by stressing Nigeria's strategic importance.


I know all the arguments: It is a major oil-producer, it is the most populous country in Africa, it has made major contributions to Africa in peace-keeping, and, of course, negatively if Nigeria were to fall apart, the ripple effects would be tremendous, etc. But, I wonder if all this emphasis on Nigeria's importance creates a tendency to inflate Nigeria's opinion of its own invulnerability.

Among much of the elite today, I have the feeling that there is a belief that Nigeria is too big to fail, too important to be ignored, and that Nigerians can go on ignoring some of the most fundamental challenges they have,many of which we have talked about: a disgraceful lack of infrastructure, the growing problems of unemployment, the failure to deal with the underlying problems in the Niger-Delta, the failure to consolidate democracy; and somehow feel will remain important to everybody because of all those reasons that are strategically important.
And I am not sure that that is helpful.

Let me sort of deconstruct those elements of Nigeria's importance, and ask whether they are as relevant as they have been.

One in five Africans is a Nigerian, so…

We often hear that one in five Africans is a Nigerian. What does it mean? Do we ever say one in five Asians is a Chinese? Chinese power comes not just for the fact that it has a lot of people but it has harnessed the entrepreneurial talent and economic capacity and all the other talents of China to make her a major economic force and political force.

What does it mean that one in five Africans is Nigeria? It does not mean anything to a Namibian or a South African. It is a kind of conceit. What makes it important is what is happening to the people of Nigeria. Are their talents being tapped? Are they becoming an economic force? Is all that potential being used?

And the answer is Not really

And oil. Yes, Nigeria is a major oil producer, but Brazil is now launching a 10-year programme that is going to make it one of the major oil producers in the world.

And every other country in Africa is now beginning to produce oil.
And Angola is rivaling Nigeria in oil production, and the United States has just discovered a huge gas reserve which is going to replace some of our dependence on imported energy.

So if you look ahead ten years, is Nigeria really going to be that relevant as a major oil producer, or just another of the many oil producers while the world moves on to alternative sources of energy and other sources of supply?

How influencial is Nigeria?

And what about its influence and contributions to the continent? As our representative from the parliament talked about, there is a great history of those contributions. But that is history.

Is Nigeria really playing a major role today in the crisis in Niger on its border, or in Guinea, or in Darfur, or, after making many promises, any contributions to Somalia?

The answer is no. Today Nigeria is not making a major impact on its region, or on the African Union or on the big problems of Africa.
What about its economic influence?

Well, as we have talked about earlier, there is a de-industrialisation going on in Nigeria” lack of infrastructure and power means that with imported goods under globalisation, Nigerian factories are closing and more people are becoming unemployed. Nigeria is becoming a kind of society that imports and exports and lives off the oil, which does not make it a significant economic entity.

Now, of course, on the negative side, the collapse of Nigeria would be enormous, but is that a point to make Nigeria strategically important?
Years ago, I worked for an Assistant Secretary of State who had the longest tenure in that job in the 1980s; and I remember in one meeting a Minister from a country not very friendly to the United States, came in and was berating the Assistant Secretary on all the evils of the United States and all its dire plots and in-things in Africa.

He was going on and on and finally the Assistant Secretary cut him off and said, You know, the biggest danger for your relationship with the United States is not our opposition but that we will find you irrelevant.”

Nigeria-America relationship

The point is that Nigeria can become much less relevant to the United States. We have already seen evidence of it when President Obama went to Ghana and not to Nigeria. He was sending a message that Ghana symbolised more of the significant trends, issues and importance that one wants to put on Africa than Nigeria.

And when I was asked by journalists why President Obama did not go to Nigeria, I said, what would he gain from going? Would Nigeria be a good model for democracy? Would it be a model for good governance? Would he obtain new commitments on Darfur or Somalia or strengthen the African Union or in Niger or elsewhere?

No he would not, so he did not go.

And when Secretary Clinton did go, indeed, she also went to Angola. Who would have thought years ago that Angola would be the most stable country in the Gulf of Guinea and establish a binominal commission in Angola?

So the handwriting may already be on the wall, and that is a sad commentary.
What it means is that Nigeria's most important strategic importance in the end could be that it has failed.

That is a sad, sad conclusion. It does not have to happen, but I think that we ought to stop talking about what a great country it is, and how terribly important it is to us and talk about what it would take for Nigeria to be that important and great.

It takes an enormous amount of commitment. You do not need saints, you do not need leaders like Nelson Mandela in every state, because you are not going to get them.

South Korean example

I served in South Korea in the middle of the 1960s and it was at the time when South Korea was poor and considered hopeless. But she was turning around, later to become, to every person's amazement, then the eleventh largest economy in the world. I remember the economist in my mission saying,it did not bother him that the leading elite in the government of South Korea were taking 15 to 20 per cent off the top of every project, as long as every project was a good one.

That was the difference. The leadership at the time was determined to solve the fundamental economic issues of South Korea and turn her economy around.

It has not happened in Nigeria today. You don't need saints. It needs leaders who say, You know we could be becoming irrelevant, and we got to do something about it.

Princeton Lyman - Former US Ambassador to Nigeria

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/01/nigeria-becoming-irrelevant-in-the-world/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

joeyfire:
It is such a privilege to be here in a conference in honour of Professor Chinua Achebe, an inspiration and teacher to all of us.
I have a long connection to Nigeria. Not only was I, an Ambassador there, I have travelled to and from Nigeria for a number of years and have a deep and abiding vital emotional attachment to the Nigerian people, their magnificence, their courage, artistic brilliance, their irony, sense of humour in the face of challenges, etc.

And, I hope that we keep that in mind when I say some things that I think are counter to what we normally say about Nigeria. And, I say that with all due respect to Eric Silla, who is doing a magnificent work at State Department and to our good friends from the legislature; because I have a feeling that we both Nigerians and Americans may be doing Nigeria and Nigerians no favour by stressing Nigeria's strategic importance.


I know all the arguments: It is a major oil-producer, it is the most populous country in Africa, it has made major contributions to Africa in peace-keeping, and, of course, negatively if Nigeria were to fall apart, the ripple effects would be tremendous, etc. But, I wonder if all this emphasis on Nigeria's importance creates a tendency to inflate Nigeria's opinion of its own invulnerability.

Among much of the elite today, I have the feeling that there is a belief that Nigeria is too big to fail, too important to be ignored, and that Nigerians can go on ignoring some of the most fundamental challenges they have,many of which we have talked about: a disgraceful lack of infrastructure, the growing problems of unemployment, the failure to deal with the underlying problems in the Niger-Delta, the failure to consolidate democracy; and somehow feel will remain important to everybody because of all those reasons that are strategically important.
And I am not sure that that is helpful.

Let me sort of deconstruct those elements of Nigeria's importance, and ask whether they are as relevant as they have been.

One in five Africans is a Nigerian, so…

We often hear that one in five Africans is a Nigerian. What does it mean? Do we ever say one in five Asians is a Chinese? Chinese power comes not just for the fact that it has a lot of people but it has harnessed the entrepreneurial talent and economic capacity and all the other talents of China to make her a major economic force and political force.

What does it mean that one in five Africans is Nigeria? It does not mean anything to a Namibian or a South African. It is a kind of conceit. What makes it important is what is happening to the people of Nigeria. Are their talents being tapped? Are they becoming an economic force? Is all that potential being used?

And the answer is Not really

And oil. Yes, Nigeria is a major oil producer, but Brazil is now launching a 10-year programme that is going to make it one of the major oil producers in the world.

And every other country in Africa is now beginning to produce oil.
And Angola is rivaling Nigeria in oil production, and the United States has just discovered a huge gas reserve which is going to replace some of our dependence on imported energy.

So if you look ahead ten years, is Nigeria really going to be that relevant as a major oil producer, or just another of the many oil producers while the world moves on to alternative sources of energy and other sources of supply?

How influencial is Nigeria?

And what about its influence and contributions to the continent? As our representative from the parliament talked about, there is a great history of those contributions. But that is history.

Is Nigeria really playing a major role today in the crisis in Niger on its border, or in Guinea, or in Darfur, or, after making many promises, any contributions to Somalia?

The answer is no. Today Nigeria is not making a major impact on its region, or on the African Union or on the big problems of Africa.
What about its economic influence?

Well, as we have talked about earlier, there is a de-industrialisation going on in Nigeria” lack of infrastructure and power means that with imported goods under globalisation, Nigerian factories are closing and more people are becoming unemployed. Nigeria is becoming a kind of society that imports and exports and lives off the oil, which does not make it a significant economic entity.

Now, of course, on the negative side, the collapse of Nigeria would be enormous, but is that a point to make Nigeria strategically important?
Years ago, I worked for an Assistant Secretary of State who had the longest tenure in that job in the 1980s; and I remember in one meeting a Minister from a country not very friendly to the United States, came in and was berating the Assistant Secretary on all the evils of the United States and all its dire plots and in-things in Africa.

He was going on and on and finally the Assistant Secretary cut him off and said, You know, the biggest danger for your relationship with the United States is not our opposition but that we will find you irrelevant.”

Nigeria-America relationship

The point is that Nigeria can become much less relevant to the United States. We have already seen evidence of it when President Obama went to Ghana and not to Nigeria. He was sending a message that Ghana symbolised more of the significant trends, issues and importance that one wants to put on Africa than Nigeria.

And when I was asked by journalists why President Obama did not go to Nigeria, I said, what would he gain from going? Would Nigeria be a good model for democracy? Would it be a model for good governance? Would he obtain new commitments on Darfur or Somalia or strengthen the African Union or in Niger or elsewhere?

No he would not, so he did not go.

And when Secretary Clinton did go, indeed, she also went to Angola. Who would have thought years ago that Angola would be the most stable country in the Gulf of Guinea and establish a binominal commission in Angola?

So the handwriting may already be on the wall, and that is a sad commentary.
What it means is that Nigeria's most important strategic importance in the end could be that it has failed.

That is a sad, sad conclusion. It does not have to happen, but I think that we ought to stop talking about what a great country it is, and how terribly important it is to us and talk about what it would take for Nigeria to be that important and great.

It takes an enormous amount of commitment. You do not need saints, you do not need leaders like Nelson Mandela in every state, because you are not going to get them.

South Korean example

I served in South Korea in the middle of the 1960s and it was at the time when South Korea was poor and considered hopeless. But she was turning around, later to become, to every person's amazement, then the eleventh largest economy in the world. I remember the economist in my mission saying,it did not bother him that the leading elite in the government of South Korea were taking 15 to 20 per cent off the top of every project, as long as every project was a good one.

That was the difference. The leadership at the time was determined to solve the fundamental economic issues of South Korea and turn her economy around.

It has not happened in Nigeria today. You don't need saints. It needs leaders who say, You know we could be becoming irrelevant, and we got to do something about it.

Princeton Lyman - Former US Ambassador to Nigeria

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/01/nigeria-becoming-irrelevant-in-the-world/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Bubu? Why

joeyfire:
It is such a privilege to be here in a conference in honour of Professor Chinua Achebe, an inspiration and teacher to all of us.
I have a long connection to Nigeria. Not only was I, an Ambassador there, I have travelled to and from Nigeria for a number of years and have a deep and abiding vital emotional attachment to the Nigerian people, their magnificence, their courage, artistic brilliance, their irony, sense of humour in the face of challenges, etc.

And, I hope that we keep that in mind when I say some things that I think are counter to what we normally say about Nigeria. And, I say that with all due respect to Eric Silla, who is doing a magnificent work at State Department and to our good friends from the legislature; because I have a feeling that we both Nigerians and Americans may be doing Nigeria and Nigerians no favour by stressing Nigeria's strategic importance.


I know all the arguments: It is a major oil-producer, it is the most populous country in Africa, it has made major contributions to Africa in peace-keeping, and, of course, negatively if Nigeria were to fall apart, the ripple effects would be tremendous, etc. But, I wonder if all this emphasis on Nigeria's importance creates a tendency to inflate Nigeria's opinion of its own invulnerability.

Among much of the elite today, I have the feeling that there is a belief that Nigeria is too big to fail, too important to be ignored, and that Nigerians can go on ignoring some of the most fundamental challenges they have,many of which we have talked about: a disgraceful lack of infrastructure, the growing problems of unemployment, the failure to deal with the underlying problems in the Niger-Delta, the failure to consolidate democracy; and somehow feel will remain important to everybody because of all those reasons that are strategically important.
And I am not sure that that is helpful.

Let me sort of deconstruct those elements of Nigeria's importance, and ask whether they are as relevant as they have been.

One in five Africans is a Nigerian, so…

We often hear that one in five Africans is a Nigerian. What does it mean? Do we ever say one in five Asians is a Chinese? Chinese power comes not just for the fact that it has a lot of people but it has harnessed the entrepreneurial talent and economic capacity and all the other talents of China to make her a major economic force and political force.

What does it mean that one in five Africans is Nigeria? It does not mean anything to a Namibian or a South African. It is a kind of conceit. What makes it important is what is happening to the people of Nigeria. Are their talents being tapped? Are they becoming an economic force? Is all that potential being used?

And the answer is Not really

And oil. Yes, Nigeria is a major oil producer, but Brazil is now launching a 10-year programme that is going to make it one of the major oil producers in the world.

And every other country in Africa is now beginning to produce oil.
And Angola is rivaling Nigeria in oil production, and the United States has just discovered a huge gas reserve which is going to replace some of our dependence on imported energy.

So if you look ahead ten years, is Nigeria really going to be that relevant as a major oil producer, or just another of the many oil producers while the world moves on to alternative sources of energy and other sources of supply?

How influencial is Nigeria?

And what about its influence and contributions to the continent? As our representative from the parliament talked about, there is a great history of those contributions. But that is history.

Is Nigeria really playing a major role today in the crisis in Niger on its border, or in Guinea, or in Darfur, or, after making many promises, any contributions to Somalia?

The answer is no. Today Nigeria is not making a major impact on its region, or on the African Union or on the big problems of Africa.
What about its economic influence?

Well, as we have talked about earlier, there is a de-industrialisation going on in Nigeria” lack of infrastructure and power means that with imported goods under globalisation, Nigerian factories are closing and more people are becoming unemployed. Nigeria is becoming a kind of society that imports and exports and lives off the oil, which does not make it a significant economic entity.

Now, of course, on the negative side, the collapse of Nigeria would be enormous, but is that a point to make Nigeria strategically important?
Years ago, I worked for an Assistant Secretary of State who had the longest tenure in that job in the 1980s; and I remember in one meeting a Minister from a country not very friendly to the United States, came in and was berating the Assistant Secretary on all the evils of the United States and all its dire plots and in-things in Africa.

He was going on and on and finally the Assistant Secretary cut him off and said, You know, the biggest danger for your relationship with the United States is not our opposition but that we will find you irrelevant.”

Nigeria-America relationship

The point is that Nigeria can become much less relevant to the United States. We have already seen evidence of it when President Obama went to Ghana and not to Nigeria. He was sending a message that Ghana symbolised more of the significant trends, issues and importance that one wants to put on Africa than Nigeria.

And when I was asked by journalists why President Obama did not go to Nigeria, I said, what would he gain from going? Would Nigeria be a good model for democracy? Would it be a model for good governance? Would he obtain new commitments on Darfur or Somalia or strengthen the African Union or in Niger or elsewhere?

No he would not, so he did not go.

And when Secretary Clinton did go, indeed, she also went to Angola. Who would have thought years ago that Angola would be the most stable country in the Gulf of Guinea and establish a binominal commission in Angola?

So the handwriting may already be on the wall, and that is a sad commentary.
What it means is that Nigeria's most important strategic importance in the end could be that it has failed.

That is a sad, sad conclusion. It does not have to happen, but I think that we ought to stop talking about what a great country it is, and how terribly important it is to us and talk about what it would take for Nigeria to be that important and great.

It takes an enormous amount of commitment. You do not need saints, you do not need leaders like Nelson Mandela in every state, because you are not going to get them.

South Korean example

I served in South Korea in the middle of the 1960s and it was at the time when South Korea was poor and considered hopeless. But she was turning around, later to become, to every person's amazement, then the eleventh largest economy in the world. I remember the economist in my mission saying,it did not bother him that the leading elite in the government of South Korea were taking 15 to 20 per cent off the top of every project, as long as every project was a good one.

That was the difference. The leadership at the time was determined to solve the fundamental economic issues of South Korea and turn her economy around.

It has not happened in Nigeria today. You don't need saints. It needs leaders who say, You know we could be becoming irrelevant, and we got to do something about it.

Princeton Lyman - Former US Ambassador to Nigeria

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/01/nigeria-becoming-irrelevant-in-the-world/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Bubu? Why?

The world is just waiting for Nigerians to take the bull by the horns and kick out Buhari

This is so true. I've never seen the need to be excited over the Nigerian population when it's practically a big for nothing giant with clay feet. Some remain stuck on that factor and attach so much importance to it which is why the moment a separation is demanded for the start kicking and trying to point out the great advantages of the large population. What has it translated to?

We remain stuck at tribe and religion when there's so much to achieve; we keep electing myopic, dull, uneducated, aged, unintelligent and slow vagabonds in positions of authority and that is why we remain this way. Such a shame...giant indeed!

Some will still find reason to critique these home-truths until the inevitable happens. By all means be proud of your country but never take pride in mediocrity! Nigeria can and should do better and when that isn't happening as is the case, the best form of loyalty and patriotism is to call the culprits out until something is done! If nothing gets done, by all means pull out and chart a new course! Don't stay stuck!

So true! Unfortunately, Nigerians hate it when served raw.

SalamRushdie:
The world is just waiting for Nigerians to take the bull by the horns and kick out Buhari

The matter is now beyond Buhari sef. Nigeria is of no strategic importance to the world anymore. Now the world is looking for how to partner with likes of Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia etc

joeyfire:


The matter is now beyond Buhari sef. Nigeria is of no strategic importance to the world anymore. Now the world is looking for how to partner with likes of Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia etc

But Buhari still has to go

Buhari the DESTROYER! He did in 1984, decades after he repeated same feat.

Oh! What a terrible COW we have in Aso Rock!

Kicking the cow back to Daura is a task we must accomplish come 2019. Yes we can!

joeyfire:
It is such a privilege to be here in a conference in honour of Professor Chinua Achebe, an inspiration and teacher to all of us.
I have a long connection to Nigeria. Not only was I, an Ambassador there, I have travelled to and from Nigeria for a number of years and have a deep and abiding vital emotional attachment to the Nigerian people, their magnificence, their courage, artistic brilliance, their irony, sense of humour in the face of challenges, etc.

And, I hope that we keep that in mind when I say some things that I think are counter to what we normally say about Nigeria. And, I say that with all due respect to Eric Silla, who is doing a magnificent work at State Department and to our good friends from the legislature; because I have a feeling that we both Nigerians and Americans may be doing Nigeria and Nigerians no favour by stressing Nigeria's strategic importance.


I know all the arguments: It is a major oil-producer, it is the most populous country in Africa, it has made major contributions to Africa in peace-keeping, and, of course, negatively if Nigeria were to fall apart, the ripple effects would be tremendous, etc. But, I wonder if all this emphasis on Nigeria's importance creates a tendency to inflate Nigeria's opinion of its own invulnerability.

Among much of the elite today, I have the feeling that there is a belief that Nigeria is too big to fail, too important to be ignored, and that Nigerians can go on ignoring some of the most fundamental challenges they have,many of which we have talked about: a disgraceful lack of infrastructure, the growing problems of unemployment, the failure to deal with the underlying problems in the Niger-Delta, the failure to consolidate democracy; and somehow feel will remain important to everybody because of all those reasons that are strategically important.
And I am not sure that that is helpful.

Let me sort of deconstruct those elements of Nigeria's importance, and ask whether they are as relevant as they have been.

One in five Africans is a Nigerian, so…

We often hear that one in five Africans is a Nigerian. What does it mean? Do we ever say one in five Asians is a Chinese? Chinese power comes not just for the fact that it has a lot of people but it has harnessed the entrepreneurial talent and economic capacity and all the other talents of China to make her a major economic force and political force.

What does it mean that one in five Africans is Nigeria? It does not mean anything to a Namibian or a South African. It is a kind of conceit. What makes it important is what is happening to the people of Nigeria. Are their talents being tapped? Are they becoming an economic force? Is all that potential being used?

And the answer is Not really

And oil. Yes, Nigeria is a major oil producer, but Brazil is now launching a 10-year programme that is going to make it one of the major oil producers in the world.

And every other country in Africa is now beginning to produce oil.
And Angola is rivaling Nigeria in oil production, and the United States has just discovered a huge gas reserve which is going to replace some of our dependence on imported energy.

So if you look ahead ten years, is Nigeria really going to be that relevant as a major oil producer, or just another of the many oil producers while the world moves on to alternative sources of energy and other sources of supply?

How influencial is Nigeria?

And what about its influence and contributions to the continent? As our representative from the parliament talked about, there is a great history of those contributions. But that is history.

Is Nigeria really playing a major role today in the crisis in Niger on its border, or in Guinea, or in Darfur, or, after making many promises, any contributions to Somalia?

The answer is no. Today Nigeria is not making a major impact on its region, or on the African Union or on the big problems of Africa.
What about its economic influence?

Well, as we have talked about earlier, there is a de-industrialisation going on in Nigeria” lack of infrastructure and power means that with imported goods under globalisation, Nigerian factories are closing and more people are becoming unemployed. Nigeria is becoming a kind of society that imports and exports and lives off the oil, which does not make it a significant economic entity.

Now, of course, on the negative side, the collapse of Nigeria would be enormous, but is that a point to make Nigeria strategically important?
Years ago, I worked for an Assistant Secretary of State who had the longest tenure in that job in the 1980s; and I remember in one meeting a Minister from a country not very friendly to the United States, came in and was berating the Assistant Secretary on all the evils of the United States and all its dire plots and in-things in Africa.

He was going on and on and finally the Assistant Secretary cut him off and said, You know, the biggest danger for your relationship with the United States is not our opposition but that we will find you irrelevant.”

Nigeria-America relationship

The point is that Nigeria can become much less relevant to the United States. We have already seen evidence of it when President Obama went to Ghana and not to Nigeria. He was sending a message that Ghana symbolised more of the significant trends, issues and importance that one wants to put on Africa than Nigeria.

And when I was asked by journalists why President Obama did not go to Nigeria, I said, what would he gain from going? Would Nigeria be a good model for democracy? Would it be a model for good governance? Would he obtain new commitments on Darfur or Somalia or strengthen the African Union or in Niger or elsewhere?

No he would not, so he did not go.

And when Secretary Clinton did go, indeed, she also went to Angola. Who would have thought years ago that Angola would be the most stable country in the Gulf of Guinea and establish a binominal commission in Angola?

So the handwriting may already be on the wall, and that is a sad commentary.
What it means is that Nigeria's most important strategic importance in the end could be that it has failed.

That is a sad, sad conclusion. It does not have to happen, but I think that we ought to stop talking about what a great country it is, and how terribly important it is to us and talk about what it would take for Nigeria to be that important and great.

It takes an enormous amount of commitment. You do not need saints, you do not need leaders like Nelson Mandela in every state, because you are not going to get them.

South Korean example

I served in South Korea in the middle of the 1960s and it was at the time when South Korea was poor and considered hopeless. But she was turning around, later to become, to every person's amazement, then the eleventh largest economy in the world. I remember the economist in my mission saying,it did not bother him that the leading elite in the government of South Korea were taking 15 to 20 per cent off the top of every project, as long as every project was a good one.

That was the difference. The leadership at the time was determined to solve the fundamental economic issues of South Korea and turn her economy around.

It has not happened in Nigeria today. You don't need saints. It needs leaders who say, You know we could be becoming irrelevant, and we got to do something about it.

Princeton Lyman - Former US Ambassador to Nigeria

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/01/nigeria-becoming-irrelevant-in-the-world/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

"Not surprise". Decades of oppression and marginalization of Igbos, wanton killings, arrogance/impunity of the northern genocidists/jihadists supported by the envious Yorubas have taken the wind off Nigerian future. Irrelevance, means among others the dearth of aspirations, implosion, fragmentation, sliding backwards into oblivion.

Yorubas, are you surprise??..

Nigeria is indeed a shithole country with the current shithole leaders.

Nigeria must rise to the occasion of a society beyond ethinic gingoism

These intellectually lazy pdp youths can't even comprehend that the speech was made in 2010 when Jonathan was busy destroying everything in sight through his cluelessness!

freeze001:
This is so true. I've never seen the need to be excited over the Nigerian population when it's practically a big for nothing giant with clay feet. Some remain stuck on that factor and attach so much importance to it which is why the moment a separation is demanded for the start kicking abd trying to point out the great advantages of the large population. What has it translated to?

We remain stuck at tribe and religion when there's so much to achieve; we keep electing myopic, dull, uneducated, aged, unintelligent and slow vagabonds in positions of authority and that is why we remain this way. Such a shame...giant indeed!

Some will still find reason to critique these home-truths until the inevitable happens. By all means be proud of your country but never take pride in mediocrity! Nigeria can and should do better and when that isn't happening as is the case, the best form of loyalty and patriotism is to call the culprits out until something is done! If nothing gets done, by all means pull out and chart a new course! Don't stay stuck!

Well, u'v said it all....I jst wish we can alter the course Nigeria and indeed Nigerians are heading b4 it becomes 2 late

joeyfire:
It is such a privilege to be here in a conference in honour of Professor Chinua Achebe, an inspiration and teacher to all of us.
I have a long connection to Nigeria. Not only was I, an Ambassador there, I have travelled to and from Nigeria for a number of years and have a deep and abiding vital emotional attachment to the Nigerian people, their magnificence, their courage, artistic brilliance, their irony, sense of humour in the face of challenges, etc.

And, I hope that we keep that in mind when I say some things that I think are counter to what we normally say about Nigeria. And, I say that with all due respect to Eric Silla, who is doing a magnificent work at State Department and to our good friends from the legislature; because I have a feeling that we both Nigerians and Americans may be doing Nigeria and Nigerians no favour by stressing Nigeria's strategic importance.


I know all the arguments: It is a major oil-producer, it is the most populous country in Africa, it has made major contributions to Africa in peace-keeping, and, of course, negatively if Nigeria were to fall apart, the ripple effects would be tremendous, etc. But, I wonder if all this emphasis on Nigeria's importance creates a tendency to inflate Nigeria's opinion of its own invulnerability.

Among much of the elite today, I have the feeling that there is a belief that Nigeria is too big to fail, too important to be ignored, and that Nigerians can go on ignoring some of the most fundamental challenges they have,many of which we have talked about: a disgraceful lack of infrastructure, the growing problems of unemployment, the failure to deal with the underlying problems in the Niger-Delta, the failure to consolidate democracy; and somehow feel will remain important to everybody because of all those reasons that are strategically important.
And I am not sure that that is helpful.

Let me sort of deconstruct those elements of Nigeria's importance, and ask whether they are as relevant as they have been.

One in five Africans is a Nigerian, so…

We often hear that one in five Africans is a Nigerian. What does it mean? Do we ever say one in five Asians is a Chinese? Chinese power comes not just for the fact that it has a lot of people but it has harnessed the entrepreneurial talent and economic capacity and all the other talents of China to make her a major economic force and political force.

What does it mean that one in five Africans is Nigeria? It does not mean anything to a Namibian or a South African. It is a kind of conceit. What makes it important is what is happening to the people of Nigeria. Are their talents being tapped? Are they becoming an economic force? Is all that potential being used?

And the answer is Not really

And oil. Yes, Nigeria is a major oil producer, but Brazil is now launching a 10-year programme that is going to make it one of the major oil producers in the world.

And every other country in Africa is now beginning to produce oil.
And Angola is rivaling Nigeria in oil production, and the United States has just discovered a huge gas reserve which is going to replace some of our dependence on imported energy.

So if you look ahead ten years, is Nigeria really going to be that relevant as a major oil producer, or just another of the many oil producers while the world moves on to alternative sources of energy and other sources of supply?

How influencial is Nigeria?

And what about its influence and contributions to the continent? As our representative from the parliament talked about, there is a great history of those contributions. But that is history.

Is Nigeria really playing a major role today in the crisis in Niger on its border, or in Guinea, or in Darfur, or, after making many promises, any contributions to Somalia?

The answer is no. Today Nigeria is not making a major impact on its region, or on the African Union or on the big problems of Africa.
What about its economic influence?

Well, as we have talked about earlier, there is a de-industrialisation going on in Nigeria” lack of infrastructure and power means that with imported goods under globalisation, Nigerian factories are closing and more people are becoming unemployed. Nigeria is becoming a kind of society that imports and exports and lives off the oil, which does not make it a significant economic entity.

Now, of course, on the negative side, the collapse of Nigeria would be enormous, but is that a point to make Nigeria strategically important?
Years ago, I worked for an Assistant Secretary of State who had the longest tenure in that job in the 1980s; and I remember in one meeting a Minister from a country not very friendly to the United States, came in and was berating the Assistant Secretary on all the evils of the United States and all its dire plots and in-things in Africa.

He was going on and on and finally the Assistant Secretary cut him off and said, You know, the biggest danger for your relationship with the United States is not our opposition but that we will find you irrelevant.”

Nigeria-America relationship

The point is that Nigeria can become much less relevant to the United States. We have already seen evidence of it when President Obama went to Ghana and not to Nigeria. He was sending a message that Ghana symbolised more of the significant trends, issues and importance that one wants to put on Africa than Nigeria.

And when I was asked by journalists why President Obama did not go to Nigeria, I said, what would he gain from going? Would Nigeria be a good model for democracy? Would it be a model for good governance? Would he obtain new commitments on Darfur or Somalia or strengthen the African Union or in Niger or elsewhere?

No he would not, so he did not go.

And when Secretary Clinton did go, indeed, she also went to Angola. Who would have thought years ago that Angola would be the most stable country in the Gulf of Guinea and establish a binominal commission in Angola?

So the handwriting may already be on the wall, and that is a sad commentary.
What it means is that Nigeria's most important strategic importance in the end could be that it has failed.

That is a sad, sad conclusion. It does not have to happen, but I think that we ought to stop talking about what a great country it is, and how terribly important it is to us and talk about what it would take for Nigeria to be that important and great.

It takes an enormous amount of commitment. You do not need saints, you do not need leaders like Nelson Mandela in every state, because you are not going to get them.

South Korean example

I served in South Korea in the middle of the 1960s and it was at the time when South Korea was poor and considered hopeless. But she was turning around, later to become, to every person's amazement, then the eleventh largest economy in the world. I remember the economist in my mission saying,it did not bother him that the leading elite in the government of South Korea were taking 15 to 20 per cent off the top of every project, as long as every project was a good one.

That was the difference. The leadership at the time was determined to solve the fundamental economic issues of South Korea and turn her economy around.

It has not happened in Nigeria today. You don't need saints. It needs leaders who say, You know we could be becoming irrelevant, and we got to do something about it.

Princeton Lyman - Former US Ambassador to Nigeria

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/01/nigeria-becoming-irrelevant-in-the-world/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

they should just help divide the populous to nothing nation into two

yoruba and north to be called nigeria
eastern part biafra...

Good evening

Nigeria is irrelevant!

Reelectbuhari:



they should just help divide the populous to nothing nation into two

yoruba and north to be called nigeria
eastern part biafra...

Good evening

They are already working towards the collapse.

Only foolish Nigerians think the US is still on the same page with Nigeria.

Nigeria needs to be broken up into prosperous nations.

Sirjamo:
These intellectually lazy pdp youths can't even comprehend that the speech was made in 2010 when Jonathan was busy destroying everything in sight through his cluelessness!

You know, in ur hurry to castigate all things Jonathan, u didn't stop to check when in 2010 this interview was granted and then educate yourself on when Jonathan became President. Well done o!

Some of u need to come out of petty politics and realise that the geographical expression called Nigeria is gone to the dogs. Her only relevance to other countries is for them to come score cheap money and then contain the useless population to avoid any major unrest that can lead to humanitarian disasters. Keep looking for Jonathan to blame and Buhari to defend.

freeze001:


You know, in ur hurry to castigate all things Jonathan, u didn't stop to check when in 2010 this interview was granted and then educate yourself on when Jonathan became President. Well done o!

Some of u need to come out of petty politics and realise that the geographical expression called Nigeria is gone to the dogs. Her only relevance to other countries is fir them to come score cheap money and then contain the useless population to avoid any major unrest that can lead to humanitarian disasters. Keep looking for Jonathan to blame and Buhari to defend.

Jonathan was Nigeria's president in the whole of 2010, when he wasn't substantial, he was acting. Its you who needs to do some checking.

freeze001:
This is so true. I've never seen the need to be excited over the Nigerian population when it's practically a big for nothing giant with clay feet. Some remain stuck on that factor and attach so much importance to it which is why the moment a separation is demanded for the start kicking abd trying to point out the great advantages of the large population. What has it translated to?
We remain stuck at tribe and religion when there's so much to achieve; we keep electing myopic, dull, uneducated, aged, unintelligent and slow vagabonds in positions of authority and that is why we remain this way. Such a shame...giant indeed!

we haven't been overrun by our neighbours
ask bakassi ppl
and now herds men ish

Some will still find reason to critique these home-truths until the inevitable happens. By all means be proud of your country but never take pride in mediocrity! Nigeria can and should do better and when that isn't happening as is the case, the best form of loyalty and patriotism is to call the culprits out until something is done!

only call out?
who calling out epp

If nothing gets done, by all means pull out and chart a new course! Don't stay stuck!

Sirjamo:
These intellectually lazy pdp youths can't even comprehend that the speech was made in 2010 when Jonathan was busy destroying everything in sight through his cluelessness!

eternal slaves always taljking trash

I blame sango 4 leading u all to futa jalon slavery

Sirjamo:
Jonathan was Nigeria's president in the whole of 2010, when he wasn't substantial, he was acting. Its you who needs to do some checking.

Not true. Jonathan became acting President in Feb 2010 then substantive president in May 2010. This interview was done in January 2010.

Like I said,

freeze001:


Some of u need to come out of petty politics and realise that the geographical expression called Nigeria is gone to the dogs. Her only relevance to other countries is fir them to come score cheap money and then contain the useless population to avoid any major unrest that can lead to humanitarian disasters. Keep looking for Jonathan to blame and Buhari to defend.

Sirjamo:
Jonathan was Nigeria's president in the whole of 2010, when he wasn't substantial, he was acting. Its you who needs to do some checking.

Not true. Jonathan became acting President in Feb 2010 then substantive president in May 2010. This interview took place in January 2010.

Like I said,

freeze001:


Some of u need to come out of petty politics and realise that the geographical expression called Nigeria is gone to the dogs. Her only relevance to other countries is fir them to come score cheap money and then contain the useless population to avoid any major unrest that can lead to humanitarian disasters. Keep looking for Jonathan to blame and Buhari to defend.

Reelectbuhari:



eternal slaves always taljking trash

I blame sango 4 leading u all to futa jalon slavery

Sensible Nigerians know who the real slaves are, a tribe that got crushed twice and has been treated like outcast for over fourty years with no end in sight! that's a real definition of slavery.

Sirjamo:
Sensible Nigerians know who the real slaves are, a tribe that got crushed twice and has been treated like outcast for over fourty years with no end in sight! that's a real definition of slavery.

atleast the tribe is no coward, jittery and double faced

was it not ur own people dat keep saying the tribe wants to leave Nigeria without dem


is on record una be slaves 4 life

ask tinubu wia him dey

the slave done run go London to meet his master

just these few days he left 4 london

he couldn't bear it



una be slaves jare

Reelectbuhari:



atleast the tribe is no coward, jittery and double faced

was it not ur own people dat keep saying the tribe wants to leave Nigeria without dem


is on record una be slaves 4 life

ask tinubu wia him dey

the slave done run go London to meet his master

just these few days he left 4 london

he couldn't bear it



una be slaves jare

At least, my leader can hold meetings with his master, yours can't go anywhere near him except to go look for crumbs to eat. First time your ancestors got hammered, a northerner was in charge, second time, a northerner again, you've been completely decimated and you will remain hostage in this country for life. OSU

Sirjamo:
At least, my leader can hold meetings with his master, yours can't go anywhere near him except to go look for crumbs to eat. First time your ancestors got hammered, a northerner was in charge, second time, a northerner again, you've been completely decimated and you will remain hostage in this country for life. OSU

slaves which beg 4 unity


actually is u people dat is begging 4 the crumbs

can u people ever stand on ur own... hell no

used once, used again and again

sometimes I wonder if slavery is akin to yorubas
ask una iwo why he wants to change to emir
simply to please his masters

Tufiakwa


Slaves in 21st century synonymous to cowardice

Sirjamo:
At least, my leader can hold meetings with his master, yours can't go anywhere near him except to go look for crumbs to eat. First time your ancestors got hammered, a northerner was in charge, second time, a northerner again, you've been completely decimated and you will remain hostage in this country for life. OSU

I wonder y a whole tribe will be begging to be enslaved in this modern age...

una no get shame.m

must this amala una mothers always stir with toilet broom has a dangerous adverse effect to this extent


am even looking 4 10 of ur tribe to enslave since slavery na there hubby

Reelectbuhari:



slaves which beg 4 unity


actually is u people dat is begging 4 the crumbs

can u people ever stand on ur own... hell no

used once, used again and again

sometimes I wonder if slavery is akin to yorubas
ask una iwo why he wants to change to emir
simply to please his masters

Tufiakwa


Slaves in 21st century synonymous to cowardice

Until you can explain why the hausas crushed your ancestors and ran ojukwu into exile, came back again 40 years later, crushed your generation and ran kanu out of town, you remain ordinary chest beater and you can only run your mouths like a broken tap. Bye

Sirjamo:
Until you can explain why the hausas crushed your ancestors and ran ojukwu into exile, came back again 40 years later, crushed your generation and ran kanu out of town, you remain ordinary chest beater and you can only run your mouths like a broken tap. Bye

where u dey run go Mr slavery




dats y awolowo die a slave drinking rat poison