Former spokesman of  Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ozo Nwobu in this interview with Editor-in-Chief of whitewatersdigest.com, Ben Agande,  speaks on issues affecting the Nigeria/United States of America Diplomatic relations and offers insights into how the deteriorating relations between the two countries can be halted.

He said the non-Appointment of Ambassadors two years after the government of Bola Tinubu came into office is a “Diplomatic Blunder” and urged the government to immediately correct this and engage a strong lobby team for the country in the United States of America.

Excerpts below:

What are the implications for Nigerian/USA bilateral relations in view of the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern by the government of the USA?

I wish to recall that in 2010, the USA and Nigeria signed a Binational Commission which set out 4 strategic areas to strengthen and deepen our bilateral relations.

One sector of the Binational Commission was Security and another area was strengthening our democratic ethos and human rights freedoms including freedom of religion.

The diplomatic trajectory of our relations took on a different path with the election of President Donald J Trump in 2016, when shortly after his inauguration in Jan 2017, he described African countries as shithole countries.

His disruptive disposition towards Africa has not really changed in his second term. If anything, we have seen that extended to the entire international system.

His latest designation of Nigeria as a country of particular Concern can be seen first from his disruptive perspective and then the need to pander to his domestic conservative base who have all this while decried the killings of Christians in Nigeria.

It must be noted that he had voiced this same concern during the Buhari administration but has gone a bit further this time to threaten military action if the killings do not stop.

Should Nigeria be concerned? Yes certainly and must therefore move quickly to engage the US constructively on the issue of religious killings and insecurity.

Nigeria in this regard, should seek to restore the diplomatic path to focus on the key areas of the BNC and hopefully get the Trump Administration to recommit the US as a partner in resolving the security challenges that Nigeria is faced with.

 Do you think the non-appointment of Ambassadors for a long time contributed to the deterioration, as it were, of relationship between the two countries.

I will attempt to provide answers to this questions from three perspectives.

The appointment of and accreditation of Ambassador to a country signifies the highest level of importance attached to the bilateral relations between two countries.

To the extent that we have not had an Ambassador accredited to the USA, undeniably affects very adversely the level of importance we have attached to our bilateral relations with the USA. The non-appointment of an ambassador two years after the inauguration of the Tinubu administration is not a positive development.

It must be underscored that the caliber of an Ambassador appointed to the USA signifies very the level of importance attached to the deepening and strengthening of our bilateral ties to the USA.

Washington DC is known as the lobby capital of the world and not much can be achieved without a capable lobby team to take the message of a government/country to concerned interest groups in the USA.

The absence of an Ambassador and without an effective lobby team can be termed a recipe for diplomatic blunder. Washington thrives in high scale lobby and diplomacy either through a highly skilled Ambassador or through well placed lobby groups. Nigeria lacks both at the moment in Washington DC

Lastly, it must be underscored that without stopping the killings or addressing the security challenges that have plagued the country, the appointment of an Ambassador or presence of an effective lobby in Washington DC will not have helped.

The major irritant in the US – Nigeria relations is the killings across the country, which does not align itself with the US foreign policy tenets.

What should be done to reset this relationship?

Nigeria should recognize the concerns to the USA. The killings must stop and Nigeria must position itself as capable and ready to deploy its resources into effectively combating the insecurity challenges facing it.

Additionally, it must immediately engage the USA in a constructive dialogue on the subject matter. A denial of killings would be an ineffective policy response to the situation but rather a genuine explanation of the volatile situation and the efforts undertaken by government to address the situation.

A recommitment to the objectives of the BNC and identification of new policy strategies to address the issues of insecurity and the adherence of human rights and freedoms especially of religion etc

The appointment of an Ambassador although very belated would be helpful in resetting the bilateral relations. Better late than never.

Resetting the relations should go beyond the normal diplomatic and government engagement. It should include the wider Nigerian – US interests groups to help rebuild trust and confidence between the two countries.

Donald Trump said that he is considering military options, including bombing of targets in the country. What do you think of this?

This is really a tough one. But a country will resort to military action when what it considers its core vital national interest has been infringed or impugned upon.

Does the killing of Christians in Nigeria constitute an infraction of its national interests and sufficient excuse to resort to military option? I am not completely persuaded by this but one can find other reasons why a military action can be an option on the table.

There are analysts who think that there is an economic dimension to this and that getting the US involved in defeating the extremists will give the US a foothold into the huge mineral resources gold, lithium etc that abound in the mid central part of Nigeria where the killings are taken place.

Not too far-fetched but a plausible reason for putting booths to the ground.

Is Trump interested in a regime change in Nigeria? This could be a reasonable cover for Trump to send his military into Nigeria. Such an action will cast a shadow on the Tinubu administration ahead of the 2027 elections and will be a huge disincentive to vote for him for a second term.

I’m more inclined to believe that the US military threat is more of a bluster to push Nigeria into an urgent and decisive action on the lingering and vexing question of insecurity and killing of Christians in Nigeria. No nation can afford to have a military threat by the USA hangover its head.