The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Global security

  • Democracy, justice and global security

    While  new  conflicts and squabbles  arise with   fury   around the world in recent times,  giving rising to  fearful  speculations that the  third World  War  is upon us, there is some comfort  in the fact that  some old quarrels are  being resolved in  unexpected  ways  that  redress  old political   injuries  in quite comforting  manner.  A  list  is not difficult  to  make. From   the  warm  welcome  Donald  Trump  gave to  three American  hostages  released  from N Korea as a precursor  to the   historic, meeting  between  the US  leader  and his N Korean  counterpart;  to the defeat  of the incumbent  PM  Najib  Razak of Asian Tiger  Malaysia  by his  godfather Manathir   Mohamad   aged   92,  who  switched  to  the opposition to win  a sweet  victory  against  a party  he led for 22 years;  to  the declaration of the Nigeria Police  boss as unfit  to hold  public  office;    and the  proxy  war  that suddenly  broke  out between  Israel  and Iran just  as the US president repudiated  the Iran  Nuclear  deal  signed  by his predecessor  and current members of the Security  Council  and Germany.

    The  first issue, which  is the release  of US  citizens  by the North  Korean leader  as  a friendly  diplomatic  gesture to the US and  its president,  is a personal diplomatic  victory  for the 45th  US president,  Donald   Trump     who  has   had    a    very  bad press in his nation.  No  one can  take that  victory  away  from  him.  This was  a leader  characterized  as a diplomatic  moron and war  monger in the way  he called  the bluff  of the N Korean leader in telling  him that he and his nation  would pay a huge price if  he continues his missile tests against International  law. The N Korean’s father  and grandfather  had always  threatened the world this way  only to be pacified  with  economic bounties  and  aid  once they  agreed  to relent on threatening   the civilized  world with  nuclear  annihilation. Previous  US  presidents from Reagan, through Bush  snr, Bill  Clinton, Bush  Jnr    and   Barak   Obama went through  this  carrot  and stick  motion  without  any permanent   or   peaceful  solution. Until  Trump’s  dare  devil  cowboy approach  which is now  evolving into  an  unexpected   regional   peace  and  unity   of the two  Koreas  separated  by war since 1953.  I have  called  for  Trump   to be given  the Nobel  Prize  for  peace  when  the news of  a meeting between  the two  broke. I  repeat  that call  with  more  vigor  and conviction now   as the great  conference  between  the two  leaders  appears imminent   on  June  12    at   Singapore   and is  indeed  turning   into  the most  wonderful  diplomatic  coup  for global  peace in our time.

    The  second  issue was  the victory of  a former  PM of  Malaysia,  Manathir  Mohamad  a  92  year  old  man who  defeated the incumbent  PM  Najib  Razak  after  abandoning the party both  led –  the  Barisan National  – [BN ] because  the old man  lamented  that  he could  not  stay  in a party  tainted  with  the stigma  of  corruption. In  addition  the old man’s  opposition  party  won  with  a huge majority.  He  has  said  he will  lead  for two  years and make way  for  the man  he persecuted  on trumped  up  charges of  sodomy,   Anwar  Ibrahim,    his estranged  Deputy   PM   when  he was in  power   and was accused  of  dictatorial  tendencies.  Manathir  made  a mark  as a leader  with economic insight  by making crucial  financial reforms  and  regulatory  interventions  in  Malaysia at a time when other world leaders led their  nations into economic  disaster  by allowing the so called  invisible hand of the free  market  to guide  economies  undergoing marketization  and democratic  change  at the same time. The  beauty  of this  unique  Malaysian  political  romance  is that Manathir  condemned  corruption in his  former party, joined the opposition  and won  power  back.  In addition  his promise to bring back  his former  Deputy, Anwar  Ibrahim    and  hand over  power  to him in two  years  makes  this  a great political   comeback    fairy tale  of all  time,   second  only  to  the   forthcoming  great  meeting between Donald  Trump  and the N Korean leader Kim  Jung Un on  June 12  in  Singapore.

    The  third  issue  in our Odyssey on this page  today   is the war  between  the Nigerian  Senate  and the nation’s Inspector  General  of  Police. Both  have  been quite  hostile  in their  condemnation of each other   and both  cannot  be wrong  or  right. First  the IG  has  the right to designate  any  one sufficiently senior  to  represent him  before  any  institution  including the Senate.  That is his inherent power of delegation of responsibility and it  is   his prerogative,  as long as he does  not delegate    his authority    and abandon  responsibility.  I  do  not think  the senate  is accusing him of this yet. For  the senate  to write  him  off    because  he has not shown  up personally is to personalize  the issue  and topic  for discussion.

     

    • Continued online www.staging.thenationonlineng.net
  • Buhari to discuss terrorism, global security in New York

    Buhari to discuss terrorism, global security in New York

    •To address 70th session of UNGA

    President Muhammadu Buhari will leave Nigeria for New York tomorrow for a series of meetings and interactions with notable world leaders within and on the sidelines of the main events of the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

    President Buhari will hold talks with the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, President Barack Obama of the United States, President Francois Hollande of France, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Vladmir Putin of Russia, President Xi Jinping of China and Prime Minister Narenda Modi of India.

    The talks will centre on domestic developmental issues, bilateral relations, war against terrorism, countering violent extremism, enhancement of global security, peace-keeping operations, climate change and adoption of a post-2015 global development agenda.

    President Buhari, according to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, would be accompanied by governors of Sokoto, Kaduna and Niger states, National Security Adviser and permanent secretaries in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence as well as the Federal Ministries of Finance, Health, Industry, Trade and Investment.

    The President will deliver Nigeria’s Statement to the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday.

    President Buhari is also scheduled to address the World Leaders Summit on Violent Extremism to which he was personally invited by Mr. Ki-Moon during his visit to Nigeria.

    Also on the President’s schedule in New York are a meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, a High-level Roundtable on South-South Cooperation, organised by President Xi Jinping of China and the United Nations as well as participation in the launching of an updated global health strategy for women and children.

    President Buhari will also meet with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Mr. Bill Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is assisting Nigeria in polio eradication, among others, and former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is United Nations special envoy on Global Education and one of the main drivers of the Safe Schools Initiative.

    The President will concluded his visit to New York on Tuesday, September 29 and leave for Abuja the same day.

     

  • 9/11, Nigeria and global security

    Yesterday  was the fourteenth anniversary of the bombing  of the Twin Towers  of New  York by  Al  Quada on September 11 2001,  in the first  year  of  President  George Bush the 43rd  President of the US  who  later launched the invasion of Iraq in 2003 to  oust Saddam Hussein the Iraqi president then on the false premise of his possessing  weapons  of  mass destruction. Since then a lot of water, bloody one at that   too,  has passed under the delicate and much disturbed bridge  of world peace . Quite  simply  and in  an almost  unbelievable way 9/11  has shaped the way  and manner of  world peace  and global  politics in a rather ominous manner not  the least of which are the twin problems of migration to Europe from  the Middle  East and  Africa and the rise  of  ISIS  and  Boko  Haram the deadliest terrorist  groups  of our age and time.

    It  is possible  for the world  to want to forget the horror of 9/11  since  the Americans  eventually captured and killed its engineer Bin Ladin the Saudi  contractor and  perhaps to want to  think  of the event as a closed  chapter. But  then history  is made of such  memories no matter how painful. The  fact  that the 200 Chibok  girls in Nigeria have  not been found and the daily throng of refugees fleeing to Europe on satellite TV, as  well as  the horrific and shattered spectacle of the bombing of Damascus, the ancient capital  of Syria show clearly  the scars of 9/11 as well as the fact that those at  the helm of world politics and diplomacy have not been able to keep a clean sheet on such  horrible events in the world  we live in today  .That  actually  is a tragedy  and an avoidable on at that as  I intend  to show  quite clearly  today.

    Let  me start  with  some  statements  that may sound initially alarming and  perhaps  startling but which  are really provable and ultimately true.  The  first  is that President Barak  Obama  of the US got his mandate as president in 2009 on the platter  of gold or disenchantment of the US electorate with war  and the rash invasion of Iraq by George  Bush and his accomplice on that task Tony Blair UK, Prime  Minister then. The  second is that Nigeria’s new  President  Muhammadu  Buhari  too defeated his  predecessor  and incumbent then because  Nigerians  were  fed up with the rise and bloody terrorism  of the Boko  Haram and the seeming inability  of the government of the day to guarantee the security of lives and property  of Nigerians in addition to the loss and  cruel   disappearance of the 200 Chibok girls  in our North  East. The  third is that world peace and security has been overshadowed by  the  pursuit  of civil  rights  in the west at the expense of global security as  if  such rights were a sine qua  non for world peace even in times of war and in the face of mindless, inhuman terrorism such as  ISIS  and Boko  Haram.  Let  me now explain  my motive  for these charged  statements.

    Starting with US President Barak  Obama  it is obvious  that the clock has turned full circle  for him in terms of war  and peace.  He  got elected in an anti war  electoral  mood and  proceeded to bring US troops back home in fulfillment of his campaign promise. He  embarked  on a diplomatic policy of Engagement with Russia which ended in a fiasco with Russia ending up attacking Ukraine and taking a chunk of that nation on a bizarre historical  excuse  and in blatant disregard of international law. The Obama Administration in  2011  encouraged the street protests  that toppled the despotic leaders  of Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya but left those who  demonstrated for pluralistic  democracy  at the mercy  of lawless Islamic militants who created anarchies lacking the capability to monopolise  legitimate violence to maintain any  semblance  of law  and other in these  nations. Egypt especially played  into the hands of its crafty and politically savvy army which  sided with the protesters at  Tahrir Square  and allowed  the election of President  Mohammed  Morsi  only to later depose him   for  treason and sentence  him to death to   impose a dictatorship worse  than any   Egypt   had ever  seen, since the army took power by sending the Egyptian Pharaoh away  since 1952 under the late and charismatic Gamal  Abdel Nasser.

    On  top  of all these is the crisis in Syria and the fact that Russia has refused to support the much  needed effort to remove the Syrian President Bashar Assad  to bring peace  to that ravaged nation. This stems from Russia’s correct perception of the Obama Engagement  policy as one that flinches when the going gets tough, leaving its adherents and supporters in the lurch and at the mercy of pitiless tyrants and blood thirsty religious militants. The  failure  to have the expected air  strikes in Syria  led  to the infilteration of the rebels  fighting Assad in Syria  and the rise of ISIS  at  great  jeopardy   to both regional and world peace and  security.  The  end product  of all  these is the disturbing sight  of fleeing refugees from Syria and the billions of dollars  now being contributed by EU  nations to receive them even  in the face of a grim danger  to European security given the religion of these  migrants and the prospect  of their  radicalization by militants once they  settle in Europe.  As  at  now the statement  is very  true as I read somewhere  that Europe  has been penetrated  in terms of capital, religion, labor, talent and knowledge and  it needs  to change its diplomacy and relationship with the rest  of the world to avert what has been called a looming clash  of civilization. That really is the lesson  to learn on this 14th  anniversary  of the horror  of 9/11.

    In  Nigeria Boko  Haram and its murder of innocent Nigerians as  well  as the disappearance of the 200  Chibok  girls remain  our own daily 9/11. This  is not to say  that the anti  corruption war and the expected list  of  Ministers  are not important. Indeed  they are the main political gruel we are digesting and regurgi gating for now  and  undoubtedly the political  environment will  be more  vibrant and less suspenseful  once the president announces his cabinet or gives  out the names of treasury  looters  and thieves. But  then the president  has given regional diplomacy a boost  by visiting Ghana and Togo and  firming up security  matters especially  on how  to demolish  Boko  Haram. But  it would  appear that the president speaks more on   domestic issues on foreign  visits than when in Aso  Rock  or in the country. The  reverse  should  be the case so that we do  not wash our dirty linen in public in foreign  lands.  Again  long live  the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

  • Global security, diplomacy and politics

    The  news   this week   of the  bomb   killing of 11  Pakistani youths  while  playing football as   their parents

    were shopping for the end of Ramadan  in the city of Karachi,  Pakistan,  was as gruesome as that of the bombing of the Sabon Gari area  of Kano  in Nigeria in which Boko Haram  killed  even more people. This  obviously  prompted Nigeria’s  Inspector General  of Police   Mohammed Abubakar to issue  a statement this week assuring Nigerians as they celebrated   the end of Ramadan,  that the Police was up to the task of performing its constitutional duty of protecting them  at  places of worship.But    the pragmatic IG warned  grimly that  Nigerians too should be security conscious and report strange happenings and people to the authorities   immediately. Vigilance therefore  is a key and foremost prerequisite to guarantee security any where especially on the streets of the world’s  sprawling cities like  Karachi, Kano, Lagos, New  York  or indeed any part of the world.

    In  addition however those who manage security at national and international levels need information to  prevent the sort of mayhem that happened in Karachi  and Kano; or the bombings   by Boko Haram  at  Christmas,  of churches  in the North, and during October 1 Independence anniversaries  in Nigeria,   at  least in the last two years in Nigeria. It  is such  information, often called intelligence that form  the basis of security strategies to  confront, prevent or kill plans by terrorists  and anarchists to foment trouble and kill and maim innocent people just  to show society that they have a cause, or  are important and are to be taken seriously. But  then, those who detonate bombs and those who voluntarily become human bombs in the name of suicide bombing are foot soldiers for those who formulate the ideas and belief  that   make human beings turn to monsters when they kill  innocent  people  at recreation spots, places  of worship and at street corners for,  no just cause whatever.

    The  recent decision  of US  President Barak Obama to cancel a meeting in Russia  after the G20  meeting scheduled for that nation  in September this  year is a good example of information and intelligence   management  leading to complications in global diplomacy  and security subsequently. The  immediate cause was the granting of asylum to  Edward Snowden,  the American security worker who leaked intelligence about  the US,  its  foreign  and diplomatic workings, policies and relations on the internet and bolted to Russia via Hong Kong and has been holed up at a Russian Airport  for some time   now  till the Russians   finally   granted him  asylum  very  recently.  Similar  intelligence  and information   use  or abuse have complicated the Syrian Crisis  which has opened old Cold War squabbles between the US and Russia similar to the one between Nikita   Khruschev, leader of the former Soviet Union and late US President John Kennedy during the Russia Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

    Also  in North Africa where the Arab Spring   and its  street   demonstrations  in Tunis, Cairo, and  Benghazi  unseated despots in 2011  and brought in elected  democratic governments, the current of public opinion and information is against those elected into office,  at least in Tunisia and Egypt, if not in Libya where secular leadership has prevailed against all odds in the elections and management of the high risk security situation in that nation.

    In  all  the examples I have highlighted above information and intelligence management skills have been at play and it is their quality or lack of it that have created  the  attendant security and diplomatic spats we are analyzing today. In Karachi, Pakistan, the bombers were waiting for a local Minister or politician expected to give prizes  at  a nearby football competition . Instead of the Minister they killed innocent teenagers playing a game of soccer. In the Russo- American Snowden saga  a tit–for-tat,   eye-for-an-eye diplomacy  was put  in place   by Russia, to cover a very serious intelligence breach by an American this time around. This  is because under normal circumstances,   Russians  are   the ones well known to be ruthless over such intelligence breaches  as they showed when some Russian spies were poisoned in London hotels some years back. Anyway, Russia’s President Vladmir Putin has enough  malice against the Obama  Administration, like someone  once  said famously,  to make himself and Russia    merry with the US embarrassment   over the Snowden Affair. Indeed, Putin is settling scores with the US  for the demonstrations that trailed his election in 2012 as  Russia’s new president elected that year. Of  course the US was miffed that Putin got elected as president of Russia after having been president of Russia from 2001 to 2008, the same two terms that Obama’s predecessor   George Bush,  the 43rd US  president  spent in office. Putin of course snuffed out the  American orchestrated  Street  demonstrations   in Russia and went on to become   in 2012, Russia’s new president. This  feat meant that Putin has taken  on  or consumed  for dinner or lunch as it were, two,   two-  term US presidents, to the indignation, and befuddlement of Obama  and his inexperienced team, who have now behaved like a baby whose toy has been taken away,  in cancelling a scheduled meeting over the Snowden affair.

    Aside  from the Snowden Affair, and other disputes over defence missiles and nuclear arsenal reduction, I think the disputes between  the two nations and their leaders  is boiling down to one of personality clash   boiling   down  to mutual contempt for each other. On  the cancellation of the September meeting,  the Russians had a cheeky but fast retort. Which was that the invitation is still there awaiting a change of American mind as the meeting will be in Russia anyway. On  Russia’s new law on gay rights which bans even speaking of it in public not to talk of recognizing it, the US  President Barak Obama  told  a TV audience in the US  that he has no patience with nations that do not recognize gay rights. And  he was saying this on the eve of the World Athletics Competition which started  in   Moscow, Russia this week end and in which gay US athletes have expressed  concern about their safety. Obviously as on Syria both leaders are moving in opposite direction on cultural  and religious matters. The  anti gay rights law in Russia is popular in that nation just as the ban on homosexuality in Nigeria. Of recent President Putin was shown on Russian TV giving a high profile audience to the Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church.  Which means that under Putin, former KGB  agent in Communist and atheist Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church  has come in from the cold and is happy with Putin on the handling of the gay rights issue in Russia. Whereas in Obama’s US the Catholic Church is suing the Obama Administration for interfering in education management while it is the opposition Republican Party which is mounting a campaign to reverse the passing of the gay rights law under the Obama Administration. Really, if a poll is taken  today  on the popularity of Obama and Putin over the gay issue in the Middle East  in Pakistan or Afghanistan where the US is funding democracy,  Obama  will be a distant second. Even in Saudi Arabia where the US is most welcome,  the gay rights issue will see Putin beating Obama flat out in a popularity contest. Of  course I need not mention the entire ECOWAS states or even the entire African continent with the exception of S  Africa  which recognizes gay rights like Obama’s US.

    What  I  am saying in effect is that when world leaders and diplomats glare down at each other at negotiations and meetings on thorny issues  such as the Snowden Affair,  other perceptions and conceptions are at work in easing or complicating   present issues and discussions. This  again explains why the Interim government put in place  by the army in Egypt announced that discussions have  broken down between it and the Muslim Brotherhood whose members have refused to leave the  streets in some Egyptian cities till deposed President Muhammed Morsi is reinstated as the elected president of Egypt after   the tyrant Housni Mubarak . It  also explains why in Tunis  the capital of Tunisia,  the mood is in opposite direction to that of Egypt even though the momentum that galvanized the street revolution in Tahrir Square  in Cairo    which  got Morsi elected as president of Egypt, started in Tunis. In Tunis this week thousands marched calling for the removal of the equivalent of the Muslim Brotherhood in Tunisia, the  Ennahda,   the ruling Islamist  party they elected after driving away their despotic President Ben Ali in 2011. In  effect then,  Tunisians are trying to do to their elected government what the army has already done to Morsi in Egypt. It looks like an impossible task but then in the stormy politics of the Arab world in recent times, anything is possible for those who know how and when to fight for their rights. I  wish them the best of luck with all my heart and wish them God speed as I  fervently    also,  for their security and safety in achieving their legitimate and democratic objectives.