Not Afghanistanism
“Alghanistanism was a theory laid down to describe the route through which Nigerian journalists escaped the threatening Clutches of Decree 4: the death of free speech in the days of Generals Buhari and Idiagbon.”
Sonala Olumhense started this talk of Afghanistanism, a theory he laid down to describe the route through which Nigerian journalists escaped the threatening clutches of Decree 4. You could always say of Zia ul Haq of Pakistan what you wanted to say Muhammadu Buhari. The Nigerian Security Organisation (NSO) might mark you down, if they understood that you were indeed hitting Buhari through Zia, but they couldn’t come and pick you up for hitting a dictator of Pakistan. Even the fearless Muhammed Haruna of the New Nigerian confessed the pther day that he withdrew an article during the dying days of the Bahari when his managing director advised him that he must be foolhardy tp appear to be criticizing Buhari, although the article in question was a letter to Olusegun Obasanjo on what Muhammed described as Obasanjo’s Ibadan Declaration. Such was the fear gripping Nigerian journalists that some chose silence over taking the Afghanistan trip. Even when matters of interest were happening abroad, like the escalating racial conflicting in South Africa, the coming to town Mikhail Gorbachey and the sinking of the Greenpeace vessel in the Pacific, many Nigerian journalists recoiled from writing about them for the fear that they might be accused of doing the Afghanistan walk. I used to enjoy looking at Nigeria by way of looking at the world. And now I am confessing that I refrained from writing about many events which caught fancy so that Olumhense might not finger me for taking a trip to Kabul. The fear extended to looking at the place of Nigeria in the world,more so since all the economic problems plaguing Nigeria – from the OPEC to the IMF – have their origins in centres located outside Nigeria.
Frank Olize of the NTA did a fascinating report of what the average, ordinary in his words, Nigerians thought of the IMF. People who appeared as though they would know what the question was all about came out saying that they had never heard of the debate. The most interesting aspect of his report was a statement he ascribed to a man who wondered why Nigeria could not borrow all the money it wanted from its scores of banks, and had to go abroad to look for money. Funny as his statement sounded at the time, it actually depicted the dilemma facing Nigeria. Nigeria has enough resources that it can tap to become great, but it needs time and a little bit more external resources to be able to harness its internal resources. Nigeria has two options: one; either to take the IMF loan; two, make alternative arrangements with wealthy countries like Libya at the other extreme. Saudi Arabia appears like a natural choice. Every new Nigerian government, it seems, considers sending an emissary to the desert kingdom like a ritual that must be performed within the first few days of its coming to power. Tunde Idiagbon went to Riyadh within days of the Buhari administration coming to power.Unconfirmed reports had it that he went to seek a nation-to-nation aid from the Saudis who were initially sympathetic to the idea until the Americans persuaded them against it. It was reported that the Americans pointed out the fact to the Saudis that enough Nigerians had stashed huge amounts of moneyin foreign banks, more than enough to see Nigeria through its lean times. Consequently, the Saudis were said to have passed on the message to the Buuhari regime who, of course, had no stomach to pursue the matter. It was impossible to verify the truth of the matter.
And within days of coming to power, President Ibrahim Babangida sent General Nasko to Riyadh to discuss some of the nation’s problems with the princes of Araby. According to uncomfirmed reports, the Saudi gave Nasko a breezy reception and lectured him on fiscal responsibility. To make matters worse, according to the sourced, they told him of their love of counter-trade which Babangida had pooh-poohed in his maiden address to the nation. Conclusion: Saudi Arabia is not such a good friend of Nigeria. The enemy of your country enemy may turn out to be your friend. Saudi Arabi is not the only rich desert nation with whom Nigeria maintains relations. Libya is another. What Nigeria is looking for, in the absence of an IMF bail-out, is a source of ready cash to enable the nation to put things in order in a hurry. Everybody knows the little game of blackmail, which is what the Saudis are playing against Nigeria. A little game of blackmail can be played from the opposite end. Nigeria may consider cultivating new friends, like going to greet the enemy of a friend who is proving not to be a friend after all. If the Saudis don’t consider Nigeria a good enough friend, Nigeria may approach a country like Libya for a short-term aid while it tries to organize the home front maybe instead of going to the desert kingdom, the country may give serious thoughts to viditing the desert republic, this time Libya.
What the Saudis say no toomay get a yes from the Libyans. I can hear you say that the Libyans are crazy and that Muammar Gadaffi may want to put his look into the country by giving us a little bit of a lift now that we are down. I say that Libya can’t do anything of the sort. How will they achieve that? A loan is a loan that will be repaid as agreed as soon things can be sorted out. An approach to the Libyans may even convince the Saudis that the money can be found to help Nigeria out of its terrible short-term fiscal squeeze. The Americans and the British who don’t think much of seeing us twist slowly in the wind may suddenly realize that Nigeria deserves the sort of assistance that Egypt and Israel and Jordan have enjoyed from their largesse. Nobody, it should be understood, is asking for an outright handout. What is being suggested is that word can go out from 10 Downing street and the White House that the export guarantee institutions in London and Washington and the Paris Club should guarantee some of the outstanding reguests for credit lines from Nigeria. And if this sounds like Afghanistanism, then Kabul may turn out to be the place where we can find solution to the nation’s financial crunch.
©Newswatch, October 7, 1985
(Pp.276-278)
