WHAT NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED BEFORE EXITING FROM SOME INT'L ORGANIZATIONS
WHAT NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED BEFORE EXITING FROM SOME INT'L ORGANIZATIONS
By:
Nurudeen Dauda
1st October, 2017
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In my view, as a student of foreign policy, what needs to be considered before exiting from any international organization is its benefit and or take- home gains to the "country" and its "people" not its "cost". Our "National Interest" be it economic, political, security and or survival should be the "uppermost " in our foreign relations. As a student of foreign policy I know too very well that foreign relations is not necessarily measured in terms of "Naira" and "Kobo". The most important factor that is supposed to determine a country's foreign policy is its " National Interest".
In my humble suggestion, let's exit from any international organization that does not yield any benefit to our country and its people even if its "cost" is minimal and remain in any organization even if it "cost" us a lot of resources. We should and or must stop being "generous" or magnanimous in our foreign relations alone without seeking for gain for our country. In my view, we should and or must seek for tangible benefit for our people and country. Do the advance countries of the world join membership or give foreign aid without benefit? The answer is no!
Nigeria's foreign policy has been described by some analysts as a "flamboyant" one which means it is only a way of attracting "attention" without seeking for a maximum benefit to its country and or if you like you call it a "father Xmas" who gives people "gift" without expecting any return . In simple terms , it means that the country has been contributing a lot of resources to the peace keeping of other countries without commensurate benefit or even at least "due respect" from those countries being assisted.
Nigeria had assisted the Black South Africans during the Apartheid regime of South Africa both morally and financially without reaping any benefit or even at least"due respect " from South Africans. Are we getting what we deserve from South Africa? The obvious answer is that we are not! In my view, if we must gain something, it then means we must change our foreign policy from being just only generous. The country had equally invested unquantifiable resources in terms of both human and material resources in peace keeping operations in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Sudan, etc., withou reaping any benefit back home.
The advanced countries of the world for instance, having successfully participated in peace keeping operations abroad after the restoration of peace in the trouble zones their governments and citizens usually participate in the rebuilding of those countries through contract. Similarly, even Foreign Aid given by the advanced countries of the world are not usually without reaping benefit either in kind or cash.
The levels of United States foreign aid as parts of its foreign policy increased greatly after the Second World War. That period was a period of struggle between the capitalist ideology led US and the Socialist ideology led by the defunct USSR. United States government aid remained high in the decade after the war because of contributions to European reconstruction, and competition for influence and support for its economic ideology of capitalism against the Communist powers. It became even higher during the Cold War era. It was alleged that President Kennedy once said that foreign aid is a policy used by US to maintain a position of influence and to have control around the world by sustaining a large numbers of countries which would have either definitely collapsed or joined the communist bloc.
Even China uses foreign aid to advance its course. In Africa ,for instance, sometimes ago those countries that refused to recognize Taiwan or Hong Kong as independent countries from China got a lot of foreign aid from China. On the other hand, countries that recognized them as independent countries get little or no foreign aid from China. Foreign aid are especially not given for nothing but in order to advance the National Interest of the country concern. Why is our foreign policy different?
The United Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR before its collapse in the 1990s used foreign aid to advance its interest. A lot of countries were cajoled through foreign aid. Cuba for instance, was getting a lot of foreign aid from the USSR before its collapse. More so, Russia continues to give foreign aid to some of its allies even after the collapse of USSR in order to advance its National Interest.
In my final submission, our National Interest is the key in determining our membership of international organizations not necessarily its economic cost. We must seek for take home after every outing. National Interest and foreign policy are interrelated concepts frequently used in international discourse.
May God bless Nigeria!