Guardian ‘Why Nigeria may withdraw peacekeepers from Darfur, others’ MONDAY, 29 JULY 2013 00:00 FROM OGHOGHO OBAYUWANA (FOREIGN AFFAIRS EDITOR) AND LAOLU AKANDE (NEW YORK) NEWS - NATIONAL IN a move that is now interpreted as a fore-runner to the planned review of her multilateral diplomacy, only the signals corps of Nigeria’s 1,200 troops (initially 900) in Mali is being left behind as the Federal Government withdraws its peace-keeping contingent from the West African country. The withdrawal would also affect the country’s participation in peace-keeping efforts in Darfur, Sudan, just as similar steps are being contemplated in any emerging flash-point to ensure that actions that have to do with co-operation with other nations or/and international organisations are in sync with Nigeria’s excellent peace-keeping records and pre-eminence in the region, The Guardian has learnt. And in so saying, informed diplomatic sources at the United Nations (UN) have indicated why Nigeria and the world body’s secretariat are at loggerheads over the running of the UN peace-keeping operations and recognition of the country’s contributions in key appointments in those operations. A diplomat in New York, United States (U.S.), alleged that the current Under Secretary-General in the UN Peace-keeping Department recently stopped a Nigerian Army General from commanding the international troops in Mali on the ground that he does not speak French. The interview was personally conducted by the Head of the UN Peace-keeping Department, Mr. Herve Ladsous, himself a French man. The Africa-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA) includes a significant number of Nigerian soldiers, as well as other UN international troops. Nigeria has been ranking fourth or fifth in UN Troops Contributing Countries (TCC) over the years. Though the Federal Government had before now explained that the troops’ withdrawal was predicated on pressing “security issues at home,” it was gathered that Abuja was now keen on seizing the Malian opportunity to re-order its engagement patterns and chart a new peace-keeping trajectory to make it impossible for observers to continue the affirmation that “for all her efforts in peace-keeping and the liberation of parts of Africa, Nigeria has been paid in bad coin.” Besides the raised eyebrows over the appointment of the 50-year old Rwandan, Gen. Jean-Bosco Kazura, as commander of the Multi-dimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the deputies of both the military and political heads of the operation in Mali are as well non-Nigerians. This means that in Mali, Albert Gerard Koenders (Netherlands) is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of MINUSMA while Abdoulaye Bathily (Senegal) is Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General. Sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The Guardian at the weekend that the international politics emanating from Mali “took a worse dimension with events in the last couple of weeks…to signal the beginning of the implementation of our grand strategy that we have always spoken about.” The link between Nigeria’s participation in military missions abroad and economic realities at home would always be a recurring decimal. Since 1960, beginning with the then Congo, Nigeria has spent a whopping $13 billion on peace-keeping. Until the beginning of last year, facts from the report of the UN Department of Peace-keeping showed that Nigeria had about 6,000 peace-keepers in various flash-points, a figure only surpassed by those of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In the course of time, over 250,000 members of the Nigerian Armed Forces have participated in UN-sponsored missions worldwide, translating to 73 per cent involvement, having participated in 40 of the 55 UN peace-keeping missions. Meanwhile, observers think that with the French having already withdrawn her forces, Nigeria’s withdrawal of troops from Mali would be harder felt after the country’s elections, which were conducted at the weekend amid security challenges. Nigeria’s action goes beyond troops’ withdrawal, as impeccable sources stated at the weekend that it includes funds and logistics. As things stand now, there would be no tea party in Mali after the elections, with or without Nigeria. The head of the UN Peace-keeping Field Support Department in Mali, Ameerah Haqrt, noted: “We are unable to deploy our mobile communications system to Kidal because its sensitive components will melt. This operation would be one of the most logistically- challenging missions the UN has ever launched.” A source at the UN explained that the head of the UN Peace-keeping Department, Ladsous, personally took charge of the interview because he was determined to oust the Nigerian in favour of a Chadian General, who is French-speaking. Sources claimed that Ladsous even refused to grant Aso Rock’s request that a Nigerian General heads the UN mission since the country’s leadership of some of the UN missions have expired. According to a U.S.-based Nigerian international politics scholar, Dr. Wale Adebanwi, “this is unacceptable and another demonstration of a long-standing policy of France regarding Nigeria.” According to the University of California professor, “since the earliest years of independence in Africa, France has always attempted to play the principal préfet (senior prefect), especially in the West African sub-region. “And because generations of policy-makers in Paris have always considered Nigeria’s size, population, resources, power and potentials as constituting a threat to their country’s influence in the sub-region, they have always shown their readiness to subvert Nigeria’s influence and interests. “Even though the past successes of France could be seen as a reflection of the limitations of the fumbling leadership that Nigeria has reproduced over the years, this one must not be allowed to stand. It is an insult to Nigeria, a slap in the face despite our contributions to peace in the sub-region.” UN sources said it was reasonable to have another national head of the UN troops in Darfur while a Nigerian leads the political wing. However, the USG for Peace-keeping is said to have insisted that a non-Nigerian takes charge both at the political and military departments, despite Nigeria having the largest number of UN soldiers in Darfur. Besides, sources added that right now, there is no Nigerian in senior appointment at the UN except Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin who is the Executive Director of UNFPA. Another Nigerian said to have been edged out was Margaret Vogt who was knocked out “on health grounds.” She was in 2011 named a Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peace-building Office in the Central African Republic (BINUCA). She had since been removed. However, sources at the UN Secretariat explained that part of the problem is a perceived notion that some of Nigerian troops have been performing below par and also that Nigeria’s standing in the UN has been declining in significance over the years. This notion was clear when the UN Peace-keeping Operations Department simply acceded to Nigeria’s request to withdraw troops from Darfur without any offer of negotiation, because the country has been “loosing its respect at the world body over the years.” The source recalled that when the UN wanted to drop then Special Envoy, Oluyemi Adeniji, from the headship of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone several years back, then President Olusegun Obasanjo simply dared the UN to proceed, threatening consequences. Under Kofi Annan, Adeniji was kept in that office until Obasanjo named him Foreign Affairs Minister.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 08:18:30 +0000
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