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General Ibrahim Babangida
By James T. Gwar
Aside various unprecedented and revolutionary initiatives in all sectors of the economy and polity, Babangidas development of the factor of economic diplomacy for Nigeria involved negotiating trade concessions, attracting foreign investors, and rescheduling debt repayment to western creditors. This clearly showed that for Nigeria and also as recognised by many other countries, this was a great tool in the struggle for economic advantages in the international system for the benefit of internal development. At the same time, Nigeria gave aid and technical assistance to several African states through the African Development Bank, (ADB), and by 1987, Babangida set up the Technical Aids Corps, (TACs), modeled along the lines of the United States Peace Corps whereby young Nigerian professionals served in other African, Caribbean, and even Pacific countries where their expertise was needed. In many of these countries in this period, Nigeria also provided scholarships, fellowships, training facilities, grants, various technical equipment, and medical supplies as well as offered concessionary oil prices to other African countries, especially in 1990 as the Middle East crisis over Iraqi leader Saddam Husseins hold over Kuwait pushed oil prices upward. Also at a time when the temple of apartheid was collapsing, Nigeria confronted Britain over South Africa by rousing several countries within the Commonwealth of Nations to boycott the commonwealth games that held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1986.
Liberation movements also enjoyed Nigerias support during this period. The Southwest African Peoples Organisation, (SWAPO) of Namibia was assisted both financially and materially. This was specifically rendered in the form of supply of arms, relief materials, drugs and foodstuffs on a regular basis by military transport planes from Lagos through Rwanda. Besides, Nigeria put together donated more than one billion (US$1,000,000,000.00) US dollars to the then OAU Special Fund for the Independence of Namibia. Nigerias greatest triumph in its support to the liberation struggle in Southern Africa was the final defeat and dismantling of apartheid in South Africa. This phase in the history of Nigeria was a difficult period for the country in the sense that serious economic crises manifested in Nigeria. The country also had a troubled relationship with Libya; a country accused by many African countries of various acts of destabilisation, interference, and state-sponsored terrorism. Nigeria at this time also consistently supported the United Nations Resolution 435 on independence of Namibia and opposed the US policy of linking Namibias independence to the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola.
Thus, beginning from 1985, Nigeria consistently continued with her generous support to the liberation movements. Primarily her concern was on Namibia and South Africa, and indeed Angola due to the threat from racist South Africas support of the rival UNITA. In early 1986, Nigeria sponsored the tour of the Frontline States by the US politician and civil rights activist, Jesse Jackson, designed to call the attention of the international community on the Southern African region. It was in this period that the foreign minister, Bolaji Akinyemi led a boycott of commonwealth nations to the commonwealth games in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1986 over apartheid South Africa. Earlier during a summit Conference of the OAU, Nigeria initiated the resolution which called for the isolation of South Africa, including the proscription of landing, over-flight and berthing facilities for South African aircrafts and ships in other African countries. Nigerias moral, political, diplomatic, material and financial support contributed immensely to the success of the Namibian independence.
The launching of the Namibia Solidarity Fund by President Ibrahim Babangida on June 16th, 1989 during which the sum of eleven million (US$11,000,000.00) US dollars was voluntarily contributed by Nigerians from all over the world helped for stability in post-independent Namibia. Nigeria made Payment of four hundred thousand (US$400,000.00) US dollars to the OAU as assessed contribution to the aid of SWAPO to finance its electoral campaign in the period leading to the United Nations-Supervised elections in November 1989. The voluntary contribution of one hundred thousand (US$100,000.00) US dollars was made by Nigeria to the United Nations for the repatriation of Namibian refugees and exiles to enable them participate in the UN sponsored decolonisation process. The payment of one hundred and sixty-two thousand, six hundred and forty-seven (US$162,647.00) US dollars as its assessed contribution to the budget of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group, (UNTAG), was made by Nigeria to the group which was emplaced in Namibia to supervise the countrys decolonisation process.
Nigeria under Babangida identified with the Harare declaration of the leaders of the ANC calling on the Pretoria regime to release, without conditions all political prisoners that were still being held in racist jails, abolish all apartheid statutes that were still on the books, and lift without further delay the obnoxious state of emergency that was imposed on the country. With this push, at the end of June 1st 1993, a compromise was reached between the South African government and the ANC for the release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners. These developments meant that a free Southern Africa would help Nigerias developmental process in various sectors of the economy. It was estimated that Nigeria lost 46 million US Dollars annually being without economic and trade relations with South Africa. In 1987, then foreign minister Bolaji Akinyemi initiated yet another international power relationship known as the Concert of Medium Powers which became widely known as the Lagos Forum. This was meant to facilitate multilateral cooperation and to enable member states to exert greater and collective influence in world affairs in order to wrestle more strategic advantages from the western imperialist powers for the benefit of Nigeria and other member states. Countries that Nigeria wooed to participate in the first meeting in Lagos included Sweden, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, the then Yugoslavia, India, Indonesia, Algeria, Malaysia, Switzerland, Mexico, Egypt, and Senegal.
The UN Security Council resolution 688 of April 1991 that sanctioned international peacekeeping in Somalia only did so on the grounds of humanitarian intervention, and with the US withdrawal in 1993, Nigeria moved in to ensure peace and stability for Somalia and to end the anarchy, chaos and disorder in that country. It was the acute social, political and economic problems that Africa began to encounter especially in the turbulent 1990s that led many African leaders to work towards the expansion of peace efforts in Africa. This remarkable feat was championed by President Babangida when he spearheaded the establishment of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group, (ECOMOG), to intervene in the war-torn Liberia, stabilise the country, end insurgency, and protect lives and property including those of Nigerians living in Liberia. The legality of ECOMOG was founded on the basis of Article 52 of the Charter of the UN which authorised the setting up of agencies for dealing with matters relating to the maintenance of international peace and security through regional or sub-regional bodies for the mutual interests of all countries. Thus, President Babangidas leadership style in his time was dominated by concerns for Nigerias national interest, national security and overall national development. Many Nigerians and indeed Africans at home and in the Diaspora genuinely interested and keen on historical knowledge and understanding, will not deny the former Presidents place in Nigerian and African history. For it is an extraordinary and uncommon pride of place in history. Seeing that in the very distant time when he takes his bow on the world stage, Babangidas name will be written in gold as one of the greatest nation-builders in the history of post-colonial Africa, and for those who may care to investigate history, the greatest president Nigeria has ever produced.
