Democratic leaders should avoid big egos ! –Entwistle, US ambassador

United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle

The new United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, in this interview with select journalists, explains the relationship between his country and Nigeria. NIYI ODEBODE was there

What do you see as historic similarities between Nigeria and the US?

Every country’s historic experience is different and unique. But since I have been here, I have been struck by some historic similarities between our two countries. To name just a couple of them: First of all, both countries are engaged in struggles against terrorist groups and we must meet the challenge of responding to them in a manner that respects human rights and the rule of law.

Another example of similarities is that both countries suffered civil wars that almost tore our countries into halves. As a result of that, both of our countries’ citizens understand that nation building is a difficult and time consuming process and that holding a nation together takes dedication and courage.

The third point of similarity is that I am struck that both of our governments face the challenge of developing our energy resources in a way that will meet the need of our people and our economy; within a way that respects the environment and the rights of the people. Those are examples of similarities I see between our two great countries.

Every time, I turn around, I meet Nigerians, who studied in the States, who used to live in the States. I am also struck by the depth of human content between our two countries as well.

Why has President Obama not visited Nigeria?

We view Nigeria as a strategic friendly partner. There are many ways  to measure a relationship other than visits by heads of states. For example in September, in New York, at the UN (United Nations) General Assembly, President Obama only met with three other heads of state and one of them, the only African head of state, was President Goodluck Jonathan. That is the indication of the depth of relationship. Since I have been here, we have had  high level US visits, which again are indications of the depth of our relationship. If President Obama visits Nigeria, it will be a wonderful thing.

How will you advise Nigerians on the proposed national conference in particular?

I am not a Nigerian.., but what I will say is that democracy in its very essence is the discussion within all the elements that make a nation and I find the discussion of the national conference in your country interesting. If Nigerians feel the need to come together and discuss issues today; discuss the make-up of the country and the way forward, it is a healthy thing.

Exactly how that is done and how it is organised, those questions are left to Nigerians to answer. I will say the same thing about this idea of rotating presidency. That is an issue for Nigerians to sort out among themselves. But I will say that in a vibrant democracy such as ours and yours and many others around the world, for democratic governments to be effective,  they have to represent and stand for everybody in the country; all groups; all walks of life.

Your country last year designated Boko Haram as  a foreign terrorist organisation. Will this lead to the deployment of drones in Yobe and Borno states?

I want to be very clear about Boko Haram and about your government’s counter-terrorism challenge. I can put it very simply. The United States wants to see Nigeria win its war on terror. We are ready to help in many different ways. Obviously a successful counter-terrorism strategy has a military element to it. But in my opinion, it has to be much more than that. There must be economic and the armed forces elements and it is very important that the security forces in any country that is fighting terror maintain the rights of the population and the rule of law.

My country, as you know, has a lot of experience in counter-insurgency and counter- terrorism. Quite frankly, sometimes, it has gone well. Sometimes, it has not gone well. But from both of our successes and failures, we have learnt a lot of very good lesson. From the point of view of humility, we are very happy to come here, talk to Nigerians about what we have tried; what has been successful. This is an example of the friendship that I am talking about.

On the question of Boko Haram, as you said we have designated Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organisation. Specifically what that means is that it allows us to track financial activities of the group that might be taking place in the United States. More importantly, in my opinion is that it is a hugely symbolic matter. It makes it clear to the people of Nigeria that we stand with them in this struggle. We have a partnership with your government on counter-terrorism. Anything we will do on the subject  will be as a result of close collaboration and coordination with your government.

The United States Government is not going to take any unilateral counter-terrorism action here. Any counter-terrorism action we take will be in partnership with your government.

How do you intend to strengthen   the relationship between the two countries?

Everywhere, I look; I see our two governments cooperating; our people cooperating obviously on security front, health front; trade and investment; education. My task as an ambassador is to develop and expand all those activities.

For example, on education and cultural front, we have a very interesting initiative, the young African leaders’ initiative; to take the young Africans to States for some enrichment activities. That is the kind of activity that I think is hugely important.

Also, I am very interested in commercial relationship between our two countries. We have a huge investment portfolio here. We have a very vibrant trade relationship.

What is your impression about democracy in Nigeria?

I am very impressed. Democracy, from our own experience, takes a long time to grow. It takes courage. I remember when I was a very young boy in early 1960s in Alabama, in the deep South; this was the period of our civil rights struggle. This was the time of Dr. Martins Luther King and his famous march.

I remember during that time African American citizens protested in the streets for their civil rights; for their rights to vote. They were harassed and beaten by security forces and in some cases killed.

I know how important the right to vote is; what many people around the world have gone through to exercise that right. When people ask what is most important thing to do in a democracy, I say vote.

The other point I will say about democracy in general and in specific to your question, is that sometimes, when we talk about democracy, we talk about elections. Elections are crucial.

In my opinion, democracy is more than that. It is effective separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary is another thing that makes up effective democracy as well.

For your democracy here, I am impressed by the vibrancy of the public debates. I am impressed by the openness of the media and issues of governance. Compared to many countries I have served, I see the public arena in Nigeria wide open and vibrant.

Can you give more explanations on the comment of the US on the Anambra State governorship election?

When we made the comment, it is not in the spirit of criticism. It is in the spirit of partnership in the sense that we look forward to working with electoral commission and its head so that we can help them build up their capacity and develop their resources; so that when nationwide elections take place they can do the job.

We made those comments in the spirit of close collaboration with INEC. We are discussing internally right now in the US Embassy. We look forward to sitting down soon with INEC and other partners to discuss how we can help the Nigerian people have credible and transparent elections that they deserve.

What is your assessment of the average Nigerian politician?

In democracy, I am talking about all democracies; mine democracy and your democracy, in my opinion, the fundamental element in democracy is government officials work for the people.

I was selected by President Obama, but my bosses are the United States people. I think, in all democratic systems, government officials work for the people.

I am talking of all governments, including my own. People in government  need to avoid big egos and swelled heads. They need to remember that they are servants of   the people. I think that is true in any democracy.

How will the US assist Nigeria during the 2015 elections?

We are  taking an internal look at what we are going to do.

From my experience in Congo where there was an election, I think one of the important things we can do is to develop indigenous Nigerian election observation and develop the capacity of Nigerians to monitor and evaluate their elections. Foreign observers will come. They will be here for a while and leave. The important thing is to develop indigenous capacity.

I think the other thing the United States as a friend of the country can do at appropriate time is to make judicious public statements on the progress of the election, again not in a sense of arrogance, but in a sense of friendship and partnership.