Bolster US-Nigeria ties to seal democratic gains

The historic victory of challenger Muhammadu Buhari over incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria’s recent presidential election, the latter’s graceful concession and the apparently smooth transition that is underway ahead of the May 29 handover represented not only a milestone for the West African country but also a significant boost for democracy across the continent. In all fairness, the happy outcome was also a major win for President Obama and his team, one the administration now needs to consolidate.

{mosads}In the lead-up to the polls in Africa’s most populous country and biggest economy, the administration, which in its 2012 Africa strategy document made sustained focus on the credibility of democratic processes a priority — declaring “support for democracy is critical to U.S. interests and is a fundamental component of American leadership abroad” — marshaled its diplomatic resources in a way it has not often done. In January, Secretary of State John Kerry was dispatched to Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, to meet with both major presidential candidates and deliver the message that the election be conducted peacefully and that it be “credible, transparent, accountable, so that the people of Nigeria can have faith and the world can have faith in the government that flows from it.” When the polls were postponed, Kerry issued a statement expressing “deep disappointment.” Right before election day, Obama made an exceptional video appeal to the Nigerian people to vote peacefully and resist calls to violence. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield led an official diplomatic mission to observe the March 28 vote.

The efforts did not go unnoticed by Nigerians. In his acceptance speech, President-elect Buhari went out of his way to say: “I give special thanks to President Obama and his timely intervention and support for peaceful and credible elections in Nigeria and for sending Secretary John Kerry and other United States officials.” The U.S. was likewise fulsome in the White House statement after the results were announced, both commending Jonathan for his “many years of service and statesmanlike conduct at this critical juncture” and declaring that it looked forward to working with Buhari on “our many shared priorities.” Vice President Biden followed up on his boss’s calls to the two men with another call to the incoming Nigerian president, in which he assured him that “the United States stands ready to expand collaboration with Nigeria on issues of common concern, including economic and security matters.”

The last year is generally acknowledged as having been an especially rocky period in bilateral relations between the two countries. If Washington’s veto of a deal for Israel to sell U.S.-made Cobra attack helicopters to Nigeria, as well as the abrupt stop to a program under which the United States was training an elite unit for the Nigerian army were not bad enough, the period coincided with a virtual cessation in U.S. imports of Nigerian crude, a dramatic shift from the West African country, which has Africa’s largest proven petroleum reserves and the fourth-largest foreign source of America’s imported oil just a few years ago. Hence a “reset” would be most welcome. What are some steps that might be taken to get things underway quickly?

First, the Obama administration should make sure that the official delegation representing the United States is commensurate with both the historic nature of the transition that will take place when Nigeria’s new president is inaugurated at the end of this month — the country’s first-ever peaceful handover between an elected president of one party and an elected president of another party — and the significance of that event for Africa as whole, where nearly two dozen countries are supposed to hold elections over the course of the next two years. This means not only a delegation head of the appropriate stature, but also a large, broad and bipartisan group, representing the executive branch and Congress as well as American civil society.

Second, Buhari’s expressed desire to improve his country’s relations with America should be honored with an invitation to Washington as soon as practical. While many on his team are no strangers to the U.S. capital, others are new to government, having long been in opposition. While it might not be possible to organize a state visit, with all its ceremonial protocols, in such short notice, a working trip would more than do the trick for now.

Third, having just last week announced a $35 million investment to support French operations assisting Nigeria’s neighbors — Mali, Niger and Chad — in the fight against Islamist extremists, including Boko Haram, it would only be right that some sort of initiative be unveiled to help with the battle still being waged in Nigeria. What is important is not the money — notwithstanding its fiscal woes due to the plunge in the price of hydrocarbons, which account for some 80 percent of the country’s government budget, Nigeria is not a poor country — so much as the moral boost of American backing.

Fourth, Obama is already scheduled to travel to Kenya in July for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, the first time the event will be hosted in a sub-Saharan African venue. A stopover along the way, however brief, in Nigeria to congratulate its people on their political achievement would send a powerful message about American support for democratic legitimacy across Africa — and be a useful shot across the bow for a number of leaders who are clinging on to their posts past constitutional and other limits.

Bolstering the U.S.-Nigerian relationship will not only help seal the recent democratic gains, but, given the unique importance of Nigeria on a continent that the Obama administration itself has repeatedly described as “more important than ever to the security and prosperity of the international community, and to the United States in particular,” also makes great geopolitical and strategic sense.

Pham is director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.