African expert says, ‘Nigeria wants to be part of New World Order’

Sputnik Africa sat with Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, a Nigerian broadcaster, journalist, political scientist and a former head of Nigeria’s National Broadcasting Commission, to discuss the role that the West plays in Africa and how it’s trying to prevent the continent from rapprochement with new world emerging powers like Russia, China and India.

Recently, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar, made a statement regarding the country’s willingness to join BRICS, which came against the backdrop of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visiting Nigeria, Angola and other African countries. Sputnik Africa asked the expert to what extent such a statement indicates Nigeria’s independent position in international relations.

Kawu believed that Nigeria, despite its good relations with the US, has always strived to be independent in its decision on the international arena, adding that the idea of joining BRICS is very popular amongst Nigerians and the Blinken’s visit isn’t likely to influence the country’s choice to become a member of the bloc.

“Nigeria should play a very important role in the international system. And I’m not sure that Nigeria’s decision in that respect can be influenced by the visit of the American Secretary of State. […] Nigerians want to be part of the new world order. That new world order is an order that is going to be multipolar that will allow the development of the economies of countries both in the developing and developed world,” the expert said.

The expert underlined that being part of the new world order is “very critical” for his country, as in the past Nigeria made choices that were imposed on it by the neoliberal world order, which has its limitations, negatively affects the country’s development.

“If we are not part of this new multipolar order, we are going to be in trouble. That’s why it is very important for Nigeria to be part of BRICS,” Kawu pondered.

Moreover, speaking of the US and its recent suspension of the economic benefits offered by the African Growth and Opportunity Act to several African countries such as Niger, Uganda and the CAR, the journalist agreed with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni who accused “some countries” of using technological progress to hold down other countries that have different values, adding that “the whole world is tired of international diplomacy or international policy by oppression, by blackmail, by sanctions.”

“This idea of continuously sanctioning countries is no longer going to work because opportunities are going to open for people to make different choices in terms of development partners, in terms of development agendas, in terms of relationships in the international system. And that is something that is clear to people in different parts of the African continent,” Kawu pointed out.

The speaker reckoned that Africans, especially the young generation, are “fed up with the continent that is held on by the legacies of colonialism and neocolonialism” and want to see the growth of their motherlands. And in that sense, countries like Brazil, India, Russia, China and Iran, despite being sanctioned by the West, “are uniting to provide a new platform of development for the world” and “Africa wants to be part of that new world order”.

Moving to another topic, the expert commented on how to make Western multinational companies more socially accountable in Africa.

Kawu called it “unfortunate” and “ironic” that Africa, being “the most backward continent in the world in terms of the development of productive forces”, exports capital to the West as multinational corporations continue to exploit the continent. And, according to the expert, as long as it’s true, Africa will “never see development.”

Thus, the continent should be part of an international system that would allow it to flourish, have access to its own resources and choose its path of development.

“We want to be part of a world of progress, a world where we can have this huge talent of highly educated African young people, be part of a development process that takes the resources of Africa to work for Africa,” the journalist told Sputnik Africa.

He noted that Africa is not isolated from that world and is willing to share some of its resources, but under the conditions of being included in the development process.

When asked about the reasons for the decline of the West’s influence in Africa, Kawu cited the exploitative nature of the relationship between Western countries and the continent: hundreds of years of slavery, colonialism, and the current exploitation of natural resources.

“So, the history of Africa’s relationship with the Western world has been a history of unequal exchange, of exploitation and underdevelopment. […] We have a memory of a relationship that has not worked for us. A relationship that has kept us underdeveloped. This is the background, the basis why the Western world is no longer as popular in Africa,” the political scientist argued.

Russia, China, and India, on the contrary, did not exploit Africa but have been helping it in its development. Moreover, the Soviet Union even took part in the continent’s liberation struggles. This is why, in Kawu’s opinion, “all the propaganda against Russia, against China have never resonated with the African people.”

As a final question, Sputnik Africa discussed with the expert how the US pursues its agenda in Africa.

Kawu recalled that since the beginning of the 21st century, the Americans have been trying to create networks of military bases on the continent as part of its international geopolitical agenda, in an attempt to divert Africans from their rapprochement with China, Russia and India.

This is why the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) was formed, the journalist claimed, adding that he was the first editor of the Daily Trust newspaper in Northern Nigeria, which led a major campaign against AFRICOM as the Command would lead to establishment of the US bases on Nigerian soil, which “would not resonate with [Nigeria’s] own development”.

But military power is not the only tool that the US uses in its foreign policy. Soft power is equally important.

“There is a vicious level of propaganda in the media, in education and in cinema to keep the African mind in a neocolonial format. This goes hand in hand with the issue of creating geopolitical agendas on the continent. You have the soft power on one hand, you have the military power on the other as well,” Kawu argued.

Africans, however, “are not foolish” and realize that if the US continues its policy, it is “going to turn Africa into an arena of agendas that are not going to be in favor of the African people,” and this is the reason why when AFRICOM emerged, there was a consensus on the continent that it’s not going to serve African interests, Kawu concluded.