Our President has travelled a lot to parley the international community. No doubt his integrity has earned him and the country greet respect from various “world leaders”. We wish him well and do not intend to join the debate as to if he should travel less or travel more. Rather, we want to offer some little points with regards to how to earn respect from the International community. Enjoy.
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| President Muhammadu Buhari In Chin 1. Promote your Culture and Values |
A large hunk of the greatness of the Western world is promotion of its culture. America owes more thanks to Michael Jackson, James Bond, 2Pac, and Hollywood than it owes its graduate in terms of the world view of America as a super power. Unfortunately these are the people who taught the world to dress, talk, think, and act like Americans. This is why it was more fanciful in Africa to use American products and operate American system of Government, both of which puts you under the country in terms of economy and leadership respectively.
Nigeria must promote its culture. Let the world learn from us how to greet, how to conduct marriages to ensure the strengthening of family ties, how to keep large family trees fruitful, how to maintain heritage and have history that is different from politics and governance, how to survive in hard situation and still be the happiest people alive. The world has many to learn from Nigerian culture and our leaders must promote it. This will earn us respect.
2. Don’t Ask for Help
It is ok to propose partnership or do business with other countries but out-rightly asking for help like the almost 200 million people in Nigeria are helpless by and with themselves, is demeaning. The idea of African leaders going abroad to say “we need your help” is a slavish idea. African countries have so much help to give each other yet you won’t find one African President in another African country saying come and help us. This is because the call for help is not just because the man assumes help is needed but because he assumes the westerner is superior by creation. We are not even advocating African countries asking each other for help. If you call yourself sovereign you should handle your issues or expect to be disrespected.
3. Emphasize your Greatness
Often our leaders emphasis our weakness instead of our greatness. The truth about international community is that when they pick interest in your country it is all about what they stand to benefit. Give them the impression that they can benefit because you are great, don’t give them the impression that they can come and claim benefits because you are weak. There is a difference!
When Nigerian leaders go abroad we hear “Boko Haram”, “Poverty”, “Corruption”, and other things that are wrong with Nigeria. We don’t hear, and it is hardly known, that Nigeria is the 7th most populated country in the world and we are so “poor” we are the 7th largest mobile phone users in the world, Nigeria is one of the most diverse nation in terms of ethnicity and culture yet the people have been together relatively peacefully for 56 years if you were counting by independence, we don’t hear a thousand other things that makes Nigeria great and when we manage to hear some it is to beg for investors. Investors should know by now why they should beg to be in Nigeria.
4. Say No
To get respect and give the country respect our leaders must learn to say no. IMF just released a joke of a report that Nigeria is not one of the 15 growing economies in the world and this is obviously because our leader said no to devaluing the naira and doing IMF’s bidding. Yes, they will be angry, they will blackmail you, but they will respect you and later call you to discuss on your terms! Ask the US about Iran and Cuba.
5. Send Someone
Part of respecting yourself is that the President does not jump to the airport every time someone is coming from an oyinbo nation. Send the Secretary to the Government if the fellow is too important. You run a country that is number 7 in population size in the whole world, it should be understood that you cannot always be at the Airport any time a guest is coming. Africans give the best treatment to guest but with honour and self respect.
Also, if there is a function abroad and someone else can go why not. Nigeria had an historic change in leadership in 2015; historic in all manner you can think of and it was John Kerry who came for the handing over not Obama. The Queen of England was absent and nobody died. Why must the standard be different when it comes to us?
FINALLY,
This is no countryman patriotism or nationalism, far from it. EVERY nation in the world should act responsibly and look for means to increase respect for itself and its citizens.
ObserveNigeria
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