Word: obasanjo
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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This is all fine and dandy. However, the president's overall message was couched under an umbrella of forgiveness--forgiveness to the tune of $30 billion in national debt. President Obasanjo's argument is that rescheduling loan repayment for young democratic regimes in traumatized countries is not sufficient to guarantee political stability and sustainable development...
Military coups typically succeed such popular murmurs of dissatisfaction when true societal development does not keep up with political reform. Nigerian citizens cannot afford another military coup, but according to Obasanjo, the real issue is whether the world can afford to pay $30 billion to avoid another military coup in Nigeria. With ambiguities about the future of military institutions in countries such as Nigeria, it would appear that the situation could quickly develop into a blackmail of the global financial assistance system. This is why President Obasanjo's threat to the western world--that if the external debt...
...hermit could be the only responsible strategy to save the country, both economically and politically. The withdrawal of Nigerian troops from elaborate United Nations peace-keeping missions in Liberia, Sierra-Leone and other troubled regions would save a lot of money and show Nigerians and the world that Obasanjo is willing and able to trim the military down to size. Nigeria does not need a huge military and neither can the country afford one. Let the rich and stable countries supply the troops for UN missions, thank...
...only by reassessing the role of the Nigerian military that lasting political and economic progress can go hand-in-hand in Nigeria. Perhaps this is true for many other developing countries. President Obasanjo is in a unique position to embark on such a strategy. The idea of pulling Nigerian troops from international missions in order to save money towards the national debt is a brilliant first step that can be taken to disguise the critical issue of reducing the size and power of the military. The international community should support such a plan instead of or as a complement...
Hopefully, President Obasanjo's optimism will spread beyond the geographical boundaries of Nigeria, and the country's lost role as the "Giant of Africa" can be recast as the "Phoenix of Africa...