Brilliant stride in neighbourhood diplomacy

SIR: President Buhari’s visit to Niger and Chad immediately after his inauguration came at the heart of reviving the nation’s diplomacy and foreign policy not only in the national interest but in bringing real value to it.

The existential national security challenge of the Boko Haram threat, whose longevity has depended on cross border activities of recruiting its fighters, trainings, supplies and escape, can be more effectively contained by vigorous collaboration and co-operation with the affected countries in our neighbourhood.

Calling at the neighbours in their own turf without any extra-continental prodding as president Buhari has rightly done, endears us with the original initiative of an effective and respectable regional leader. The neighbours are most likely to be frank, forthcoming and even reverential of regional big brother.

President Buhari’s neighbourhood diplomacy exemplified in the Nigerien and Chadian visits, would revive diplomacy and foreign policy as not only driven by our national interest, in this case national security but would bring on board our immediate neighbours, who would begin to appreciate that their national fortunes is not only considerably tied to ours, but could be best served in energetic sub-regional concert with Nigeria’s leadership at the core. Foreign policy and diplomacy are no luxuries.

They are as strenuous as any other national endeavours to build a strong nation that serves not only the greatest needs of the greatest number of people, but actively participates in the preservation of the international system.

For too long, our foreign policy management and diplomatic engagement has been taken for a great comfort arena as practitioners seek the best places in the world, which they characterized as plumb postings with foreign trips generally perceived as personal profile-enhancing and even a jamboree and pleasure seeking.

The great challenge of redefining our foreign policy and diplomacy which President Buhari has greatly enhanced and exemplified is that, it does not necessarily have to be luxurious before it can be purposeful and does not require much fan-fare before it can be effective and result-oriented.