By Hillary Asemota
The Presidency on Thursday angrily reacted to a publication in the Foreign Affairs Magazine, authored by John Campbell and Robert Rotberg, expressing its view that their claim in the report was unfair both to Nigeria as a nation and to the magazine because of the purported reputation of the magazine that is U.S inclined.
The opinion published in the latest edition of the magazine had as its title: The Giant of Africa is Falling: only Nigeria can Save itself – But the United States can Help.
Recall that John Campbell, was a former U.S diplomat and was he acting Director of the Office of the Historian within the department of the State, additionally, he was the Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Affairs in Washington DC.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President, on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, while reacting to Campbell opinion in a statement said:
“RE: GIANT OF AFRICA IS FALLING: STATING THE FACTS
Please find below the response of the Presidency to the publication in Foreign Affairs Magazine that appeared in the current edition as sent to the publishers:
Dear Sir,
“The latest article on Nigeria in Foreign Affairs titled ‘The Giant of Africa is Failing’ is unfair both to a magazine with such an esteemed pedigree and to its readers.
“Ambassador Campbell has been predicting the collapse of Nigeria for several years. He is of course entitled to his opinions, even where events consistently prove him wrong.
But facts should not be bent to support distorted opinions. Let me give you one example.
The authors write: ‘At an April meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Buhari reportedly requested that the headquarters of the U.S. Africa Command be moved from Germany to Nigeria so that it would be closer to the fight against jihadi groups in the country’s north.’
Shehu, said President Buhari did not request that AFRICOM move to Nigeria, adding that the transcript of the call with Secretary Blinken is available on the State Department’s own website.
He said: “It’s not just a question of the invented addition of ‘to Nigeria’ with regard to AFRICOM. It sums up a piece that attempts – subtly but revealingly – to shift facts to suit an argument.
“Nigeria faces multiple challenges, not least of which is the dissemination of fake news and prejudiced opinion.
“This is something we have come to expect from partisan blogs and politically motivated lobbies. It is still a surprise, and a disappointment, to see them joined by Foreign Affairs.”