‘Buhari dragging Nigeria into a geopolitical mess’

Sir: Netanyahu may attend Buhari’s Democracy Day after all, my enemy’s enemy is my friend.  But the Israeli PM is not only a shrewd geo-politician with links to Israeli national and global interest alone, he is Trump’s closet friend as well Putin’s ally too.  Having Trump move American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was for him the biggest blow to Palestine. But he has not forgotten quickly that Buhari fiercely opposed it in the UN. Lest I forget, the Israeli PM is also doggedly a pro-Biafra PM.

So, does Buhari truly understand how complex geopolitical game he is played?  There are Christian outcries around the world against what is being believed that Buhari is conducting a Jihad against Christians. And the Pope is being briefed on how Christians are being massacred in Nigeria. Pope is not happy with Buhari who he believes is a religious extremist who fails to protect Christians in Nigeria particularly in the north.  Trump being the first president in the U.S. who was elected by Evangelical extremists is seen as an Evangelical President. That is why he is under immense pressure to protect Christians in Nigeria.

Yes the King of Saudi Arabia might have brought Buhari and Netanyahu together especially given how Buhari’s has been maltreating Nigerian Shiites which is seen as an indirect confrontation of Iran.  But does Buhari know that when it is all over, he will be dispensed since in geopolitics there are no permanent enemies and friends but permanent interests? That is why I wonder, has he given all his disjointed geopolitical steps the kind of thoughts they deserved, including in post 2023 because he has to live all the consequences of stranding in the way of powerful Iran in Nigeria. A Nigerian wise politician should have smartly stayed away from these murky waters in the Arab world.

But what makes me more worried is can Buhari’s Nigerian on the one hand be Israeli friend, but on the other be China’s and Venezuela’s friend too, which also makes Buhari’s Nigeria fiercely opposed to America. And then turns around to join hands with the U.S. against Iran knowing that China is fully supporting Iran against America. This, Buhari as a naive geopolitician, has not carefully factored into his disjointed geopolitics because Russia’s, the EU’s and the UK’s geopolitical interests are not being considered along.

That is why as far as geopolitics is concerned we are in a complete geopolitical mess thanks to Buhari naively dragging Nigeria into what could have been avoided.  We know that once his inauguration is over Nigeria is going to become a kind of geopolitical theater.

Odilim Enwegbara.