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Nigeria’s Presidency has said that an article titled ‘The Giant of Africa is Failing,’ published in Foreign Affairs, an internationally acclaimed magazine is the distorted opinion of its authors, including Ambassador Campbell.
Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), in a terse response to the article said that the article is “unfair both to a magazine with such an esteemed pedigree and to its readers,” stressing that in the written up, facts were bent to support distorted opinions.
The statement said that “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.”
Full text of the statement reads:
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.’
President Buhari did not request that AFRICOM move to Nigeria. The transcript of the call with Secretary Blinken is available on the State Department’s own website.
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.
Yours sincerely,
Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
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