Find below a downloadable version of the presentation that served as the basis of my talk at the conference on threats to Nigeria's security which took place today at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.
Panelists at the conference included Jacob Zenn, Analyst for West African Affairs at The Jamestown Foundation; Dr. Andrew McGregor, Editor in Chief, Global Terrorism Analysis; Mark McNamee, Analyst at The Jamestown Foundation; Lauren Ploch Blanchard from the Congressional Research Service; Carl LeVan, Assistant Professor of African Politics at American University; Colonel Gene McConville, Senior Military Advisor at the Africa Center For Strategic Studies; Ambassador Eunice Reddick, former US ambassador to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe, and currently Director of the Office of West African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Mola Dibussi, they will surely be inviting you to join one or more of those think tanks or institutes. Choose wisely. Of course, you shall.
Posted by: compina | June 21, 2012 at 10:45 AM
Oh my country! Nigeria has suddenly become a banana republic, to an extent that a Cameroonian now walks into a conference and discuss about its security. Where are its military experts, diplomats and academics who once dealth with these matters?
Posted by: Okafor Ismaila | July 03, 2012 at 08:40 AM
Okafor, knowledge knows no boundaries. A Chinese person can become an expert on election politics in the United States, a Nigerian can become an expert on post-Apartheid South Africa, and an American may become an expert of the role of the military in Nigerian politics. That is definitely not a reflection on the state of the countries that these foreigners are interested.
Yes, Nigeria has become a banana republic but not because Cameroonians are talking about it at conferences, but because of poor governance, corruption, insecurity, etc.
Again, true scholarship knows no boundaries.
Posted by: Joe Ikenna | July 05, 2012 at 08:40 AM