Toju Ogbe, Author at The Nigerian Diplomat

Assessing President Buhari’s Foreign Policy (2015-Present)

The main theme of President Buhari’s foreign policy has been absolute national sovereignty with, tenets of peaceful multilateral diplomacy and foreign relations. This theme characterized by high level diplomatic relations and negotiations, has seen the President Buhari’s administration arguably, successfully connect foreign policy efforts to the accomplishment of domestic priority programmes (security, anti-corruption, economy/job creation).

Muhammadu Buhari GCFR (born 17 December 1942) is a retired Major General in the Nigerian Army and Nigeria’s former Head of State from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985, who became the 15^th President of Nigeria on 29 May 2015. In Nigeria, he is commonly referred to as President Buhari or Sai Baba or simply PMB. He is a colossus by character and personality, a “converted democrat” dominating many aspects of political life and prevailing, in a decisive manner, in key moments in Nigeria’s rocky history.

During his Independence Day speech on October 1^st 2016, President Buhari declared;

“All countries, no matter how advanced, welcome foreign investments to their economy. This is the essence of globalization and no country in the 21st century can be an island. Our reforms are therefore designed to prepare Nigeria for the 21st century.”

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Gates Foundation spends $250 Million on Humanitarian Services in Nigeria in 2016

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through its Nigeria Representative, Ms. Mairo Mandara has disclosed that the Foundation spent $250 million on health, education and improving the lives of the poor in Nigeria in 2016.

Gates foundation

Highlighting some of the achievements of the Gates foundation across Africa, she said that mortality in children under the age of five caused by pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria had decreased across sub-Saharan Africa.

“In Nigeria, we have witnessed a 49 per cent reduction in under age five mortality between 1990 and 2016.

“Also in Nigeria, percentage of children who receive vaccine against Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and HIV increased to 56 per cent in 2016.”

Ms. Mandara said that there was increased access to information about reproductive health and innovative contraceptive methods.

She added that 27 per cent of women now use contraception in sub-Saharan Africa, while Nigeria accounted for 15 per cent of the figure.

According to her, this implied that more women now have the power to make their own family planning decisions.

She also said that a report by the United Nations says that extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa has decreased by 28 per cent since 1990.

She, however, urged wealthy Nigerians to support the cause of humanity to help improve the lives of others and bridge the poverty gap, adding that millionaires around the world had started supporting it.

“Mr Gates has started a giving programme called `The Giving Pledge’ where he goes to his billionaire friends to convince them to give half of their wealth to charity upon their death.

“They can choose whatever area they want to invest in but it has to be for the cause of improving the lives of others and so the billionaires are already coming out massively to support other people.

“What is crucial is that our own multi-millionaires in Nigeria need to get up-to-speed in investing in critical strategic areas that improve the lives of poor people particularly health, education and poverty reduction.”

EU Donates €70 million To Healthcare in Nigeria

The European Union (EU) has donated €70 million to a healthcare project that seeks to support nutrition and the final push to eradicate polio in Nigeria.

Speaking at the launch of the project, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Michel Arrion, said the project would help to improve access to effective health and nutrition in five prioritised states and support the final push to eradicate polio in Nigeria. The focus of the project is especially on providing services to poor, marginalized rural women and children, saving the lives of mothers and children and improving their health and nutrition through a sustainable primary health care delivery system.

The support fund, which is part of the €512 million five year partnership agreement between the European regional body and Nigerian government, is also to strengthen the country’s health system and to eradicate polio virus.

The first phase of the project under the 11th European Development Fund, will be implemented jointly by UNICEF and the World Health Organsiation.

Fifty million euros, according to the breakdown, will be going to Adamawa, Bauchi and Kebbi to ensure that by 2020 the states have functional primary health care centres, providing round-the-clock services to three million children under the age of five as well as almost a million pregnant women and lactating mothers.

The remaining €20 million will go for strengthening of health care systems towards achieving universal health coverage in Anambra and Sokoto states and also the efforts to support the eradication of polio permanently in the country.