US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton spared no punches during her visit to Nigeria. Always one for plain speaking, she took a tough line on corruption, electoral reform, and the precarious situation in the country’s oil-rich Niger Delta region when she met leaders of Nigeria’s government. 

Nigeria was the fifth stop on Clinton’s seven nation tour of Africa. The US needs to re-establish its influence on the continent if it is to compete with China and Russia for Africa’s trade, oil and mineral resources. Nigeria is the fifth-largest supplier of oil to the United States and is the largest recipient of direct US investment. Nigeria analyst Professor Patrick Wilmot told Radio Netherlands:

“Nigeria has huge amounts of oil in the ground and can produce up to 3.5 million barrels a day. The Americans would like to break their own dependence on oil from the Middle East because of the volatility… and also they can not depend on the oil that comes from the former Soviet states. They would like to get a more secure oil supply.”

Listen to Newline's interview with Nigeria analyst Professor Patrick Wilmot:

Unrest and kidnappings
However, unrest and kidnappings by indigenous groups in the Niger Delta oil region have left US officials worried. Rebels have disrupted the oil supply over what they see as exploitation of reserves by foreign companies. In June violence in the region led to Angola surpassing Nigeria in monthly oil production.

Mrs Clinton was given an update on a 60-day amnesty period in the Niger Delta for the rebels to hand in their weapons.  Nigerian defence officials made “very specific” suggestions over how the US military could assist in bringing peace to the region.  Mrs Clinton said:

“We will be following up on those suggestions.  There is nothing that has been decided but we have a very good working relationship between our two militaries.”

Mismanagement and graft
On the subject of corruption in Nigeria, the US Secretary of State urged President Umaru Yar’ Adua to take a firmer line and offered US help to implement badly-needed electoral reforms. Many of Nigeria’s critics point to mismanagement and graft for impeding the country’s development. There were concerns that the election of 2007 was marred by fraud. Clinton said:

“We strongly support and encourage the government of Nigeria’s efforts to increase transparency, reduce corruption and provide support for democratic processes in preparation for the 2011 elections.”

No change
Whether reforms will be implemented following Mrs Clinton’s visit remains to be seen. But Professor Patrick Wilmot is sceptical:

“The Nigerians are very good diplomats, so they will probably smile and tell her that they agree with everything she says. But of course there will be no fundamental changes as far as her visit is concerned.”

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