Morocco News Board
HASSAN MASIKY 
Washington / Morocco News Board— In a sign that Nigeria is in and South Africa is out, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) chose the Nigerian capital to announce their decision to send 3,000 troops to flush out terrorists from Northern Mali. With Nigeria contributing the largest Military contingency and leading a new diplomatic offensive, President Goodluck Jonathan signals a Nigerian comeback on the African scene. Seeing that the African Union has been keeping low profile and the South Africa-Algeria axis in decline, Nigeria is well position to assume the role of Africa’s diplomatic leader on the international scene. After South Africa’s faux pas in Ivory Coast, Libya and Mali, Africans has turned to Abuja for guidance. Algeria’s ambiguous position vis-à-vis the military intervention in Mali and South Africa’s abrasive approach made the Algerian-South African alliance irrelevant to the efforts aiming to resolve the crisis in the Sahel. The scandal plagued Zuma and his partners in the African Union (AU) have hijacked the pan-African organization for the purpose of self-promotion discrediting its reputation in the process and dashing the hopes of Millions of Africans longing for unity. South Africa’s decline led to a resurgence of Nigeria’s diplomatic activities on the African scene. Notwithstanding Nigeria’s ongoing cycle of inter-religious violence, widespread corruption and economic woes, President Jonathan is poised to overtake Zuma’s coveted “status” of Africa’s spokesperson. However, to be successful in Mali, Nigeria needs a North African partner with a clean record in the Sahel and good relations with the Bamako government and the Touareg separatists. It is important for President Jonathan to open dialogue with the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), once the North is recaptured. Given Algeria’s reluctance to join the Nigerian efforts and its shaky relations with Mali and Niger, Morocco stands as Nigeria’s “potential” natural partner and its future anchor in the Maghreb and the Sahel. Nigeria’s leadership in West Africa will compliment Morocco’s friendly relations with countries in the Sahel. Nigeria’s position in the Western Sahara should not stop a Moroccan-Nigerian partnership from flourishing. A Rabat-Abuja alliance would benefit the African continent and promote a new African union based on real-politics and not demagogy and self-promotion. Moroccan diplomacy should undertake an informational campaign in Nigeria to familiarize the Nigerian government and civil society of Morocco’s proposals to resolve the Western Saharan conflict. Rabat must highlight the commonalities between Moroccan efforts in the Western Sahara and Nigerian’s current campaign to keep their Federation united. Moroccan Diplomacy should break free from its French Africa centered foreign policy and open up to Africa’s Anglophone communities. Nigerian, facing the threat of the terror group Bako Haram and still traumatized by the short-lived secession of the southern state of Biafra, should be perceptive of Morocco’s positions. Moroccan diplomats should remind their Nigerian brothers that Tanzania and Zambia recognized the “independence” of Biafra in 1968. A Rabat-Abuja axis has the potential to become an engine for stability in North and West Africa, the Sahel-Sahara region and North Africa. As the AU becomes irrelevant and more of a vehicle of South Africa’s self-centered political vanity, regional blocks, like the ECOWAS, led by local powers are the future for a united Africa. Despite its internal problems, Nigeria has the capacity to lead an effective foreign policy in Africa. Unlike South Africa, Nigeria has cultivated a better image among smaller African nations and cultivated a solid track of diplomatic success during tough crisis and under harsh security conditions. If South Africa failed to end civil crises in several hot spots in Africa, Nigeria successfully led African efforts that ended civil wars in Sierra Leon, Liberia and in Ivory Coast. The South African Nigerian diplomatic rivalry will keep playing on the African scene. For now Nigeria seems to be winning all the campaigns. However, for Abuja to stay engaging, it needs to cultivate strong relations with key players such as Morocco. .
