Campbell and his broken bottle on Nigeria

The name John Campbell is not new to the debate on Nigeria. He was at a time the Ambassador of the United States of America to Nigeria. So it could be said that he knows a bit of the dynamics in the Nigerian setting. John Campbell has a long history in Nigeria, one that cannot be wished away anytime soon when he indeed predicted in his book, ‘Nigeria: Dancing on the brink.’ that Nigeria would not survive 2015.

The issues highlighted in the book drew much attention and generated enormous controversies both within Nigeria and around the world. It was apparent that he enjoyed the attention that came with his puerile prophecy, as we are almost in 2020. That is a definite five years after, and Nigeria is still united. I wonder how he felt with the fact that Nigeria lived beyond 2015. Just maybe he felt disappointed with the way and manner things turned out, and since then, he has become a daily contributor to the discourse on Nigeria. So much so, that one wonders why the keen interest in the affairs of Nigeria. The reason isn’t farfetched.

This situation has given rise to questions as to the real motives of John Campbell in his tirade against Nigeria. I say this because, for inexplicable reasons, he is in the news again in Nigeria. And this time around, he took his trade too far by stating that Nigeria’s international reputation is damaged for disrespect for the rule of law in an apparent reference to the ongoing trial of Omoyele Sowore. Initially, I was at a loss what he meant by “Buhari’s Dictatorial Past and the Rule of Law Today in Nigeria”. In my opinion, that was indeed a handshake beyond the elbow given the enormity of his unsubstantiated postulations intended to mislead members of the unsuspecting general public.

As a start, I’m afraid I have to disagree with the fact the John Campbell is qualified to speak objectively about Nigeria in whatever capacity. It is despicable how he has continued to insult the sensibilities of Nigeria by advancing a self-serving cause that from all intent and purposes are geared towards causing an unhealthy distraction in the polity.

I recall I was particularly fazed when some time ago John Campbell stated that the 2019 general elections were bad for democracy in Nigeria. He further stated that the presidential election does not inspire confidence in the democratic trajectory of Africa’s most populous country. I stand to be corrected; it is indeed a shame that John Campbell would denigrate so low despite being a former ambassador to Nigeria.

Nigeria has always defeated evil postulations from time immemorial. Many fake prophets like Campbell have unleashed the devil on Nigerians. But they always end up being shamed. They forgot one major thing, which is the fact that Nigerians can see through their gimmick; Nigerians should form the habit of disregarding whatever comes from the stable of John Campbell because they are all pieces of broken bottles.

Odusote wrote from Washington DC, USA.