By Sunny Ikhioya

THE Russian Federation on the one hand, and the US and her NATO allies on the other hand, are presently engaged in a cold war of sorts over the Russian annexation of the Crimea part of present day Ukraine. Economic and diplomatic sanctions have been announced against Russia; the Russians, on their part, have placed sanctions on some US interests.

The matter has been hotly debated at the United Nations. Countries have taken sides along the interests of the two divide, while a third group led by China choose to remain neutral.

Interestingly, from the Federal Government came a statement condemning the actions of Russia. My question: Is the decision to support the US government and her European allies in the fight against Russia the right one? In my opinion, it is not.

We are a non-aligned nation. That is to say: we do not belong to any of the ideological divide between the    nations of the West and those of the East. We have always treaded the neutral path, because making friend with one camp automatically makes you an enemy of the other; both can be useful to us in one sector or the other.

In the realm of international politics, there are no permanent friends, there are only permanent interests and the interest must be one that first favours one’s country. To demonstrate this further, let us examine the present US/France relationship. In the past two years, they have fought side by side in Libya and collaborated in Mali, Syria and other Africa/Middle East adventures. When you remember that they almost came to war against each other during the Iraqi invasion by the US, you will understand better the no permanent friend dictum.

Our foreign policies have always favoured other countries. Nigeria is the Big Brother of Africa- sending troops and material resources to needy African countries such as Sudan, Liberia, Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia,Mali and many others. We do this at great sacrifice – too huge to be disclosed publicly. But how have we been appreciated by our fellow African brothers? Zimbabwe that we helped to gain liberation now mock at us, through their theiving President Robert Mugabe, as corrupt. South Africans are subjecting Nigerians to second class citizenship status in their country, persecuting and killing Nigerians through selective justice.

Ghana refused to allow legitimate Nigerian traders to settle down and do business, always introducing one form of impediment or the other.  We all know how long it took for Glo to effectively take off in Ghana but here in Nigeria, it is a free market, everyone is welcome.

Going outside the African borders, we hear of the killings and daily maltreatment of Nigerians in China. The Chinese are busy here, exploiting our diverse resources as we have opened up to them as development partners; even in the construction and solid minerals field, they are embraced – and how do they pay us back? They flood the country with sub-standard clothing materials and fabrics, fake and sub-standard drugs, fake and sub- standard spare parts. Our Nigerian business men are happy going to China to import fake products into the country. They blame Nigerians for the situation, as goods produced are in accordance with our request specifications. But I ask: Do they not have standards in China for the export of any product? Why must they collude with wicked and greedy Nigerians to sabotage the country? Meanwhile, we have officials of SON, Ministry of Trade, Customs, Immigration and other regulatory and enforcement agents, ignoring this systemic debasement of their country.

India is only interested in our money. The hospital/health tourism business is flourishing, thanks to the patronage of Nigerians. They will promise Nigerians the impossible, claiming what is beyond their capabilities. Three persons close to me have transit ed this earth in the past one year because of such false promises. When the Nigerian doctor has closed a case, the Indians say otherwise because of the money they hope to make. In most cases they make sure the patient is fleeced of all that he has, then they give a long appointment date at which time they know the patient would be dead.

You will never see an Indian company engage in corporate social responsibility activities like building housing estates for workers, constructing road, providing water and executing other community projects. All they do is to change the naira to dollars as quickly as possible and remit the proceed to their country.
Such is the plight of Nigeria – raped, bruised and pillaged, both home and abroad, by people who are supposed to pay us homage.

At the borders with Togo, Ghana and other countries along West Africa, Nigerians are now separated for special treatment. While all of these are happening, we pretend to be part of the world. At very short notices, we join the band wagon without considering the implications, like we are doing now with the Ukraine crisis.
The ALSCON plant in the South Eastern part of Nigeria is presently grounded because of a dispute between both  American and Russian firms; our country is the worse for it.

We must redefine our foreign policy to Nigeria first. Which means we relate to other countries based on what we stand to benefit first. Countries that we have helped to grow must give us our due respect. We have been battling the Boko Haram menace for some years, yet our neighbours have not been eager to assist us in the containment of the insurgents from their end.

We must assert our importance by not taking lightly any further maltreatment of Nigerians anywhere in the world. We are the most populous Black nation on earth; the world must accord us our due respect.

If a matter does not directly concern us, like the Ukraine case, we must exercise restraint and not hurry to take sides.

Some diplomatic watchers claim that we needed to do that to win the UN Security Council chairmanship seat; I say that is not necessary.

The frequent reports from around the world on the maltreatment of Nigerians are alarming; Nigerians are not the only ones with criminal tendencies. Our government must redirect our foreign policy.
You build your home first before venturing outside, that must be our example.

*Mr. Ikhioya, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.