WHEN a country as populous and naturally endowed as Nigeria continues to flounder and is meted the worst form of shabby treatment internationally, it should be a matter of concern. But much too often it is as if the country’s leaders have lost all sense of shame. They are hardly ever bothered by any situation, no matter how embarrassing.

There is as much blame and criticism to pass around as there are people, whether directly or indirectly implicated in many of these embarrassing and quite frankly shameful situations. The latest of these landed like a rude slap in the face when news broke last week that three Nigerian aircraft had been confiscated in Paris on the orders of a French court. 

Can anyone imagine the presidential jet of any European country being seized in that manner, not to mention that of the Canadian, British or, in fact, America’s Airforce One? If a French court could randomly issue an order for the seizure of, not one or two but, three aircraft belonging to Nigeria, isn’t that just one step away from ordering the arrest of the statutory occupier of the presidential jet, a so-called sovereign? I guess from this case we can see the limits of diplomatic immunity. While countries around the world pretend to be equal on the basis of their membership of the United Nations, nobody need tell us that some countries are more equal than others. 

The day may not be so far away when a Nigerian president would for whatever reason be extraordinarily renditioned on the basis of some obscure court ruling from a Western or Chinese capital. Something similar happened to Emmanuel Noriega, a General and one-time ally of America and military ruler of Panama. When it suited the Americans, they wasted no time in rounding him up and deporting him like a worthless cargo to an American jail. Yes, some may say that was a different era. We are again in such an era and while we may deceive ourselves and take sides with the Western powers and their Russian and Chinese rivals and conclude that our interests are best served by one side as opposed to the other, in the end both sides are united in their exploitation of our weakness. 

They all share a common interest which does not go beyond how they can use us and our resources to their own end. We may say international laws know no boundaries but that is only to the extent that the entities concerned are hapless, badly-governed countries like Nigeria. Not even private airlines operating in Nigeria can be given the kind of treatment meted on our presidential jet and two other jets that are also from the wasteful presidential fleet. We all know what happens to our airlines that ply British airports like Heathrow and Gatwick. We know what manufactured trouble Air Peace was subjected to only a few months ago. They were excluded from the very lucrative routes and sidelined into obscure corners and all kinds of obstacles were thrown on their path in the far less lucrative airports and routes assigned to them. 

But recall how we are reminded of not just the economic dimension for foreign direct investment but also the diplomatic issues that could arise from our threat to repay in kind the shabby treatment of Nigeria and Nigerians by foreign airlines? We have fallen so low that any country or even private international entities can afford to embarrass and take on our national government at will, no thanks to corruption in high places No matter how anybody wants to look at it, at the base of the embarrassing event that happened in Paris last week is the sheer irresponsibility of our political leaders. They pay no attention to the fine print of agreements they enter into or respond to possible violations of such agreements with appropriate alacrity. 

Otherwise, why or how would the Ogun State government in 2010 enter into an agreement with Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, a Chinese-owned business entity and Zhongfu, a subsidiary of the same company, would show up as the rightful owner of the investment? And the Ogun State government sat all the time on its palm watching as Zhongfu went from one country to another, from the United Kingdom, the United States, Belgium and the Virgin Islands, ending finally in France, where it sought and obtained arbitration against Nigeria to the tune of about $150 million. Where was Ogun State or the Nigerian Federal Government that more or less stood surety for this agreement while Zhongfu sought justice, rightly or wrongly, over the course of nearly one and a half decade before the seizure of our Dassault Falcon 7X, Boeing 737-7N6 and Airbus A330, one brand new, two for repairs but all three aircrafts owned by the Nigerian state? Where was Nigeria all these years?

Yes, Ibikunle Amosun, the former governor under whose watch the Zhongshan agreement was terminated has told us how his government was deceived by Zhongfu into terminating its agreement with Zhongshan to build its Free Trade Zone in 2012. Amosun has spoken of the support his government received from the Chinese government in its bid to reverse Zhongfu’s deceit. 

What he is yet to do is provide evidence for his claim or demonstrate any serious sense of responsibility in the manner he handled the entire deal beyond advising Abuja not to honour any claims by Zhongfu. How does that address the liability on the Nigerian state that now runs into hundreds of dollars in monetary terms without considering the damage to Nigeria’s reputation as a destination for foreign investors? Is this a case of politics carried too far? We all know there was no love lost between Amosun and his predecessor in office, Gbenga Daniel, whose administration initiated the Chinese deal way back in 2007? 

How much will it cost Nigeria to reverse the liability brought on it by Ogun and at whose cost? There is enough blame in this matter to go round, as I mentioned earlier, beginning with the Ogun State government. But Abuja itself is also liable. 

How does anyone explain the fact that even President Bola Tinubu couldn’t wait to weigh the enormity of the issues before hopping on and jetting out to France in one of the confiscated jets that is itself the subject of controversy in the country? Is there no sense of shame left anywhere? What was the hurry to fly in the new jet about? What due diligence does the Federal Government, in fact, conduct when it stands surety for states and other subnational entities engaging in international transactions as the Zhongshan and Zhongfu debacle, now dog don dey eat s—t and na goat mouth con dey smell?