The Presidency on Thursday rebuked an American magazine of international relations and US foreign policy, Foreign Affairs, for a publication it called a facts-shifting article on Nigeria.
The Presidency gave this rubuke in reaction to an article titled ‘The giant of Africa is failing’ in the current edition of the magazine.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said this in a statement titled, ‘Re: Giant of Africa is failing: Stating the facts.’
The statement reads, “The latest article on Nigeria in Foreign Affairs titled ‘The Giant of Africa is failing’ is unfair both to a magazine with such an esteemed pedigree and to its readers.
“Ambassador Campbell has been predicting the collapse of Nigeria for several years. He is of course entitled to his opinions, even where events consistently prove him wrong. But facts should not be bent to support distorted opinions.”
The presidential aide recalled in the article that President Muhammadu Buhari at an April meeting with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, reportedly requested that the headquarters of the US Africa Command be moved from Germany to Nigeria so that it would be closer to the fight against jihad groups in the country’s North.
He added, “It’s not just a question of the invented addition of ‘to Nigeria’ with regard to AFRICOM. It sums up a piece that attempts – subtly but revealingly – to shift facts to suit an argument.
“Nigeria faces multiple challenges, not least of which is the dissemination of fake news and prejudiced opinion.
“This is something we have come to expect from partisan blogs and politically motivated lobbies. It is still a surprise, and a disappointment, to see them joined by Foreign Affairs.”
