By: Wang Xinjun
At a time Nigerians in Ukraine are struggling to return their homeland by all means and with great difficulty, about 115 young Nigerian men in Abuja.on Monday(1st.March)offered to join Ukraine as ‘volunteer’ in its fight against Russia .As a long-term international issue observer and resident correspondent who have been working in Africa 9 years,I was shocked by this news.What a unthinkable and pathetic thing it is!
How many people in those 115 young men can point out Ukraine’s location on a world map?Any idea do they have what is the reason for Russia’s special military action against Ukraine? What do they want to fight for to Ukraine ?for ‘justice’?for save Ukrainian from the flames of war?or just for earn money as a mercenary so that escape from hunger and poverty ?Anyway,if they go to the battlefield in Ukraine,they just become cannon fodder of the war between Ukraine and Russia, it is worthless to themself, their family members and their country, Nigeria.
The Ukraine issue has complex historical context and realistic factors,what has happened on the Ukraine issue has much to do with the long delay in the effective implementation of the Minsk-2 agreement.The reasons of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia are complicated,the main reason is North Atlantic Treaty Organization -NATO’s eastward expansion,another word,NATO lead by US. almost put their knife on Russia’s throat through the accession of Ukraine.
So,Who drove Russia to the brink of insecurity and forced it to attack Ukraine?Who are the chief culprit of the war between the two nations that have been closely linked for centuries? It is a fundamental question that must be clarified,the security of one country should not come at the expense of the security of other countries, still less should regional security be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs. The Cold War mentality should be discarded completely. The legitimate security concerns of all countries should be respected. Given NATO’s five consecutive rounds of eastward expansion, Russia’s legitimate security demands ought to be taken seriously and properly addressed.
Of course,the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and protected and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter abided by in real earnest.Just as Nigerian minister of foreign affairs Geoffrey Onyeama clearly said on 2nd,March – We (Nigeria) would act in the framework of the UN, and if there was a UN Resolution, we would be obliged, but there would not be because Russia has a veto power,when he answered relevant question as fellow:’Several countries have imposed sanctions on Russia.Is Nigeria making any practical move in that direction?’ Therefor,for the current Ukraine – Russia crisis, the best choice is to promote peace talks, sanctions can only aggravate the contradiction and have a counterproductive effect.
Today’s miserable situation and plight of Ukraine and its people deserves the world’s sympathy and deeply regret, but Nigeria should remain neutral and try to persuade both sides to solve the problem through negotiation, instead of adding fuel to the fire as some western countries do. Nigerians should not be seduced by the ubiquitous propaganda machine of western media. It is very necessary open eyes watching the nowaday’s world and observing the conflict between Ukraine and Russia from the standpoint of Nigeria. Just like when your two neighbors fighting to each other, even one of them fights in the other’s house.As their mutual friend, are you going to try to calm them down and talk it out? Or put a knife in either of them and say, come on, I got your back?!
Take sides between the West and East or Russia is unwise,take an independent stand as well as act in the interests of own state’s diplomacy is the best option. As some analyst said,Ukrainian tragedy today is that the former comedian,President Volodymyr Zelensky’s failed to strike a geopolitical balance between the West and Russia, and then caught fire to his country. African countries and Nigeria should learn a lesson from this and not become pawns in the Western political game.
Nigerians do not deserve or need to be cannon fodder for any other country, no matter how righteous you think it is, except to fight for their own country. Don’t forget, this war is rooted in rivalry between the United States, NATO and Russia,do you think Nigeria needs to be able to join the fray?
As Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, Nigeria’s biggest task today is development, poverty alleviation and protecting its own people from insecurity on its own soil, not taking sides between Ukraine and Russia. If there are Nigerians who want to go to Ukraine to fight as mercenaries in search of ‘justice’, or want to make money on the Ukrainian battlefield, just be prepared to become cannon fodder of some certain power,Nigeria’s foreign policy will also be affected by your muddled behavior.
Remember, don’t just listen to the western inflammatory propaganda of CNN,BBC,AP,AFP, etc.which portraying Russia and its president vladimir Putin as an Evil Empire and a Demon of War day by day.Remember, do not be victims of some western propaganda projected by pro capitalist oriented mediums.Your life is your own,the country you should defend for is your homeland – Nigeria!
(Mr. Wang Xinjun is an international issue observer and Chinese journalist in Nigeria. Above view is personal and do not represent any organization. )
