Some advice to Nigerian lawmakers as they summon the US ambassador

When James Entwistle, the outgoing US ambassador to Nigeria, told journalists, last week, that he was about retiring from the US foreign services, I knew the House of Representatives would waste no time in inviting him for questioning. And they have done exactly that. This is actually the first time, in recent history, an American ambassador would be summoned by the Nigerian ‘government’.

The ambassador and the three lawmakers, who were accused of sexual misconduct when they visited the US, have been asked by the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Ethics and Privileges and Foreign Affairs to appear before it on the 14th of July, 2016.

Summons are supposed to be used to telegraph high level diplomatic concerns. But in this case, it seems these three accused gentlemen would want to use it to clear their names.

Let me be clear. I wish the case against these lawmakers could just turn out to be that of mistaken identities. They must have suffered serious mental torture, right from the time James Entwistle’s letter went public. Assuming that Mr. Entwistle decides to honor this summon, it will not still help their case.

Since Nigeria is currently enjoying a very good diplomatic relationship with the US, I enjoin the House of Representatives to tread carefully because they are not likely to get the kind of outcome that would please these accused lawmakers, when the US ambassador [or his representative] appears before them. There is no doubt that in the spirit of camaraderie, a friend would want his or her colleague to get a clean bill of health in matters like this. After all, what are friends for?

Definitely, the committee is going to explain the House’s grievance, ask the accused lawmakers to state their case and finally ask the Americans to substantiate their allegations.

These US diplomats, who are coached on how to respond to summons, would respond with engineered answers, knowing full well that the right place for these accused lawmakers to defend themselves would be in a court of competent jurisdiction.

Actually in summons of this nature, the US ambassador responds by stating its government view – this time the laws of the US regarding sexual misconduct. Depending on the issue at stake, a US ambassador might apologize or request further dialogue. In this case, the US mission is not likely to apologize. The Americans have made serious allegations and I am sure they thought over them before sending out that strong letter.

The first advice is for the committee to choose their words very carefully. Obviously a confrontational and condescending attack would backfire. And this could even jeopardize the cordial relationship between the parliament and the US embassy. The parliament can always benefit from training programs promoted by the US government.

This summon is going to be a highly choreographed affair – Nigerian lawmakers must have prepared their scripts. The accused lawmakers might be tempted to attack the responding diplomats, when trying to prove their points. This would be a very bad strategy. No matter how well they perform, the US will not change their mind.

Also, making the ‘hearing’ public, would be of no moment. It will not change anything, except the committee wants to entertain Nigerians. Most people will love to be entertained, though.

The US ambassador is likely going to read out the rights of the accused lawmakers under the US laws. This is actually what the committee should be interested in. The committee should make sure that it gets a commitment from the ambassador that the accused lawmakers would be given the opportunity to defend themselves – even if it means reinstating their revoked visas for the period they might need to travel to America to defend themselves.

But there is a flipside to this. Currently, it seems the US has closed the case against these accused lawmakers. If these lawmakers decide to open this case, and are found guilty, they might suffer bigger psychological and mental torture.

Defending themselves will be expensive as well. But it is worth it if they are sure, in their heart of hearts, that they are innocent.

On a final note, I strongly believe that a friendly and warm conversation with the US mission might help their case a great deal.