In wrapping up her one-day visit to Nigeria, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held a town hall meeting in Abuja yesterday. In attendance were government officials, civil society and members of the media. The tone was said to be cordial and candid.

At the town hall there was wide ranging discussion on the paradoxes of Nigerian society. On the one hand Clinton talked about the failure of Nigeria achieve the economic successes expected of a nation with the continent’s largest population and enormous energy and natural resources, which she attributed to poor leadership and corruption. She further illustrated this by indicating that Nigeria is one of the leading exporters of crude oil and yet it imports 80% of its domestic fuel needs. Clinton went on to mention how the country is still embroiled in an election dispute two years after the universally acknowledged, seriously flawed event.

On the other hand, Clinton praised Nigeria’s prominent and continued leadership on matters pertaining to peace and security in Africa and also discussed the great potential for trade and development that exists in Nigeria. Clinton also said she was pleased about the progress that has been made in the area of basic health care and HIV/AIDS treatment and care. At an earlier meeting, Secretary Clinton agreed that the U.S. had been mistaken in not expanding some of its health commitments, a decision which she attributed to the global financial crisis. She also admitted that the U.S. should have responded more swiftly with assistance to mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis on Africa.

The Secretary also took questions from the audience. One audience member raised the issue of the negative stereotypes about Nigeria that exist in the U.S., emphasizing that these conclusions are based on the actions of a few people, when the majority of Nigerians are honest, law-abiding individuals who contribute much to Nigeria and the United States. The questioner asked Secretary Clinton to address this matter upon her return to the U.S.

Women groups asked for the Secretary’s help with women’s rights and empowerment in U.S. policy towards Nigeria, and Clinton pledged to include this issue in the mandate of the soon-to-be-established U.S.-Nigeria bi-national commission. The commission was included in the recently passed House State Department authorization bill and will explore a variety of areas of U.S.-Nigeria partnership and cooperation, including in the trade, health, education, defense, science and technology sectors.

Clinton was also asked to ensure that NGOs and implementing agencies of the U.S. government be required deliver assistance to the rural areas in the country to achieve maximum impact; Clinton agreed that this is an important task and is part of the policy review of U.S. assistance to Nigeria.

The Nigerian government officials said they were delighted by Secretary Clinton’s visit and the friendship and assistance of the American people. Secretary Clinton was told that Nigeria is looking forward: the country will address the issue of the flawed election in an electoral reform bill that is currently in progress in the national Assembly (Nigerian congress), and will tackle corruption issues though institutions built to prevent the rampant practices and promote transparency and accountability.

-Maryamu Aminu & Edith Jibunoh