79-10-A5
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Nigeria[edit]
Transcript[edit]Someone once said that every form of government has one characteristic peculiar to it and if that characteristic is lost the government will fail. In a monarchy it is affection and respect for the royal family. If that is lost the monarch is lost. In a dictatorship it is fear. If the people stop fearing the dictator he'll lose power. In a representative government such as ours it is virtue. If virtue goes, the government falls. Are we choosing paths that are politically expedient and morally questionable? Are we in truth losing our virtue? Our government has refused to recognize the new government of Rhodesia claiming it is bound by the U.N. sanctions against that country. Our ambassador to the U.N. has hinted we may have other reasons for holding off. It seems that we received a gentle warning from General Obesanjo, ruler of Nigeria, that serious consequences might follow if we recognized the government of Prime Minister Abel Muzorewa, who was elected by Rhodesians legally and legitimately. Now, how could Nigeria possibly threaten our nation and by so doing dictate our foreign policy? General Obesanjo rules not by any vote of his people. Yet he calls the Rhodesian election a "mockery of democracy" and his government-run newspaper charges Rhodesia with practicing "political fraud". Our U.N. ambassador says we must take the general's threats seriously. You see, Nigeria has oil wells which produce one out of eight barrels of the oil we import. Oh, it's true that Nigeria also buys from our country but not enough to balance the oil they sell us. Still isn't our ambassador overlooking the fact that General Obesanjo's principle cash crop is oil and without our cash for that oil his country would have a hard time developing itself. But isn't there another argument -- one having to do with virtue -- which our ambassador has completely overlooked? Zimbabwe -- Rhodesia has taken a great stride toward the kind of democratic values we have always endorsed. Indeed, in this case it is the step we pressured them to take. But instead of holding out our hand to them in friendship we turn our back because the military rules of a country short on democratic values might decide to do without our money and keep his oil. Are we as Americans so thirsty for oil that we'll forget the traditions upon which our country is founded and let our foreign policy be dictated by anyone who has oil for sale? If so, we may be nearer the dust bin of history than we realize. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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