Carnegie Reporter, Vol. 2, No. 3 | Career Ambassador: Thomas R. Pickering, page 4

SK: I’d like your perspective on Nigeria, where a new government is trying to create stability after years of military rule. At Carnegie Corporation, we are involved in working with universities in a number of African countries, to strengthen them. What role do you see universities playing in trying to build a democracy in a country like Nigeria?

TP: This, of course, is not a “new” government in the sense that President Obasanjo has been elected to succeed himself in a second term. I believe that both for the short term and the long term, universities in Nigeria are very important. The country has lacked the depth of political leadership that it ought to have. It’s also lacked people with the in-depth technical competence needed to run an efficient government.

A recent poll taken in Nigeria reported that 53 percent of the people are directly and openly complaining about the prevalence of corruption in government. So it’s clear that universities can teach honest governance, good governance, better behavior, increasing confidence and more political responsibilities in a country like Nigeria, which undergoing so much change.

There are problems in Nigeria, in the religious tensions between Islam and Christianity and in some areas where they’re feeling that they’re not getting their fair share of the money that’s being produced by the country’s oil exports. There have also continued to be tensions over the application of Shariah law. President Obasanjo has a huge challenge before him in his second administration to see if he can bring about change. He worked very hard in his first administration. The results don’t seem to be terribly rewarding. Although it is interesting that he seemingly has won at least what most people think is a reasonably fair election.

SK: So investing in universities is worth the gamble?

TP: Universities, in my view, are definitely worth the gamble. They can become centers for excellence. They can help to make change.

SK: Russia. One of Carnegie Corpor-ation’s major projects was the Russia Initiative, which involved a multidisciplinary task force of scholars from Russia and the U.S. who prepared a policy outline for a new U.S. president in 2000 to sketch out the options for a post-Cold-War relationship. The task force, which looked at economic, social, economic and military issues in Russia, concluded that there ought to be a much more mature and normalized relationship between the U.S. and Russia which is, in fact, what happened. Does this surprise you?

TP: I am surprised. When I was in Russia, during the Yeltsin period, this was one of our goals, that we should strive to see a normal relationship even in a period of rather breathtaking change for Russia. And that continues to be the problem. There are many difficulties and many areas of difference. There are differences over Iran, differences over nonproliferation, some differences on Iraq, differences over NATO, differences in the Far East.

But I also believe there are tremendous areas for potential cooperation as we go ahead. We’ve worked together on an international space station, for instance. And I think, with careful planning, Russia can develop a successful market economy. The country is also developing a new information technology industry, building on the very considerable skills of trained people and the excellence of the country’s educational system, particularly in the areas of math and science.

Economically, Russia still floats, if you like, on a sea of oil exports. I think that will continue, although Russia’s economy is fragile and if we get into a period of oil surplus, they will find it harder to maintain the kind of growing economy they’ve enjoyed recently.

Step by step, President Putin is making those kinds of changes and we have to admire him for doing so. He recently launched a campaign against some of the oligarchs and against corruption, and the country has been more committed to punishing criminals. We’ll have to see where that goes. Russia is facing an election next year so electoral politics are beginning to permeate the scene.

SK: Which is definitely a sign of democracy.

TP: A big sign of democracy.

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