Christine Lagarde’s unfruitful visit, by Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa

On Monday, Janaury 4, 2016, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Christine Lagarde, commenced a four-day official visit to Nigeria.
The expectation was that she would take advantage of the opportunity of her visit, to hammer in and emphasise the rich and much cherished culture of French liberty and freedom, but alas, that did not happen at all, as the IMF boss concentrated purely on the economic advantage of her visit.
As a female mother, one had expected Ms Lagarde to seek thorough and detailed explanation, from the Nigerian government, about the fate of the Chibok Girls and indeed the growing tendency of the ruling APC government, to disregard court orders.
It is indeed amazing for the IMF President to seek to entrench any economic profit, in an atmosphere of tyranny, oppression and impunity, now being perpetrated by the Buhari government, as commercial development and economic prosperity, will remain a mirage, in the absence of respect for the rule of law and due process.
In the course of the visit of the IMF boss, the spokesperson of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, was arrested right in her face and she kept quiet.
In the course of Ms. Lagarde’s visit, the APC-led government in Lagos State, stormed Oshodi market, demolished it and set fire on the goods of hapless Nigerians, in total violation of a court order, and yet, the IMF President kept mute and was pretending to be attending meetings to strengthen the economy of Nigeria, whilst she was passively endorsing dictatorship and tyranny.
In France where she served as former Finance Minister, liberty and freedom, free speech, respect for the rule of law and viable opposition, are the hallmarks of the rich French democracy, which was why in the course of all her travails, the world stood behind her solidly, to weather the storms of her adversaries.
And so it is totally uncharitable and a throw back on democracy and good governance, for Ms. Lagarde to have visited Nigeria and departed so unceremoniously, without using the opportunity of her visit, her status and indeed her influence, to bear on the emerging despotic regime of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari. Such State visits, when undertaken to pat dictators on their wicked backs, could serve to enslave the hapless people that they govern.
I urge Ms Lagarde to pick her phone and call General Buhari, to inquire about the fate of the Chibok girls, to demand for the release of all those granted bail by the court, to demand fair level treatment for all opposition and to extract a firm commitment to respect the rule of law and due process. There can be no economic development in the midst of tyranny.
God bless Nigeria.