In a country as large and resource rich as Nigeria, this amount will be most valuable if used to shore up critically needed institutions of democracy and development. Therefore, any such program should be structured flexibly, allowing the administration to respond to the needs of Nigerian civic, political, and humanitarian institutions. The first priority should be building Nigerian capacity in these areas. Second, given the likely limited time frame for significant assistance to Nigeria, there should be a real effort to structure long-term institutional relationships with the United States that would survive the end of the aid program. This did not happen when Nigeria struck oil in the 1970s, and the aid program ended.
Aid is only part of the response.
The United States should take an active role on debt relief for Nigeria. That relief must be matched by transparency in Nigeria's management of its foreign exchange earnings and energetic efforts to recover illegal capital flight. As the situation stabilizes, Washington should aggressively promote more U.S. investment, especially in agro-industry, telecommunications, energy distribution, and transportation. President Obasanjo's moves toward privatization and greater incentives for the private sector should be encouraged. Fourth, the United States should develop an active program of military cooperation.