Poll: Is Endorsement by the West Interest-Free?

The successful outcome of Nigeria’s recent Presidential election has, no doubt, received a flurry of endorsements especially by Western countries and groups. There is an urgent need for the incoming administration to be wary as such endorsements may not be without strings attached.
Leading the endorsements are the United States of America and countries in the European Union, among others. Most of these countries, particularly the US, in the run up to the election exhibited more than a passing interest in the poll, which was seen by many Nigerians as an undue interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs.
Apart from piling pressure on the Federal Government on how it (US) wanted things to pan out in the election, the US deployed hundreds of marines in nearby Ghana for evacuation of its citizens should violence break out in Nigeria after the presidential election. Other Western countries also made contingency plans for the evacuation of their citizens in anticipation of a possible beak out of violence in Nigeria after the poll.
So, when Western countries and groups began to fall over one another in congratulating the winner, loser and Nigerians on the successful outcome of the poll, it becomes clear that the endorsements were done in order to further the interests of the countries concerned.
Western countries, as always, certainly have their interests in endorsing Nigeria’s presidential poll as they are not ‘Father Christmas’. And these interests oftentimes are at variance with those of developing countries, Nigeria inclusive.
It is in view of this that not a few Nigerians are calling for caution on the part of the incoming administration in relating with the West. The incoming administration must not allow itself to be blinded by Western endorsement of the presidential poll to the point that Nigeria’s interest is sacrificed. The incoming administration must stand up to Western countries despite their endorsement of the presidential poll result.