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APPARENTLY yielding to pressure from the domestic front, Nigeria has succeeded in persuading the African Union (AU) against increasing its sustenance budget by as much as 55 per cent.Subsequently, the country in deference to costs-cutting drive in favour of domestic financial obligations, would now pay $16 million as yearly due to the organisation.Nigeria, Egypt, Libya, Algeria and South Africa are the five major contributors to the running of the AU. The countries are responsible for 75 per cent of paid access dues of the AU with each bringing in 15 per cent. Nigeria had been paying $14 million yearly to the continental body until December last year. The AU came up with a 55 per cent increase in its 2010 (commencement) budget that would have made these five pillars pay $18 million each, but upon Nigeria's intervention, it was slashed to $16 million yearly.

Making the disclosure in Abuja at the weekend, Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, also said the Federal Government has seen reason with foreign affairs experts who had submitted repeatedly that Nigeria's contributions to regional, continental and global organisations are not being matched by commensurate benefits.Over the years, Nigeria has spent tremendous resources oiling the engines of sub-regional, continental and global bodies like the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the AU and the United Nations (UN). For instance, Nigeria spent about $10 billion on peace-keeping ventures in Liberia and Sierra Leone and lost 1,000 soldiers in the process.

The minister, who was briefing foreign affairs correspondents on the recent diplomatic shuttle involving Nigeria, including the 14th ordinary summit of the Heads of State and Government of the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said 50 volunteers to be pooled from the Technical Aids Corps (TAC) are shortly to be deployed to earthquake-ravaged Haiti. They are to comprise 25 medical doctors and another group of 25 nurses and engineers. He also spoke about the new diplomatic initiative with Cameroun, joint commission meetings with friendly nations as well as steps being taken by the Federal Government on the arrest of two Nigerian suspects with terror linkages in Malaysia among others. Nigeria recently donated $5 million to Haiti. It was the first donation received by the Haitian authorities (as against what has been announced) and confirmed by the UN Secretary-General Bank Ki-moon.

He said: "You are talking about reciprocity, yes, we are now addressing our capacity to make demands for benefits commensurate with our contributions to these international organisations."Nigeria was elected into the AU's Peace and Security Council (PSC). The country's election for a three-year term is seen as very strategic by diplomatic observers because there is now a quest for Nigeria's permanent membership of that vital AU organ.Maduekwe said: "The matter (contributions) was central to us at the summit. We made it known that an increase in the budget cannot be. Nigeria is currently operating on a zero per cent budget increase at the domestic front. We should not be doing otherwise at the AU...We sympathise with the reason for the budgetary increment such as enhanced peace-keeping but we made our African brothers also to understand the reasons for our position...It is also citizens diplomacy at play. Which was why I demanded Ambassador Akin Foyomi's letter of appointment to be given to him before we left Addis Ababa. (Fayomi was appointed the new AU chair's Special Representative to Liberia). He had complained of not receiving it after almost two months of appointment. We are now in an era where we are matching those sacrifices with engagement and there should be no disconnect between our sacrifices and benefits on ground. We said you cannot do this to Nigeria...Yes, even though there is quiet diplomacy involved, we have a machinery now to ensure that our people (Nigerians) are in key places of the bodies where we have made and continue to make enormous contributions..."

While the special AU summit on common values is being awaited later in the year, the minister disclosed that Nigeria would soon ratify the AU's grand charter on democracy and good governanceThe minister said in this regard, "Nigeria shares in the idea of a continental government. What we are saying is that the divide-gradualism and the fast-track approach is artificial. We agreed in principle that there must be an architecture of shared values to build on."According to him, Nigeria is looking beyond the Green Tree agreement with regards to its dealing with Cameroun on Bakassi: "25 per cent of the people who live in Cameroun are Nigerians. It is in Nigeria's interest to have good relations with Cameroun because we have more Nigerians living there than they have here. The kind of diplomacy needed to fix dented relations is eyeball to eyeball as against letters and telephone. It helps and achieves better. We do not believe that our joint commissions with countries in Africa should be moribund. The meetings should be more regular and used as a mechanisms for addressing common problems..."

On the latest development and identity of the two Nigerians currently held in Malaysia on terror suspicion, he said: "For instructive diplomatic reasons, we are not disclosing their identity. We are sensitive to the need to protect their fundamental human rights and the feelings of members of their family. But they have the best of consular services from headquarters and Nigeria is protecting them. What has been agreed upon by Abuja and Kuala Lumpur is that the ongoing investigations should be allowed to run out