Walter Carrington
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Former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, speaks with BOSEDE OLUSOLA-OBASA on his personal life and devotion to advancement of human rights in America and Africa
Can you relive your first visit to Nigeria?
Yes, when I first came to Nigeria in
1959, the year before independence, I came with a group of students on a
programme called the Experiment in International Living. We lived with
families all around the country. We lived with a family in Lagos,
Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Kaduna. I remember that in Ibadan we
went out to see this new university. I was absolutely impressed with it
and was so proud to see such in an African country. It was such a modern
structure and it impressed me very much. It was such a beautiful place.
But when I returned about 40 years later, I remembered going off to
Ibadan and driving on to the campus, and just seeing the place, I could
not believe my eyes. Everything seemed to have fallen apart. Upkeep was
poor, repairs not done. It disturbed me so much that this university
that had been a source of joy was in great disrepair. Then I went to
visit the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan,
very close to the university. There the grounds were well kept, it was
just beautiful, and it looked like what the University of Ibadan should
have looked like. There was no reason why there should have been that
kind of mismanagement. It is just a waste of resources; I was very, very
disappointed that I wept.
Isn’t it a coincidence that your wife studied at the same university?
Yes, she graduated from the University of
Ibadan in the 80s. When we met and got married, I told her about what I
saw before I met her. I usually teased her about what her university
had become. In fact, we discuss it often. But I think that what happened
to the university at that time was a metaphor of what was happening in
the country generally. There was no culture of maintenance. A lot of
money was being spent on all kinds of things, all kinds of structures
but then, these were ill-maintained.
You served in the US Army, and studied law, which of those fueled the activism in you?
The United States Army enlistment was not
a voluntary thing for me; I must clarify that. At that time in the US,
they had to draft every able-bodied person into the Army including me.
So when I finished from the law school, I was drafted into the army and I
was there for two years. Then I started my law practice and was
appointed by the governor as the commissioner of the Commission Against
Discrimination, Massachusetts. By that appointment, I became the
youngest commissioner the state ever had. I was 27 years old then. At
the commission, we were in charge of enforcing laws against
discrimination in housing, planning, education, and so on. It made me
step on the toes of many powerful people. It was a very challenging but
interesting duty for me.
So your activism started there
No, it started long before that. I began
to exercise activism when I was in Harvard University in the 1950s. My
mother was also involved in labour activities. My parents were divorced
when I was very young but my mother kept in touch. Then my father was
out on the West Coast and I was in California. My dad was an activist at
that time, during the Second World War, while I was in junior high
school, he was working at a ship building plant and he was disturbed by
the fact that the blacks were being discriminated against. So he
organised activities that caused the company to change its policy. He
brought the case before the federal commission in charge of employment
issues, in Washington. It was charged with seeing that blacks were not
discriminated against in the plant. Years later, when I became
commissioner against discrimination, I attended the yearly conference
that brought such commissions from all states together, and remember
meeting someone there. When I introduced myself saying, ‘I am Walter
Carrington,’ he said, ‘No. you can’t be Walter Carrington,’ and ‘I say
why not?’ He said, ‘Because when I worked at the federal commission, one
of my first cases was brought by Walter Carrington,’ and I said, ‘that
was my father.’ It was an interesting thing that my father had been so
vibrant in activism and now I am here too. But my activism began when I
was an undergraduate. We formed a chapter of the National Association
for the Advancement of Coloured People, I was the founding president. It
was the leading civilisation movement in America that contributed to
deliberations over the historic school desegregation cases. I was upset
by the fact that they separated the black students from the white.
Besides, the blacks in my class were so few. So we fought against the
discrimination policy, to advocate against the non admission of more
blacks. We were very active and that got me involved in other things
such as political clubbing. I headed the largest political club at that
time at Harvard University. I was also made one of the class marshals
being the greatest honour that the class could give anyone. They
actually elected three to be in charge of the affairs of the class. I
earned prominent positions in all of the groups that I worked with as an
activist so I came out of school with a real strong activist
background. It became a platform for me nationally and internationally.
As a result of my involvement with the NAACP, I became a representative
of a national student organisation which brought together the heads of
the various student organisations all over the country. That
organisation was the American chapter of the World Assembly of Youth. It
held its first conference in Africa in 1952 and I was elected as a
member of the American delegation. We went to Senegal; that was two
weeks after I graduated from Harvard University. So, I was off to Africa
only two weeks after I completed my degree programme. That really began
my activitism on the international platform.
Since activism runs in your blood, are your children in it too?
Our kids – a boy and a girl are also
activists at heart in that they believe in the ultimate principle of
service to humanity. They believe that whatever they are doing must be
doing some good to mankind. Our son coaches younger people, while our
daughter is into economic development; watching their parents’ life of
service has been an inspiration for them. They believe that the
satisfaction of service is greater than financial gains.
Why do you exhibit such great interest in Africa?
My African interest came earlier when I
went to Senegal in 1980 as US Ambassador. I had an Uncle who worked with
the Nigerian Railway Corporation; he returned to the State at the
outset of the Second World War. He was living in New York those days and
I would go and visit him and he would tell me scary tales about living
in Nigeria. How that tigers were on the streets, but I later found out
that there were no tigers on the streets in Africa except in the zoos.
Shortly after the war, a lot of Nigerians were coming to the state to
make pleas for independence. And some of them would come to my Uncle’s
house and I would stay at the background and listen to their
conversations. That really got me interested in Nigeria; that was the
very first African country that I had interest in. Much later in life,
the Peace Corp came along, I recall meeting President John Kennedy at a
reception held for him in Washington; he was then head of the Peace
Corp. He had heard about me, that I had been to Africa twice – to
Senegal and Nigeria. He drafted me into the programme for African Peace
Corps. I started as an Overseas Director for the Peace Corps in Sierra
Leone. I lived in Africa for about 10 years – in Senegal for two years,
in Tunisia for two years, in Sierra Leone for two years. After those six
years, I went back to Washington. I was later asked to come and see how
the Peace Corp members were doing during the civil war. As a matter of
fact, when the civil war broke out, we had volunteers in the Mid West
and there was concern that the Biafran Army was advancing towards the
Mid West and so I was sent to evacuate our volunteers in that area.
Interestingly, as I later learnt from her, at the very time that that
was happening, my wife and her family were also trying to get out of the
Mid West during the war. After we met and got married, we sometimes
relive memories of the civil war and she often teased me asking why I
didn’t evacuate her and her family when I came to evacuate the US
volunteers. We just laughed over it; you know she was just a child then.
Even after the Peace Corps, I became the Executive Vice President of
the African American Institute. It was the major private organisation
dealing with Africa; it was also handling the US government‘s graduate
scholarship programme. So, I had cause to visit some universities in
Nigeria to talk with people who wanted to come to the US for education. I
also got involved with the likes of Nelson Mandela in trying to get
American policies to accept African change especially with the Gen Sanni
Abacha government.
Was Abacha’s regime challenging for you as Ambassador?
Oh yes, it was a big challenge. Firstly,
when President Bill Clinton announced my appointment as ambassador, MKO
Abiola had just won an election. I had met Abiola a couple of times; I
had arranged a visit for him to the US. We had met at a conference that
he organised about Africa, so I was excited to come to Nigeria. I
thought I was going to have a good time because of my relationship with
Abiola. But before I came here, Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida decided
to annul the election. So, the question was ‘who would be taking over,’
there was a lot of concern in the US whether I should still come or not.
It was finally decided that I should go ahead. When I came around in
1993, Ernest Sonekan was the interim president. As a result of the delay
I had, I became the last ambassador to present my credentials to him.
Just two weeks after I presented my credentials to him, Abacha took over
government. I remember that I was the first ambassador to meet with him
after he took over the office. He was in Lagos here and so I went to
see him. That day, he wasn’t dressed in military uniform, he was wearing
a Babanriga dress. He looked and sounded very humble and
promised me while we spoke that he would not stay long in office. He
said that he was going to hand over to Olusegun Obasanjo. I was
optimistic hearing his words, I thought change would come. And of course
change came, Abacha stayed on in office despite his promise to quit
soon. Our relationship became worse and worse as time went by. For the
last three years that I was here, my relationship with Abacha and his
regime was strained.
What really upset you about his government?
The most traumatic one was the killing of
Ken Saro Wiwa. We had made appeal to the Abacha government to spare his
life. I was told to go to Abuja to make one last appeal on his behalf
and as it turned out, I was in mid air when they were shooting. As I
landed there I was told that Saro Wiwa had been killed. That was typical
of the kind of stupid things that the Abacha government did. At that
very time the Commonwealth conference was holding in London. At that
conference, a lot of people were calling for strong sanctions against
Nigeria because of Abacha. Mandela was at the conference, but he asked
for one more chance for Nigeria, but when they learnt that Abacha had
just killed Saro Wiwa despite entreaties, even Mandela said the sanction
should be upheld. As a result of that killing, I was recalled to
Washington and about 28 other ambassadors were recalled. That was the
most traumatic; of course there were also constant shutting of newspaper
houses and arresting of journalists. The second most traumatic
experience was the killing of Abiola’s wife – Kudirat. That happened
late in the period that I was here, it was a very traumatic incident.
How is it being the only surviving child of your parents?
It has been very touching. My parents had
a boy and a girl. So I had a younger sister, but she is no more. I miss
her very much. She was the person I have known all my life. I am her
older brother by two years and she was always very supportive, she was
an activist especially in the health field. She tried to fight for
equality of health services, so that black people could get quality. She
was very active in that and she stayed in our home town. I left her
there and was gone for a long time. It is a great loss that she is no
longer here with me.
You still keep tight schedule at 83
I am very fortunate that I have my wife
(pointing at Dr. Arese Carrington) here who has kept me healthy. She is a
Medical Doctor and Public Health Consultant. She is currently the Vice
President of Africana Consultants. She previously worked as the
Associate Director of the Harvard School of Public Health’s AIDS
Prevention Initiative in Nigeria. This is a woman who has done more for
Nigeria than most people know about. From the Abacha days and always,
she ensures that I do the right and healthy things to keep fit. When we
were here as ambassador, she proved to be indispensable in my being able
to do the things I did, for which people applaud me today. She was
always encouraging me to go on. Those Abacha days, when some Nigerian
activists were thrown in the prisons, she went to visit their families,
she was very outspoken and deserves a lot of credit for everything. I
wouldn’t have been able to do all that I did without her.
How did you get hooked to your wife?
That is the most fortunate thing that
happened to me. I met her during the very first diplomatic function that
I attended when I came in as ambassador to Nigeria. Because when you
arrive in a country as an ambassador, you are firstly restricted to your
community until you present your credentials. So after I presented my
credentials, I went to attend my first diplomatic function and saw this
beautiful woman. I had gone there with a friend and I said to him, ‘did
you see that girl.’ And the rest is history. It is true in my case, that
most black Americans come to Africa to seek their heritage. I came and
found my destiny.
Has anything about her ever turned you off?
No. Except that she is Nigerian and
Nigerians are known for what they call ‘African Time’ but we black
Americans also have what we call ‘Coloured People’s Time or CPT.’
Although, I don’t think it is as late as the African Time syndrome
(speaking cynically). So that’s it.
What’s a typical day like for you?
I have a tread miller back home and I try
to walk out on that three or four times a week. I do some lecturing. I
am currently an associate with Harvard University’s W.E.B. DuBois
Institute and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. At my age, I
am still as busy as ever.
How do you relax?
As a kid, I loved to watch horseracing
and got very enthused whenever my mother took me to watch the race. I am
still very interested in horses and that was my attraction to the Race
Course here in Lagos in the 1950s. Talking about how I relax, I must say
that I have never really felt stressed. For some people, travelling
could be stressful, but I can relax with it, I love travelling. We watch
movies, we read books, especially now, I read a lot of eBooks. I try to
live as stress free as I can, even when something bad happens. It is
one of my guiding principles in life. I don’t allow things that are
disturbing to stay on my mind. I insist on going to bed with a free
mind, no troubles of any kind. That is a principle that I has kept all
my life and that is why I can sleep anywhere and at anytime. I can sleep
on the plane, on the train, anywhere. I can relax.
Looking back, do you feel fulfilled?
Yes, but I don’t think anyone has ever
achieved all they wanted to. But you do what you can although the
challenges are enormous. However, I feel fulfilled about the end of
apartheid in South Africa, I feel fulfilled about the return of
democracy to Nigeria, but there are still so many things that I wish I
could still change around the world. So I am not going to sit back and
watch. I am going to remain an activist for as long as I am physically
able to. Youths must develop a sense of purpose early in life; they must
stay guided by it so that eventually, it will give them a sense of
fulfillment when they look back later in life.
Your current visit is in connection with the Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative, what about it?
It is great to be back home, and I mean
every sense of the word – home. I and my wife Arese have many treasured
memories of Nigeria. I am honoured and humbled that the US Consulate
General, Lagos attached my name to this most worthy initiative – CYFI.
It is a programme to empower the Nigerian youth to make impact in their
world. I am impressed and encouraged about the future of Nigeria seeing
the projects implemented in the past one year by the outgoing CYFI
fellows in sectors such as public health, education, civil liberties,
university outreach and vocational training. My visit has afforded me
the opportunity of meeting the awardees and I have spoken to them as
well as to all youth in Nigeria that no one will come and build Nigeria
for them. Now you have democracy, make use of it to make the country
what you dream of. You may not end your days wealthy in gold but rather
affluent in spirit with that satisfaction that when you had the
opportunity to make a difference you took it. I am optimistic about
Nigeria.
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