Wisdom, not Cowardice – by Frank Ofili

Fancy speeches are being made in European capitals – ostensibly in support of Zelenskyy – while Putin pounds Ukraine.

It must be noted that nothing concrete, militarily, has come the way of Ukraine from the West. The only help, perhaps, is offer of safe passage to President Zelenskyy and and his family, and of course, pledge of financial aid. Of course, we all know what that aid means in terms of economics. Western banks would be at the receiving end of huge interest payments.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is being decimated.

That is just the point! I had averred several times that Ukraine should have borrowed herself sense. This war was avoidable, but President Zelenskyy took the dubious words of the West on face value. There was never any serious substance to those words with a view to stopping Russia from marching on Ukraine. Zelenskyy probably believed the West would muster the kind of coalition that saw off Hitler and Saddam Hussein.

How wrong and naïve he was!

That kind of Western alliance against an enemy will not happen in this war. The time is different; the scenario different, the battlefield different, the politico-economic realities different. And of course, the enemy is different.

Having foolishly relinquished her nuclear arsenal, Ukraine should have borrowed herself sense. It is not cowardice; it is wisdom.

This enemy has nuclear power! And that alone changes the whole dynamics. I posit that if Hitler had nuclear power at the time of World War II, the West would never have contemplated an alliance against him. I wager also that had Ukraine not foolishly given up her nuclear arsenal, Putin would never have taken this course of action against her.

Ditto Saddam Hussein. Of course, America knew quite well that Saddam didn’t have weapons of mass destruction (WMD). But George Bush Jnr had to sell a lie to prepare the ground for his removal so America could have easy access to Iraqi oil. Had Saddam WMD, Bush wouldn’t have given invading Iraq a thought.

In this case, despite mouthing platitudes in support of Ukraine, and sanctions against Russia, many European nations still patronise Russian oil, if not openly, discreetly. And they will continue to do so. Putin knows this. That is why he will not halt his advance towards Kiev until he achieves it. The West can only keep looking and mouthing dubious offer of help. And of course, giving misleading reports that Ukrainian troops are neutralising and halting Russian advance.

Meanwhile, it is Ukraine, not Russia, that is being destroyed day-by-day. The bullets and bombs are flying on Ukrainian soil, humanitarian crisis is in Ukraine and the exodus is from Ukraine to neighbouring countries. At the rate things are going, it is only a matter of time before the fall of Kiev. The West knows it too! Last I heard was that the West are already discussing succession plan should Kiev fall and Putin captures Zelensky.

I repeat that having foolishly relinquished her nuclear arsenal, Ukraine should have borrowed herself sense. It is not cowardice; it is wisdom.

Faced with a big powerful dangerous neighbour with the capability to wipe out your country, it is wisdom not to take a course of action that will upset the apple cart. Had Zelenskyy played a wise card, Ukraine would today be a neutral country and, perhaps, play the role of a bridge between Moscow and the West – something close to another Switzerland, a powerful proposition if you ask me.