28 SEPTEMBER 2022 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FOCUS A BRIGHTER FUTURE FOR AFRICA? Tibor Nagy retired from the U.S. Foreign Service in 2003 after a long career, which included 22 years in Africa at eight postings, with two ambassadorships and three stints as deputy chief of mission. He returned to the State Department as assistant secretary of State for Africa in 2018 and re-retired in 2021. In between, he served as vice provost for international affairs at Texas Tech University. He continues to teach at Texas Tech, write regular op-ed pieces and lecture on foreign policy. His book (co-authored with Ambassador Greg Engle), Managing International Operations: Kiss Your Latte Goodbye (Vargas, 2012), won the 2014 Paris Book Festival award for nonfiction. U.S. policy needs to recognize the continent’s tremendous riches in resources and human capacity and help develop their potential to ensure a promising future, this Africa hand explains. BY TIBOR NAGY I n the summer of 2016, then–Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s office called me to ask if I would accept a short stint as chargé d’affaires in Abuja, Nigeria, because the post was between ambassadors and needed help preparing for a Secretary of State visit. Even though I had retired in 2003 after a lengthy career in Africa and was then happily ensconced as vice provost at Texas Tech University, one could not say no to LTG. Little did I realize that those few weeks would lead to my own return to the State Department—this time as assistant secretary—for my second African “adventure.” In Nigeria, I was struck again by the incredibly stark choices facing Africa: either a dystopian disaster of misery, instability, growing extremism, more conflicts and huge migrations; or an invigorated continent bursting with youthful energy, economic promise and greatly improved societies. ON ENGAGEMENT WITH AFRICA
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