Owei Lakemfa
President Donald Trump of the United States, US, is driving an articulated truck at high speed on the global highway. His truck has neither a rear view mirror nor side view mirrors. He relies on his assistants like James David Vance and Elon Musk to do the work of the mirrors.
To compound issues, he sees himself as the policeman ordained to maintain world peace and, the judge who dispenses justice.
Therefore, other countries on the highway have to be cautious to avoid a collision, being crushed or run off the road. So, how should Nigeria, the most populated Black nation on earth, navigate the road?
To find answers, the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria, ARCAN, on February 25, 2025 convened an online meeting of international relations practitioners and experts.
ARCAN President, Joe Keshi, said the meeting was necessary because the second coming of Trump has posed challenges not just to Nigeria, but also the entire world.
He reminded the 43 participants that Nigeria, since independence in 1960, has had cordial relations with the US and that the challenge is how to strengthen those relations.
Professor William Alade Fawole, who taught international relations in the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife for four decades, reached into his very rich intellectual depths to provide a graphic scenario of the situation.
He said we are in a world where we have a mercurial US President who seems to have a few hand grenades which he is tossing about locally and internationally.
He advised that first, Nigeria should focus on its long term goals as the Trump administration will not last forever.
Fawole said the Nigerian government should harken to the advice of former Foreign Affairs Minister, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, that President Bola Tinubu should be cautious in dealing with Trump.
He said Nigeria has a lot of domestic problems, including electoral challenges, banditry and self-determination “enemy nationals” challenging the survival of the country.
Fawole posited that with this kind of scenario, the country needs to be acareful so that Trump does not throw one of its grenades at it. He equally advised that Nigerian officials should be careful not to make Trump see Nigeria in a bad light. Speaking specifically to President Tinubu, the foreign relations expert advised him to avoid visiting the White House. He urged him to learn from the way French President Emmanuel Macron and Jordanian King Abdullah II were treated when they were guests of Trump.
In my contribution, I argued that President Trump is an unguarded missile and that his attempts to bully Canada, Mexico, Gaza and Panama show that even if a country does not provoke him, he can provoke it. I asked rhetorically, if you avoid Trump but he does not avoid you, what do you do? I suggested that the way out is for Nigeria to mobilise Africa around common needs for collective response, and collective development.
Ambassador Olusegun Akinsanya recalled that Trump had previously called Africa a shit hole and that we should avoid him. He said the American President is busy with his immigration policies, tariffs and exiting international bodies like the WHO and Paris Club, and that if he comes to Africa, we should tell him, like South African President Cyril Ramaphosa did, to keep to his United States and we keep to our Africa.
Ambassador Olabode Adekeye advised that Nigeria should put its house in order, grow its economy and address its security challenges. He also urged that Nigeria supports regional integration and fund inter Africa trade.
Professor Eghosa Osaghae, the Director General of the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, said Nigeria has had an asymmetrical but respectful relationship with the US.
During the Cold War, he said there were things that suggested Nigeria was pro-West but was simultaneously seen as a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement. But that with the ‘Africa has come of Age’ speech at the Organisation of African Union, OAU, Summit in 1976 and our support for the liberation movements in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa, the US began to rethink its position on Nigeria.
Since the 1980s, he noted Nigeria has degenerated to a highly dependent and vulnerable nation.
Osaghae argued that at critical times when Nigeria needed support such as to combat the Boko Haram terrorists, the US was not always forthcoming.
He said when things seem to be unravelling as it is now, they also provide opportunities and, advised Nigeria to invest in ICT and look inwards in order to restore the country’ s greatness. He said with BRICS and other opportunities, if the US is not in a position to offer Nigeria opportunities, it has to look after its own interests.
The Nigeria Charge d’ Affaires in US, Ambassador Samson Itegboje, said both countries have had robust relationship which have been mutually beneficial. These, he explained, bordered on democracy, rule of law, human rights, anti-corruption, good governance, trade and investment and, effective service delivery.
Itegboje said both countries have had discussions about Nigeria’s aspirations for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, and request for weapons like mine-resistance vehicles to fight banditry and terrorism.
Itegboje in reference to the Disengaging Entirely from the United Nations Debacle, DEFUND, Bill sponsored by some US legislators, said he cannot imagine how the UN will look like if the US were to pull out.
He noted that the Trump administration is currently focused on issues like illegal immigration, Gaza and Ukraine and less on Africa. He noted that its main statement on Africa is about the land issue in South Africa, adding that Nigeria needs to look inwards leveraging on AfCTA, ECOWAS and Nigerians in leadership positions in international organisations.
Ambassador Layiwola Lasehinde said Trump does not like BRICS because he thinks it will lead to de-dollarisation. A major problem of Americans, he said, is that once you don’t support their agenda on an issue, they take it personal, forgetting that others also have their own interests.
Ambassador Hadiza Mustapha advised that no matter the challenges Nigeria faces, it should not lose its self-respect. She advised that the country’s reaction on issues should be well informed and well-crafted. The Ambasador added that the country should not allow itself to be downgraded, saying that small countries can get what they want based on good calculations.
Ambassador Keshi by way of a summary, said he liked the idea that Nigeria should stay on its lane and not provoke Trump. He clarified that this does not mean that Nigeria should not engage Trump. He believes that if many young Nigerians are trained in areas like technology, the country can become quite strong in the service sector and economically self-reliant.
