Politics
Atiku lambasts Tinubu over Trump’s snub of Nigeria
Exclusion of Nigeria from a high wire U.S.-Africa summit hosted by President Donald Trump has drawn the ire of the opposition leader and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who described as a damning indictment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration and its irrelevance on the global stage.
On July 9, Trump is billed to welcome leaders from five African nations, namely Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal to the White House for talks centred on commercial opportunities. Visibly excluded from the list is Nigeria, once touted as Africa’s diplomatic heavyweight.
In a strongly worded statement, Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communication to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, described the snub as “a verdict, scathing symbolism and staggering in implication.”
In his reaction over the exclusion of Nigeria from four West African countries invited by President Donald Trump to explore commercial opportunities, Atiku noted that the failure of Nigeria to be among the invitees to the White House was on account of the failure of leadership on the part of Tinubu, who he also accused of lowering the esteem of the nation since his advent. Atiku particularly noted the decrease in ECOWAS membership under Tinubu’s chairmanship of the regional body from 15 to 12.
He argued that Nigeria’s exclusion was “a reflection of Tinubu’s chaotic presidency and the collapse of our diplomatic standing.”
Shaibu accused Tinubu of tarnishing Nigeria’s leadership legacy in West Africa, particularly during his tenure as chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
“How do we explain it? Tinubu inherited an ECOWAS of 15 member states and left it gasping for breath with three countries pulling out and 40 per cent of its land mass gone. Once Africa’s diplomatic compass, the nation that gave weight to regional consensus and global negotiations, Nigeria has now become an afterthought. Ignored. Sidelined. Stripped of influence. While others are summoned to negotiate Africa’s future, Nigeria is not even in the room.
“And while our foreign direct investment has plunged to historic lows, Tinubu’s men lounge in St. Lucia, sipping champagne in the face of national decline. South Africa is negotiating trade frameworks with Washington. Nigeria is invisible.
He also dismissed the widely-held belief that Gilbert Chagoury, a major donor to the Clinton Foundation, could leverage influence with Trump, describing the notion as a mirage.
“From Giant of Africa to diplomatic ghost, Tinubu has finished the job. He has squandered our legacy, diluted our stature, and silenced our voice on the world stage,” Shaibu lamented.
