A former Nigerian minister of External Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has advised President Bola Tinubu to tread carefully in dealings with the newly sworn-in 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday night, Akinyemi cautioned that engaging in confrontation with Trump could prove detrimental to Nigeria.
“If I were President Tinubu, I would try to steer clear of antagonising him because there is nothing a bully likes better than taking on people who are not strong enough to resist him,” Akinyemi said. “There is that African proverb: if you are not strong enough to take on a bully and you confront him, you will only suffer more for it.”
The former Minister of External Affairs urged Tinubu to adopt diplomacy and tact in managing potential conflicts, even if Trump’s actions infringe on Nigeria’s interests. “There are ways to address his reactions without direct confrontation,” he advised.
Akinyemi, who once led the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, described Trump’s inaugural speech as “shocking and depressing.” Rather than promoting global peace, Akinyemi argued, Trump’s rhetoric was riddled with hostility and nationalism.
“He spent his time threatening the rest of the world with a bouquet of hostile policies—talking about taking back the Panama Canal, renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, and engaging in tariff wars,” the octogenarian remarked. “It was uninspiring, jingoistic, and will have repercussions.”
He warned that the global community should brace itself for a turbulent four years under Trump’s presidency. “The world is in for a rough ride,” Akinyemi predicted.
Akinyemi was frank in his assessment of Nigeria’s standing under Trump’s administration. “Nigeria is out of focus for him. We shouldn’t expect anything extraordinary,” he said, urging the Tinubu administration to manage its expectations and focus on strengthening its own diplomatic strategies.
Trump, now 78, was sworn in as the 47th president on Monday, reclaiming the White House four years after his electoral defeat to Joe Biden. Unlike his first inauguration in 2017, where he was seen as a political outsider, Trump was surrounded by America’s elite at the Capitol this time around.
The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, shared prime seating with other tech moguls like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Google’s Sundar Pichai. Trump’s family and cabinet members also graced the occasion.
In stark contrast to his refusal to attend Biden’s inauguration in 2021, Trump’s return to power saw Biden and former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton attending to uphold the tradition of peaceful transitions. However, former first lady Michelle Obama notably stayed away, highlighting lingering divisions.