By Frank Ulom
ABUJA (CONVERSEER) – The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has taken a swipe at President Bola Tinubu over Nigeria’s exclusion from a high-level trade meeting involving former United States President Donald Trump and leaders of five African countries, describing it as a humiliating diplomatic snub that reflects the country’s diminishing global relevance under the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
According to the ADC, Trump is expected to host the presidents of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal on Wednesday at the White House in Washington D.C., for strategic trade discussions aimed at strengthening commercial partnerships between the United States and selected African nations.
Reacting to the development on Tuesday, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said Nigeria’s exclusion from the talks was a “damning international indictment” of the Tinubu-led administration, accusing it of poor economic management and incoherent foreign policy.
“For years, African thought leaders have argued that it was about time that the Western world started to engage with African countries as trade partners rather than as hapless recipients of aid,” Abdullahi said. “Finally, an American President has emerged who is cutting aid and promoting trade. But Nigeria is not invited to the table.”
He added that the United States had clarified that the three-day summit was convened to explore commercial opportunities with African nations that have “demonstrated the ability and willingness to help themselves.”
“In plain language, what this means is that under President Tinubu, Nigeria is no longer taken seriously,” he said. “Although we are Africa’s largest economy, with the largest consumer market and the most influential diaspora, the United States chose to bypass us in favour of nations whose combined GDP is only a fraction of ours.”
Abdullahi argued that Nigeria’s absence at the talks signals a loss of global confidence in its leadership, noting that “only a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable that such a meeting would hold without Nigeria.”
He further criticised the administration for what he described as a failure to use Nigeria’s diplomatic and economic stature to push the African Union’s position on global trade, especially with Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the helm of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Abdullahi also condemned as “insulting” reports that Nigeria is among countries being threatened with a 10 per cent tariff increase for associating with the BRICS group, an economic bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
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While clarifying that the ADC is not opposed to BRICS, Abdullahi said Nigeria “should not be punching below its weight by playing in the small league,” stressing that the country has the capacity to lead, not follow, on the international stage.
He lamented the perceived decline of Nigeria’s influence within ECOWAS and on the African continent, saying: “Under this APC administration, Nigeria is no longer respected even as a regional leader. ECOWAS has shrunk in size and significance.”
Highlighting what he called misplaced priorities, Abdullahi mocked Tinubu’s recent week-long visit to St. Lucia, a small Caribbean nation, saying it contrasted sharply with the missed opportunity to engage in meaningful economic diplomacy with major African counterparts and the United States.
“The truth is that APC has not only stalled our economic progress, it has stripped us of the opportunity to sit at the table where real decisions, and real investments that could create jobs, boost growth and improve our economy, are being made,” he stated.
Abdullahi concluded by calling on Nigerians to “demand better” from their leaders, adding: “Nigeria is too big, too important, and too proud to be left out. We must reject the future the APC seeks to impose on us — one where we are ignored, sidelined, and treated as insignificant.”
