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Bolaji Akinyemi Advises Tinubu to Avoid Confrontation with Trump
Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, a renowned political scientist, has urged President Bola Tinubu to be cautious in dealing with the newly inaugurated 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump. Akinyemi shared this advice during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today program on Monday.
“If I were President Tinubu, I would try to avoid provoking him,” Akinyemi said, noting that a bully often seeks out those who are not strong enough to resist.
He referenced an African proverb, advising Tinubu that challenging someone in a position of power without the strength to back it up could lead to more harm.
“Even if Trump’s actions annoy or undermine Nigeria’s interests, there are ways to address them without direct confrontation,” Akinyemi explained.
Reflecting on Trump’s inaugural speech, Akinyemi described it as uninspiring, shocking, and depressing. Instead of promoting peace and unity, Trump’s speech seemed to outline a series of hostile policies.
He mentioned proposals such as taking back the Panama Canal, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and engaging in tariff wars, all of which, Akinyemi said, set the tone for a more aggressive and isolationist US stance under Trump’s leadership.
Akinyemi, a former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and former Nigerian Minister of External Affairs, predicted that Trump would soon realize that his policies have consequences. “The next four years will be a rough ride for the world,” he warned.
On Nigeria’s relationship with the US under Trump, Akinyemi believes that the country’s priorities will not align with Nigeria’s interests.
“Nigeria will no longer be a focus for the 78-year-old president, and we shouldn’t expect anything extraordinary from his administration,” he said.
Nigerian news analyst, Mahmud Jega, has shared his opinion on the recent airstrike carried out by the United States in Nigeria, stating that Nigerians should not blame President Bola Tinubu for the incident.
Jega made this statement during a recent interview, where he said he does not believe many people will hold the Tinubu administration responsible, as Donald Trump had issued threats against Nigeria long before Tinubu’s administration.
“No, I don’t think many people will blame the Tinubu administration for what is happening now because President Donald Trump, when he first made the threats, it was clearly not in coordination with the Tinubu administration or the government of Nigeria,” Jega said.
It has been reported that the United States carried out an airstrike targeting ISIS in the northwest region of Nigeria. The order was reportedly given by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS terrorist elements in northwest Nigeria,” Trump said.
He added, “I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was.”
The Federal Government of Nigeria has officially declared the holiday dates for the festive season.
Thursday, December 25 will be observed as Christmas Day, December 26 as Boxing Day, and Thursday, January 1 as New Year’s Day.
The declaration was made by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Magdalene Ajani. He also added that Nigerians should celebrate the holidays in faith and pray for the nation.
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