A former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Bola Akinterinwa, says President Bola Tinubu’s absence from the United N
A former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Bola Akinterinwa, says President Bola Tinubu’s absence from the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, may be a strategic decision.
Akinterinwa explained that though Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented his principal at the UN summit, might not be able to operate at the level of heads of state, US President Donald Trump, being an unpredictable leader, could find unnecessary excuses to embarrass Tinubu.
“But when you look at the other aspect, why our own Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not going, it may be a strategy itself. One, at the level of Donald Trump, Donald Trump is an unpredictable president. He thinks after action, but he does not think well before action. He is a president who can thoroughly embarrass our own president, find unnecessary excuses because Nigeria appears to be towing a sort of independentist line when it comes to the conduct and management of international affairs.
“Donald Trump doesn’t like this. Donald Trump wants to be seen as the primus inter pares in international relations,” the professor said.
The former NIIA DG said it would have been ideal for Tinubu to attend the UN summit to avoid speculations about the reason behind his absence.
He, however, described the President as a more cautious leader than Trump.
“So in this case, this is the second time our president will not be attending. But what does that mean really? What is it that is in his head for not going?
“The ideal thing would have been to be there. If he’s there, in which way are you going to say that Donald Trump is better than Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria? He’s not,” he said.
“And I can tell you that Ahmed Tinubu is as intelligent, if not more intelligent, than Donald Trump. He’s more cautious. He’s more strategic in his approach, but when you are absent, you give room for unnecessary speculations,” Akinterinwa added.
