For the first time, perhaps since the Independence in 1960, Nigeria has never been so boxed into a corner like what is now happening. The country, as it is today, qualifies for the status of pariah state, at least within the diplomatic context.
It is obviously strage that for more than two years, the country has no representatives in its 109 foreign missions across the world.
As a matter of fact, by this singlar act of omission and or commission, Nigeria has been opened to high level of rumours and mischief information flying around, from those that have access to information tools, and those who have access to people that matter in any country. This is what is happening in the current looming diplomatic row between Nigeria and the United States.
There’s no justifiable reason for the country to isolate itself, in one way or the other, from the world scene. In fact, it is the worse political, diplomatic, social and economic miscalculation that have ever been made.
For real, absence or inactivity of Nigeria’s foreign missions like embassies, high commissions and consulates for an extended period of over two years now, has had significant diplomatic, economic and social implications on the country.
Indeed, without active embassies, Nigeria’s voice in global affairs has diminished. It has become harder to influence regional and international decisions affecting the country, especially in trade deals, security cooperation and migration issues.
Countries usually engage through embassies and without them, communication becomes less effective and often slower. This strains relationships with allies and trading partners.
Embassies play a major role in attracting investors by promoting Nigeria’s business environment. Their absence discourages investment due to lack of official contact points.
Many economic cooperation agreements in energy, agriculture, infrastructure, etc are initiated through embassies. Nigeria is likely missing such opportunities, even as citizens abroad who depend on embassies for passports, visas, notarial services and legal aid appear to face hardship renewing documents or seeking protection in emergencies.
In times of crisis like conflict, natural disaster or deportation, embassies coordinate evacuations and welfare support, but without them, Nigerians become more vulnerable.
The absence of embassies makes Nigerians abroad feel neglected by their government, eroding trust and national pride.
Diplomatic missions share intelligence and coordinate counterterrorism or anti-crime efforts. Their absence limits Nigeria’s situational awareness and collaboration.
It is instructive to note that the new opposition political party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) had raised its voice over the present lack of Nigeria’s foreign missions abroad.
In its reaction to the U.S designation of Nigeria as Country of Particular Concern and the threat of military action, the ADC yesterday, asked: “how can a government that has been boasting of unprecedented revenue success continue to give lack of funds as an excuse for not appointing ambassadors?”
The party confirmed and regretted that Nigeria’s continental profile had declined under the current leadership of President Tinubu.
The truth is that as the events are unfolding in the wake of the U.S designating Nigeria as Country of Particular Concern (CPC), and the resultant threat of military action against the country, the masquerades who perhaps cashed in on the lack of Nigeria’s foreign missions are emerging. As a matter of fact, from 2022, one or two top Christian religious leaders have been invited from Nigeria by the U.S Senate and they spoke about the massive killing of Christians, especially in the Northcentral and Northeast. They quoted high sounding figures of the christians that have been killed in the series of attacks and destruction of dozens of churches around some parts of the country to the U.S Congress.
Since then up to last week Friday when President Trump came up with designating Nigeria as CPC, there was no official reaction to the picture that these top Christian religious leaders from Nigeria had painted.
The bigger picture emerged yesterday, November 3, when the key figure in the push for Nigeria to be so designated, an Igbo man residing in the U.S, came out boldly, in the trending video clips, to thank President Trump for heeding to their request. There’s even a letter of appreciation from some Igbo leaders who called themselves “American Veterans of Igbo Descent,” to President Trump for the designation and further action he had taken and promised to take.
Though many Nigerians are cursing the U.S President for the action he had taken and the threat to go into military action with Nigeria, the fact remains that the government of President Bola Tinubu played into the hands of the enemies of Nigeria; those who have been the major parts of the Indigenous People of Biafran (IPoB). Those are the people that have been fighting, mainly from other countries, with Nnamdi Kanu as their arrowhead, to either have their Biafran Republic carved from the Federal Republic of Nigeria or destroy the country by whatever means. There are others who think in one-way in the context of hatefulness for anything North and or Islam.
The web of damaging backyard games being played by such group of people, most of who deliberately chose to be enemies of Nigeria long before now, might have gone deeper than the Nigerian government officials can ever imagine.
President Trump maybe crazy, mad and irresponsible and or maybe not, but he definitely acted on the loads of negative reports rolling into his office, from those who are bent on bringing the country, Nigeria, into diplomatic disrepute and destruction, using religion as a cover. And the sad thing is that there have been no equally strong and convincing diametrically opposed (positive reactions) and or counteractions from nearby officials from the government of Nigeria, in the form of ambassadors.
The United States may have its own method of verifying the facts on the ground, but still needs human interaction to balance up what it (the U.S) have through its satellite system, what the haters of Nigeria feed it with and the counter narratives from the officially designated representatives of the country, like ambassadors.
Therefore, in looking at the scenario that has been playing out, the government of President Tinubu needs to urgently reactivate its diplomatic and socioeconomic structures to give broader human face to his government.
President Tinubu should stop hiding his head in the sand like Ostrich, thinking that nothing serious is happening in and around his government.
This is Tinubu who was reported to have said, at one time, that he had stopped having anything to do with social media and maybe the conventional media “to avoid hypertension.”
Which falls against the formula or the principles of communication or information. In leadership, the importance of communication or information, and “listening,” for anyone that wants to succeed in life cannot be overemphasized.
And, for President Tinubu to say that he doesn’t listen to what Nigerians, the people he’s leading are saying, amounts to reclining into his shell and comforting himself that everything is okay. And pulling the country into the shell or whatever, along with him.