President Bola Tinubu’s approach to foreign policy might hopefully reflate Nigeria’s regressive economy and improve her battered image among nations if the real sectors are duly incentivised and reformed to take advantage of the expected opportunities, Gboyega Akinsanmi writes
After a weeklong foreign trip, President Bola Tinubu returned home Tuesday night amid cautious optimism. The first arm of the trip took the president and his team to New Delhi, India where he attended the 2023 G-20 Summit. At New Delhi, the leaders of the world’s biggest economies converged to chart ways out of swirling challenges, threatening global peace and prosperity.
Nigeria is not a member of G-20, an intergovernmental forum of 19 countries and the European Union, which accounts for 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of its trade and about two-thirds of the world population. At the summit, the African Union was accorded a permanent membership status of the G-20, now bringing its number to 21.
However, Nigeria was only invited to the summit based on a recognition that she is Africa’s largest economy and most populous country. Tinubu’s attendance is a clear statement that Nigeria is gradually regaining her place on the global stage after more than 25 years. This is evident in different deals and events that emanated from the sidelines of the summit with Nigeria in the centre of global conversation tailored at promoting a world where peace is a collective norm.
One of such events is the business roundtable Nigeria separately held with the leaders of India, Germany and South Korea on the sideline of this historic summit. The session with India’s conglomerates, multinationals and envoys no doubt epitomised Tinubu’s resolve to leverage foreign policy instruments in pursuit of the country’s national interests.
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi was at the session. His presence attested to its centrality to the attainment of the national interests of both countries. At the end, Nigeria proudly secured investment commitments, valued at $14 billion from India’s investors willing to invest in communication, defence and manufacturing sectors, among others.
At the summit, also, US President Joe Biden specially acknowledged the renewed geo-political roles Nigeria has been playing in Africa, especially West Africa, to defend democracy and leverage her regional influence to deepen peace, order and security on the continent and by extension the world over.
Biden thus welcomed Tinubu’s efforts at reforming Nigeria’s economy, which according to reports, significantly contracted due to global recession in 2016 and outbreak of COVID-19 that sparked outright global economic lockdown in 2020. He also applauded the strong leadership he had provided during military interferences that recently truncated civilian governments in Gabon and Niger. For Biden, Tinubu has stood for democracy and the rule of law against all odds.
The second arm of the trip took place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which until recently, had frosty bilateral relations with Nigeria. The trip elicited protracted interests at home, especially among traders and tourists, who preferred to visit or buy goods at the UAE.
Under President Muhammadu Buhari, the diplomatic relations between the two countries became unduly contentious. Consequently, the UAE suspended visa issuance to Nigerians due to constraints to repatriating its funds from Nigeria. Also, Emirates and Etihad Airlines suspended their flights to Nigeria, costing both countries huge losses in investment and trade.
However, Tinubu ended the diplomatic impasse last Monday. At the bilateral meeting, the UAE agreed to immediately lift visa ban on tourists, traders and visitors from Nigeria. It also directed Emirates and Etihad Airlines to resume flight operations in Nigeria.
Since Tinubu’s inauguration four months ago, Nigeria has again been active and assertive on the global stage. This started at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government in Guinea Bissau, where he openly spoke against coup d’etat in West Africa.
Also, at the fifth coordination meeting of the African Union (AU), he took exception to the new scramble for Africa, warning China and the West against plundering and exploitation of Africa’s resources. Under his leadership too, ECOWAS has threatened military action against the junta that ended Niger’s civilian rule.
With all her recent stands on issues that undermine regional stability and global peace, Nigeria is fast reclaiming her lost grounds whether in Africa or the world over. As shown in the outcomes of the last foreign trips, agreements have been signed between the two countries. Concessions have equally been made to inject life into dying bilateral relations, which previous governments did little or nothing to revitalise.
However, as foreign policy analysts have observed, signing investment and trade agreements, valued at $14 billion, is a huge success for Tinubu’s government. But there is little to rejoice over yet despite different investment commitments that have been secured. Transforming the agreements to tangible outcomes is what Nigeria requires to jumpstart her crawling economy. Is Nigeria really prepared to harness the gains of the agreements?
For critics, Nigeria is not yet prepared to play big on the global stage. They cited the country’s inclement business environment, which according to diverse reports, had been compounded by internal insecurity and regional instability. Also, they cited the country’s regressive economy, which analysts argued, should be repositioned before venturing into global politics.
Other analysts largely agreed with the critics. But they blamed these challenges on bad leadership, which former Minister for External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi claimed, had aggravated the country’s development crises and contributed to an acute infrastructure deficit that now plagued the federation.
Amid these shortcomings, Akinyemi warned against demarketing Nigeria now that President Tinubu had been networking with the global leaders to give life to Section 19 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which espouses Nigeria’s foreign policy principles and objectives. At the core of these objectives is the promotion of national interests, which most experts believe, should be the primary pursuit of Tinubu’s administration.
Like other analysts, Akinyemi challenged the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar to set up “a taskforce that will follow up all concessions that have been made; ensure trade agreements are duly implemented and transform all investment commitments to optimal gains that will bring about tangible outcomes.”
Agreements, as analysts have argued, will definitely remain agreements if concrete measures are not taken to speed up their domestication and implementation at a time that Nigeria is scouting for investments worldwide. For them, attracting global capital is no doubt key to rejuvenating Nigeria’s ailing economy. But addressing the country’s critical domestic needs – human capital, infrastructure and national security – is central to attaining her foreign policy objectives.
