Akinyemi: Trump’s Return a Rough Ride for the World, Tinubu Should Avoid Confrontation

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

A former minister of foreign affairs, Bolaji Akinyemi, has warned President Bola Tinubu to avoid confrontation with the newly inaugurated President of the United States, Donald Trump.

Speaking on a television programme monitored in Abuja, the ex-Nigerian envoy Akinyemi advised Tinubu on how to deal with the US president on issues that involved Nigeria’s interest.

“If I were President Tinubu, I would try to steer clear of antagonising him because there is nothing a bully likes better than taking on people who are not strong enough to resist him.

“You know there is that African proverb that if you are not strong enough to take on a bully and you take him on, you are just even going to suffer more for it.

“That’s the advice I will give President Tinubu: try and avoid having a confrontation with him even if that means that he does things that annoy or does things that step on the interests of Nigeria. There are ways in which you could address his reaction without confrontation,” he stated.

Akinyemi, who described Trump’s inaugural speech as “shocking and depressing,” added that the world is “in for a rough ride” due to his policies, including tariffs, for four years.