“He Threatened the World”: Int’l Expert Warns Tinubu Against 1 Major Mistake to Avoid With Trump
- Professor Bolaji Akinyemi has advised President Bola Tinubu to avoid any confrontational stance with US President Donald Trump
- Akinyemi criticized Trump’s inaugural address as “uninspiring” and “hostile,” highlighting aggressive policies
- Akinyemi noted that Nigeria is unlikely to be a priority in Trump’s administration, advising the country to cautiously manage foreign relations during his second term
Prominent political scientist, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has advised Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to avoid confrontation with the newly inaugurated 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump.
TheTalk.NG reported that Donald Trump was sworn in on Monday, succeeding Joe Biden, four years after an electoral defeat that interrupted his second term.
International expert Akinyemi advises Tinubu not to challenge US President Trump.
Photo credit: @AnchorAngiSource: Twitter
This time, Trump’s inauguration was marked by the presence of influential figures, including the world’s richest man Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Google’s Sundar Pichai, who were seated alongside Trump’s family and cabinet members at the Capitol.
Akinyemi said during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, January 21.
“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,” Akinyemi said.
The former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) referenced an African proverb to emphasize the perils of engaging with a more formidable adversary.
“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,” he warned.
Akinyemi urged Tinubu to address potential disagreements diplomatically rather than resorting to confrontation, Channels Television reported.
“Even if [Trump] does things that annoy or step on the interests of Nigeria, there are ways in which you could address his reaction without confrontation,” he said.
Akinyemi criticizes of Trump’s inaugural address
Akinyemi also expressed dissatisfaction with Trump’s inaugural speech, describing it as “uninspiring, shocking, and depressing.”
“Rather than rallying the world for peace, Trump took time to threaten the rest of the world with a bouquet of hostile policies,” he remarked.
The former Minister of External Affairs cautioned that such aggressive rhetoric could backfire.
“The US president will soon learn that there are repercussions to policies, to jingoism,” he said.
Nigeria not a priority for Trump, says Akinyemi
According to Akinyemi, Africa’s most populous nation may not feature prominently on Trump’s radar.
“Nigeria is out of focus for the 78-year-old most powerful president, and Africa should not expect anything extraordinary from his presidency,” he said.
Akinyemi’s analysis underscores the need for Nigeria to navigate its foreign relations cautiously during Trump’s second tenure.
U.S will only recognise 2 genders, Trump declares
Meanwhile, TheTalk.NG reported that President Trump declared that the US government will only recognise two genders – male and female.
Trump made this known during his inaugural speech on Monday, January 202, 2025 as the 47th president of the United States.
Senior White House officials explained that the order is part of the Trump administration’s wider “restoring sanity” agenda.
Source: TheTalk.NG
