A former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sule Lamido, has described President Bola Tinubu as a ‘novice’ in the field of international diplomacy.
Sule Lamido, a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said this while reacting to the stand taken by ECOWAS on the coup d’etat in Niger Republic.
His reaction was contained in a post via his verified Facebook account, titled “Nigeria/Niger face off.”
He explained that for the past few weeks, President Bola Ahmad Tinubu has found himself in a tightrope and a state of dilemma regarding the best way to handle the Niger crisis.
He advised the President to harvest from the connection and wisdom of Nigeria’s former Presidents and Heads of State in dealing with the crisis.
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According to him, “since the coup d’etat in Niger some weeks back, President Tinubu has found himself walking on a very tightrope.
“He has never been exposed to international diplomacy and can fittingly be called a novice in this field. The fact that he is an emperor with the total dominance of the most populous and prosperous State of Lagos does not confer on him any wisdom in diplomacy.
“But he is also the luckiest Nigerian president had he desired to harvest from the wisdom and experience of former Presidents and Heads of State Nigeria is so richly blessed with.
“I thought President Tinubu would have from the onset looked into the chemistry of the cocktail called ECOWAS before taking a weighty decision on any issue that affects the region and its consequences on his country.
“Had he done so, he would have found out what is the history of one of the oldest members of the region, President Alassane Quattara of Ivory Coast.
“There was a time when Quattara’s nationality was in dispute, that his ancestral country was Mali. President Lauren Ghabbo disqualified him from running as president even though he was at once prime Minister of Ivory Coast! But today he is the President of Ivory Coast.
“By a twist of fate, there is today a military junta in Mali (his ancestral home) running the country and we have not heard President Quattara asking for a war to be launched on Mali in the name of DEMOCRACY. The saying blood is thicker than water readily comes to mind.
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“Back to Nigeria and the face-off with Niger. There is total unanimity in Nigeria that we should not go to war with Niger for so many many reasons given by all and sundry, especially the seven States contiguous to the Niger Republic! In any case, the Senate mandated by Nigerian Constitution to authorize the President with such power has unambiguously withheld that authority.
“The next thing for President Tinibu now is to embark on damage control and repair and harvest from the connection and wisdom of our former Presidents and Heads of State as someone rightly advised over BBC Hausa service.
“These leaders are highly respected and trusted not only in our sub-region but globally. There is indeed no love lost between President Tinubu and some of them, but certainly, on any issue that affects Nigeria no matter how remote, those leaders will always be there for Nigeria!
“Time is not on the side of both countries. What we had in the last one thousand years has been lost in a matter of a few weeks. But we have a bond and love for each other to build on. May Allah bless Nigeria and Niger. Ameen.”