Niger: You’re a novice in International diplomacy – Lamido to President Tinubu
Former Governor of Jigawa State and one of the founding fathers of the major opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Sule Lamido has described President Bola Ahmad Tinubu as a novice in the field of International diplomacy.
Lamido stated 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.
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.
“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.”
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