Nigeria’s reputation on the continent and beyond has been flagging since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu got in the saddle 15 months ago. Efforts by the administration to burnish the country’s image among the Comity of Nations have been tepid, ineffective and sometimes completely falling short. The seeming disintegration of the West African regional bloc under Tinubu’s watch is also seen as a minus to the president, and Nigeria. How long it would take the president and his team to bring about a reversal of fortune remains in the realms of conjecture, ENO-ABASI SUNDAY, JOSEPH ONYEKWERE, and NGOZI EGENUKA write.
Considering the reputational baggage President Bola Tinubu struggled with en route to winning the Presidency, many expected that the administration having willy-nilly assumed office would do everything to endear itself to Nigerians, both at home and in the Diaspora, as well as work towards bringing back the country’s prestige as the Giant of Africa. But that appears not to be the case presently.
In both the local and international circles, the administration has been struggling to make a mark in whichever step it takes, or whichever direction it chooses to go.
From churning out harrowing economic policies to the soaring cost of living, galloping inflation, worsening insecurity, and rising unemployment rate, nothing seems to gel in-house.
Internationally, the country is not faring better. While embassies remain without ambassadors with a legion of them piling up rent arrears, for the first time since the formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the once promising deep-regional economic bloc is gradually disintegrating under the watch of chairman, Tinubu.
What is even more worrisome is the fact that President Tinubu, knowingly or otherwise, is failing to take the limelight, or use it well when the opportunities present themselves. One of such instance is the president’s stark absence at the ongoing 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, United States.
Right message, wrong vessel
For years, Nigeria has been bidding for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Many had expected Tinubu, who is the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of States and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to show up personally and make a strong case for bold reforms in the council to give Nigeria and other deserving countries permanent seats. But the president elected to head to an African Forum in China, and send Vice President Kashim Shettima to articulate a bigger national interest on the biggest world stage – the UN.
Apart from informing the UN that it has become imperative for it to strengthen its relevance and credibility in a world that is rapidly changing, Tinubu said that Nigeria, apart from reaffirming its commitment to supporting United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, also “recognises the need for Africa to build strong and professional armies to meet the multiple challenges we face.”
“Consequently, we reiterate the call for international support to operationalise the African Standby Force, in addition to the provision of requisite support and resources to ensure the upgrade, take-off, and effectiveness of a Centre of Excellence on issues of counter-terrorism in Africa.
“Reform of the Security Council is critical if the UN is to strengthen its relevance and credibility in our rapidly changing world. Some permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have offered encouraging if tentative indications of support on the issue of reform of the Council. We welcome the change in tone and urge an acceleration in momentum to the process,” he told the Assembly.
In addition to debt forgiveness, Tinubu also aligned with the “call by countries, especially of the Global South, for a reform of the international financial architecture and promotion of a rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable and transparent multilateral trading system.”
Those heeled in international affairs insist that the president’s views would have carried their deserved weight had he mounted the podium, looked his counterparts in their eyes, and handed down the message.
Another occasion, where the president also failed to pass a strong message to the world community was during last year’s United Nations’ annual climate summit, COP28, in which Nigeria’s delegation ranked third largest among countries that attended the talk-shop. Only the host country, UAE (4,409), and Brazil (3,081) had more participants than Africa’s most populous country.
Even though the Federal Government countered and maintained that it only sponsored a total of 422 persons, the president’s speech at the August occasion was deemed by many as “embarrassing and lacking in depth.”
Charity begins at home, region
CONSEQUENT upon the multiple battles, in which Tinubu and his deputy have been embroiled, it was always going to be a tall order for the duo to command the kind of respect that most previous Nigerian leaders commanded, especially on the continent.
Nowhere is this manifest than in the way and manner that coupists in the West African sub-region called Tinubu’s bluff, when he threatened to bring down fire and brimstone in the wake of the termination of civilian rules in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali.
Not having a grip on the region not only lowers Tinubu’s foreign diplomacy rating at the international level, the seeming disintegration of the regional bloc, analysts emphasised has left a dent in his international and regional political image.
Expectedly, his critics are getting more uncomfortable with the nation’s sagging reputation and the government’s inability to make the right calls on the global stage, which further impacts the country’s hegemonic competence.
Notably, the controversies surrounding Tinubu’s persona in the build-up to the 2023 presidential elections were a handful. Besides his much-talked-about origin and educational qualifications, Tinubu simply moved from gaffe to gaffe. Consequently, many were worried as to what would become of the country’s reputation should he win the election and emerge as the country’s poster boy and chief marketing officer.
At some point, many Nigerians, especially his detractors, and traducers, even without knowing the actual state of his health, tended to blame his verbal falls on assumed deterioration in health. All these drove a wedge between him and the Nigerian electorate.
However, at every point that such an issue cropped up, his spin doctors were always on hand to dismiss such claims as thrash talks insisting that “The City Boy” remains self-aware, cerebral, agile, in possession of unmatched elocution skills, and would tip the scale any day, any time as far as cognitive abilities are concerned.
Since getting in the saddle, the president has failed to draw applause from some of his detractors with the ways he sometimes appears inappropriately garbed at major international outings, same as the way he tends to genuflect when interacting with some world leaders. Some critics have described his mien, carriage, and dressing sometimes as unpresidential.
He has also been criticised for his poor diplomatic mien, candour, and posture in most of his international outings. Genuflecting during the exchange of pleasantries with both hands, experts say demonstrates the fact that his handlers are either unfit for their roles or are not just doing their job adequately.
In June 2024 during the swearing-in of the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa for a second term in Pretoria, he shook Ramaphosa with both hands.
Loss of respect in the comity of nations
IN all the indices that define a strong nation – population, economy, military might, legitimacy, and others, Nigeria has not been doing well. The consequence is that the country is not pulling its weight as expected in international affairs and diplomacy. Part of the reasons for this lacklustre performance among the comity of nations borders on credibility.
A large number of Nigerian citizens believe that the government is unpopular, and lacks legitimacy cum credibility. All of those are tied to the circumstances that birthed the administration, especially the role played by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the judiciary during, and after the 2023 presidential election.
Both institutions fell below the expectations of the majority of the people, who had hoped that the electoral reforms, which culminated in the introduction of the Biomodel Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Result Viewing (IREV) portal into the electoral system would be the game-changer. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and it does appear the current government, which benefited from the flaws of the system won’t do anything to fix it.
In addition, the economy has been in dire straits since the inception of the current government. Although the economy was actually in bad shape before Tinubu arrived, it has worsened in the last year following the “removal” of fuel subsidies and foreign exchange reform.
The country’s economic growth slowed down from 3.3 per cent in 2022 to 2.9 per cent in 2023 owing to high inflation and sluggish growth in the global economy. Inflation rose to 24.5 per cent in 2023, driven by rising fuel costs and a depreciating naira. The exchange rate depreciated by 95.6 per cent in 2023, and the policy rate increased from 17.5 per cent in January 2023 to 18.75 per cent in December 2023 to control inflation.
Of course, no nation with an alarming level of poverty gets international respect. It is on record that 63 per cent of the population is experiencing multidimensional poverty and 40 per cent living below the income poverty line.
The country’s human capital index is also low, ranking 7th lowest in the world, with Nigerians born in 2020 expected to be only 36 per cent as productive as they could be if they had full access to education and health. Although the government said it has been implementing reforms to stabilise the economy, the recovery is not visible yet.
According to the World Bank, there is an average yearly growth rate projection of 3.5 per cent from 2023 to 2026. This growth is contingent on the government’s ability to implement effective macroeconomic stabilisation policies, including the recently initiated reform as it affects subsidy elimination and FX.
In the area of military capabilities, the giant of Africa is weakened by the escalation of the activities of insurgents, banditry, unknown gunmen, kidnapping, and general insecurity across the country. The regional bloc, ECOWAS – the vehicle through which Nigeria promotes regional economic and security interests – does not command respect anymore.
Under its watch, three members of the bloc staged a coup and subsequently pulled out of the regional group due to pressure to return to civil rule. They are Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali. When Nigeria was influential, these countries wouldn’t have contemplated a coup d’etat, let alone calling the bluff of ECOWAS, by extension, Nigeria.
Some Nigerians believe that the competence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar and those working with him is a major factor regarding the loss of dignity and international reputation on the part of Nigeria.
He’s alleged to be a nominee of the Vice President, Shetima. Consequently, he’s finding it difficult to see the president and advise him on international outings. All these are rubbing off on the country’s image and credibility. This also impugns the qualifications and competence of his protocol team.
The sad face of ‘Nigeria’ abroad
The divided-house syndrome and dwindling economy are affecting the country’s diplomatic missions abroad. Although the missions represent and protect the country’s interest and those of its citizens in the host nations, it appears difficult for the country to sustain the 110 missions worldwide without an upward review of its budget in the face of the current devaluation of the naira.
The lingering complaints about poor funding and the attendant constraints in seamlessly settling bills owing to the plunging of the naira are embarrassing and cause disrespect to the country.
Nigeria had in 2019, announced the closure of Czech Republic, Serbia, and Sri Lanka embassies due to shortage of funds. Defending this development, the former minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, then said the closure had no significant effect on the diplomatic relationships with the affected countries. That may be true, but it isn’t an honour for the country as well.
Worried by this situation, Tuggar, during the ministry’s budget defence, implored the National Assembly to expedite action on the bill seeking to place the ministry’s budget on the first line vote. The Minister also asked for a 200 per cent increase across the board in the 2024 proposed Overhead Cost Allocations for the headquarters and Nigeria’s missions abroad.
Tuggar frowned against the envelope budgetary allocation provided by the budget office, noting that such was insufficient for meaningful capital projects, especially with the continuous fall of the naira against the dollar, and the inflationary trends in the global economy.
About N398 billion has been budgeted for the missions in the past five years. For instance, N54 billion was budgeted in 2020, N65.1 billion in 2021, N68.6 billion in 2022, N80 billion in 2023, and N130 billion for the year 2024.
Although there is a significant increase from the previous year’s allocation, the astronomic exchange rate has rendered the efforts futile. As of when the 2024 allocation was prepared, the N130 billion amounted to only $142.4 million whereas the N54 billion allocated in the year 2020 was exchanged for $150 million.
Looking at the issue and its likely implications, a retired Nigerian ambassador, Ode Ogbole Amedu, said that he had a similar experience while serving in Mexico. He noted that the devaluation of the naira then and the economy going into recession suddenly dipped the naira from N150 to N360 to a dollar, making it difficult for the mission to pay its bills including rent.
Ode warned that without proper funding, the image and integrity of a country may be at stake, stressing that the inability to fund missions abroad sends a wrong signal and may cause disrespect to the country.
To reduce the effect of poor funding on missions, he charged the Nigerian government to consider investing in properties abroad as most countries do. This, he said, will permanently address the issue of rents for diplomats and missions’ offices.
Getting it right from home…
Research Professor of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof. Femi Otubanjo reacting to Shetima’s speech, said a nation’s domestic image determines its international image. Therefore, for Nigeria to improve its reputation, she needs to put her house in order domestically.
He noted that in the current Internet age, there is no remote country as information is easily accessed from any location on earth. He added that other countries are aware of what is currently happening domestically in Nigeria.
“They know that infrastructure does not work in your country; electricity is epileptic and that people are starving. So, reputation is based on domestic image.
“I was bemused when I heard the Vice President complaining in the UNGA speech that the West is ignoring the hunger in Africa and spending the money on wars. Those listening to him know that the Federal Government had just spent N21 billion on building a house for Shetima; spent $150 million on an aircraft; wasted N90 billion for people to go to Mecca, and just approved houses for judges. All these amid the so-called poverty?” he said rhetorically.
Otubanjo stated that with these actions, the Federal Government is not showing that it cares enough for its people to make certain sacrifices, and wondered why it is asking foreigners to make the sacrifices for Nigeria. He lamented that Nigeria has leaders who don’t know how to order their priorities and focus on their people, adding that such a country cannot be respected abroad.
The don called for a domestic reset in good governance, accountability, transparency, and frugality to aid the country’s international perception. Similarly, Professor of Political Science, at Lagos State University (LASU), Kayode Soremekun, criticised Shetima’s speech on debt forgiveness. According to him, the issue can only be considered when the government is repentant, which is non-existent in Nigeria.
He lamented that Nigeria’s perception regarding the spending habits of its leaders does not evince any sense of seriousness, adding that the world would not condone political irresponsibility.
According to him, embassies in Nigeria are always compiling reports and sending them to their respective home governments, meaning that everything we do here is being noted and reported.
He stated that Shetima’s speech on poverty was a misplaced emphasis because international relations do not work that way. His words: “A country that depends on unbridled importation has a long way to go and must first secure itself before trying to play out on the world stage. A shameful example is the just concluded Indonesia-Africa summit, where Nigeria was invited. Indonesia now calls countries like Nigeria for a summit just like China and America! At a point in time, Indonesia and Nigeria were members of OPEC, but they used their resources for industrialisation and now she can call Nigeria for an Indonesia-Africa summit.”
Soromekun reiterated that there is much work to be done to change the perception of the international community on the image of Nigeria. On the president deploying Shettima to attend UNGA while he attended the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in China, Senior Research Fellow and Head International Law Unit of International Law and Organisations Division of Research & Studies Department, NIIA, Dr Rita Agu, said there was nothing wrong in doing so.
According to her, the country’s stand on most of the issues presented at UNGA by the VP had been deliberated and agreed upon in Nigeria. The President, she said, has a right to delegate his powers to the VP to represent him in such meetings. She pointed out that the FOCAC is a very strategic and important meeting for Nigeria, as China is a crucial player in Nigeria’s economic development.
Also, a Senior Research Fellow, at NIIA, Dr Godwin Ichimi, said that the president, who is the chief image maker of the country has full authority to designate anybody as the ambassador, and such a person goes with the full complement of the authority of the President. He noted that those who understand protocols would attest to the fact that there was nothing wrong with such delegation.
“I agree that some summits require the physical presence of the President, but in a global multilateral context like the United Nations, there was nothing wrong with anyone who was sent to represent the President,” he said.
He explained that FOCAC is a multilateral forum that brings together the whole of Africa, adding that with initiatives like AfCFTA, there are many things ongoing that require summit-level clearance or discussions. “Outside of the politics of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressive Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), and the rest, there are certain things that are diplomatically correct. The President’s actions are consistent with global practice” he declared.
