Trump’s ignoring of Tinubu sign of failure, says Atiku

By DailyTimesNGR

4 July 2025

Politics

By Tunde Opalana

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar has said that shutting President Bola Tinubu out of invitation to some African leaders to the White House by American President Donald Trump is an indication that the Nigerian leader has failed in governance.

According to him, Trump will on July 9, 2025, host five African leaders at the White House to discuss “commercial opportunities.” The invited nations are Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal.

Atiku in a statement on Thursday by Phrank Shaibu, his Special Assistant, Public Communication said the neglect of Nigeria signals that the country has lost her standing in the international community.

He said this exclusion by the Trump administration is neither a diplomatic oversight. nor a scheduling error, but “a verdict — scathing in symbolism and staggering in implication. A verdict on Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s chaotic presidency, his divisive chairmanship of ECOWAS, and the complete evaporation of Nigeria’s diplomatic relevance.”

He lamented how fast the Tinubu administration has dwindled an inherited economy of $500bn which placed the nation among the world’s five fastest growing economies.

“How do we explain it? Tinubu inherited an ECOWAS of 15 member states and left it gasping for breath with three countries pulling out and 40% of its land mass gone. Once Africa’s diplomatic compass — the nation that gave weight to regional consensus and global negotiations — Nigeria has now become an afterthought. Ignored. Sidelined. Stripped of influence. While others are summoned to negotiate Africa’s future, Nigeria is not even in the room.

“And while our Foreign Direct Investment has plunged to historic lows, Tinubu’s men lounge in St. Lucia, sipping champagne in the face of national decline. South Africa is negotiating trade frameworks with Washington. Nigeria is invisible.

“And let’s now kill the lie that’s been allowed to linger for too long: Gilbert Chagoury is not a Trump ally. He does not hold the keys to the White House. He has no diplomatic leverage in the Trump administration, having been listed as one of the major donors to the Clinton foundation,” he said .

According to him, the illusion of Tinubu’s influence has collapsed under the weight of reality. Nigeria wagered its international standing on a mirage and lost.

“As chair of ECOWAS, Tinubu did not build bridges; he burnt them. His erratic, self-serving approach fractured regional cooperation, turning Nigeria into a polarizing force rather than a rallying point.

“From Giant of Africa to diplomatic ghost — Tinubu has finished the job. He has squandered our legacy, diluted our stature, and silenced our voice on the world stage.

“This isn’t just an embarrassment. It is a disgrace — a resounding declaration that Nigeria, under this administration, has lost its way,” he added.

Atiku, however, noted that Nigerians will not mourn in silence, while giving hope that the newly formed coalition through the ADC “is here to rescue Nigeria from these urban bandits. The damage is deep — but so is our resolve. And the mission to reclaim Nigeria’s honour has already begun.

“History may not be kind to this government. But history will remember who stood up to end it.”