Ex-INEC Boss Counsels Tinubu on How to Handle Trump’s Threat to Nigeria.
A former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Lai Olurode, has issued a sharp warning to the Federal Government regarding its diplomatic engagement with the United States following the controversial “Country of Particular Concern” designation and recent comments by President Donald Trump.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Olurode, who is also a former Professor of Sociology at the University of Lagos, stressed that the Nigerian government’s response must be guided by measured diplomacy rather than “emotional or defensive patriotism.”
Olurode painted a stark picture of the potential repercussions of a miscalculated response, cautioning that it may be “suicidal to walk into America’s death trap.” He noted the unpredictable nature of the U.S. executive, warning that President Trump can be angry with even the truth.
Providing specific counsel on handling the international pressure, Olurode advised the current administration on decorum and strategy: “In his response to Mr Trump’s provocative moves, President Tinubu’s government should display decorum and respect for the most powerful country in a unipolar world. Nigeria shouldn’t turn itself into a theatre of war, which it is luring itself into.”
The academic called for a unified national front, urging Nigeria’s elite class to support the government during the diplomatic challenge. “Simultaneously, I urge Nigeria’s elites to sink their differences and mobilise national sentiments behind the government of Nigeria and President Bola Tinubu. If Nigeria goes under, there will be no country for the pursuits of our diverse aspirations”.
He reiterated the futility of an aggressive stance, concluding that no nation can truly stand against the U.S. in the current global climate.
“There seems to be no country that can stop America. We should be diplomatic rather than being emotional or displaying morbid patriotism. President Trump can be angry with even the truth. So far, our government has acted with caution and with the consciousness that America can kill Nigeria’s fly with a sledgehammer”, Olurode said.
