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First Lady Senator Remi Tinubu’s soft-power diplomacy in the United States of America fell flat on her face. The ruse is a sneak preview of a bigger trouble that awaits Nigeria for installing Bola Ahmed TInubu president despite his messy drug case in America. The gist is that President TInubu is now deploying his lackeys to do his bidding because the lingering drug case scares him to death. And he is ready to do anything, no matter the consequences, even if it takes swindling key Nigerian assets or compromising national security to get a soft landing. Of course, the style of Donald J. Trump, a transactional ruler, is an open book. Yet, the man has a way with corrupt foreign leaders.
If any iota of doubt must exist, now consider that City Boy Bola is a globetrotting and flamboyant president who never turns down any slight opportunity to jet out of the country to squander Nigerian resources. Follow that thought with the fact that he shuttles Europe, Asia, Middle East, South America and where have you. Then imagine how on earth he has avoided North America since 2023, even in the face of a precarious diplomatic landscape between Nigeria and America where Trump has designated the African nation a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) because of a perceived Christian genocide. That is, what in the world would compel President Tinubu to send his Vice to represent him in the biggest stage—the United Nations General Assembly in New York two years in a row?
Continue to massage the thought above. But quickly consider that, like his influence in France, TInubu would do anything at this time in history to be on the ground in the United States, at least for a follow visit to his doctors at John Hopkins Hospital where he had surgeries in 2021. More importantly, he is dying to be on the American ground to deepen his lobbying networks, especially with the Nigerian 2027 elections starring at his face. Think! Think critically, especially where Trump has become a factor in the said elections…There and then ought to emerge a compelling reason a de facto Nigerian president became a necessity in America. First Lady Remi Tinubu was that figure.
As planned, Remi was acting the man instead of the lady, double-speaking, dabbling into sensitive policy statements in a foreign land. For sure, despite her obvious shortcomings, she remains by far the BETTER half of their public persona. Such huge contrast sells in America. But she was not elected president and her statements never come across as advisory. It is also true that Remi’s highly visible activities in the United States—particularly her presence at the 74th Annual National Prayer Breakfast—appeared brilliant, even if superficial. The general optics was a diplomatic triumph. But not so fast!
Beneath the facade lies a strategic necessity driven by the intense pressure surrounding Bola’s troubled past. Remi’s soft-power diplomacy, therefore, was a calculated plot for political, social, and emotional survival. It was a critical role in shielding her husband from potential international backlash, leveraging her “pastor” image to sanitize a reputation tainted by long-standing drug allegations. It was not a coincidence that Madam Tinubu’s voyage came at the heels of U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell’s sharp criticisms of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for using “delay tactics” to hinder the release of documents concerning Bola’s narcotics investigation.
The Remi trip also presented a huge opportunity for an all-out Cash’n’ Carry lobbying. It can be said that lobbying is legal and different from bribery. Yes! Yet, both require money to influence power and policies. Moreover, lobbying can include huge campaign contributions. We are talking about money, which the Tinubu people have in surplus and don’t mind spending to remain in power. And the American mid-term elections are around the corner. The judges, too, contest elections. Even the Trump people know not to say no.
Yet, as events after events have shown, Madam First Lady President and the entire TInubu lobbying machine could not move the needle in the eye of the Americans. Unlike the Akpabio legislators, the American politicians have conscience. They know how to dine and wine with the lobbyists and still do their job. Hopefully, Remi would soon understand that mockery is not a genuine laughter.
The solution is at home, not in a foreign land. Bola should simply do the job he grabbed. Make the desired difference by deploying the billions being lavished abroad in name of lobbying to public programs at home.
The objective fact is that Remi Tinubu’s American foray was a fools errand. As I had written severally in the past, the Nigerian diplomacy landscape has grown beyond the analog assemblage of the Aso Rock political buccaneers. The days are gone when a Nigerian regime can preach justice abroad, while promoting injustice at home. President Bola Ahmed TInubu ought to have known that Nigeria now boasts of hundreds of thousands of independent ambassadors, strategically entrenched in all the nooks and crannies of the world. Nigerians in America on their part maintain a strong presence in both the American private and public sectors, including the CIA, FBI, DEA, the Congress, the White House, Judiciary, and the American Armed Forces. Not surprisingly, as these Nigerian Americans go, so goes the national image and much more.
SKC Ogbonnia, a former APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas.
