Tinubu’s Nigeria Is Smiling Abroad but Suffering at Home

Why the Tinubu government’s foreign policy must be re-tuned to domestic needs.

The Bola Ahmed Tinubu government floated 4Ds Diplomacy (Democracy, Development, Demography, and Diaspora) as its foreign policy in 2023. The policy aims to shore up Nigeria’s economy and global image, both of which have suffered severe bastardization over the last two decades. Instances include the borrowing streaks and debt servicing courted by Nigeria’s government plus Nigeria ‘overtaking’ India as the poverty capital of the world.

Perhaps to assuage the bastardization, Tinubu began to take several foreign trips after he assumed office on 29 May 2023. On record, he visited the US, France, Germany and eleven other countries; overall, he has embarked on 20 overseas trips so far. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs, has also been busy. In an interview with the Centre for Global Development on 16 May 2024, Tuggar explained Nigeria’s 4Ds Diplomacy with impressive finesse. On the same day, in a closed-door meeting with Wally Adeyemo, the US treasury secretary, Tuggar reiterated the 4Ds Diplomacy and stressed the timely need to deepen Nigeria-US economic relations. Undoubtedly, all this is a move to put up good global intentions and a smiling face abroad. The reality on-ground in Nigeria, however, is different.

While one of the 4Ds Diplomacy supposedly aims for development, how do we place domestic policies like electricity tariff increase, fuel price increase, stiff forex regulations, and the shapeshifting levies/taxes on every money transfer which is milking many Nigerians’ hard-earned savings? Foreign policy, according to experts, is a product of domestic policy. This begs the question of what Nigeria's policymakers seek to achieve from systematically impoverishing Nigerians while at the same time parroting development abroad. Our foreign policy is going bonkers as domestic policy is going haywire...