ADC Mocks Tinubu Over Trump Snub
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has expressed concern over the decision of the United States’ Donald Trump administration to exclude President Bola Tinubu from high-level commercial talks he will be having with some African leaders at the White House.
OSUN DEFENDER reports that Trump will host the Presidents of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal for the three-day high-level commercial talks at the White House starting today.
In a statement issued by the party’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC emphasised that Nigeria’s exclusion from this high-level economic dialogue with Trump as a damning international indictment of the Tinubu administration and its sustained economic mismanagement, weak and incoherent diplomacy, and inability to project Nigeria’s strategic importance on the global stage.
The statement read: “For years, African thought leaders have argued that it was about time that the Western World started to engage with African countries as trade partners rather than as hapless recipients of aid. Finally, an American President has emerged who is cutting aid and promoting trade. But Nigeria is not invited to the table.
“According to the Americans, the three-day meeting, which starts on Wednesday, is convened to explore commercial opportunities that could benefit both American companies and African partners. They said they have invited countries that have demonstrated ‘the ability, and willingness, to help themselves.’
“What this means in plain language is that under President Tinubu, Nigeria is no longer taken seriously. Although we are Africa’s largest economy, with the largest consumer market and Africa’s most influential diaspora, the United States chose to bypass us in favour of nations whose combined GDP is only a fraction of ours. With this snub, what the Americans are telling us is that size means nothing without leadership and a demonstrable commitment to efficiency, to transparency, and to accountability.
“Only a few years ago, it would have been unthinkable that such meeting would hold without Nigeria. This only shows how low this administration has brought our country in the estimation of the world. To add insult to injury, Nigeria is now being threatened by President Trump with a 10% tariff because of our association with BRICS, which started in January 2025. The ADC is not opposed to BRICS, but we are opposed to Nigeria punching below its weight by playing in the small league.”
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
