The Nigerian Academy of International Affairs has described the spate of foreign trips by politicians as a gathering of clowns.
The group said available information showed that the focus of these trips was to assign significant political positions to stakeholders against Nigeria’s touted asset.
“Isn’t it ridiculous that, from the information available to our Academy, some horse trades that dominated their so-called talks about bringing “lasting hope to Nigeria” focused on counting their chicks before they hatch, while the deliberations focused on dividing and assigning the national cake even before the cake is baked, in regard to the assignment of the main positions of the National Assembly, Ministerial positions, Secretary of Government of the Federation and others”, the group’s president and former foreign minister, Bolaji Akinyemi, said in a statement.
According to Mr. Akinyemi, politicians preferred to travel abroad for such meetings rather than spend enough time finding solutions to widespread insecurity, economic recession and poverty in Nigeria; “problems that caused or substantially contributed to its creation.”
He added that it is unfortunate and heartbreaking to see Nigerian leaders abandoning the country’s shores for the capitals of former colonialists in search of deceptive solutions to Nigeria’s problems.
“The ill-advised and inadvertent revelry of shame exhibited by these prominent Nigerian politicians in London/Paris has once again shown that the Nigerian environment created and polluted by them is not conducive to their vain self-importance and undeserved esteem,” he said.
He said such trips will expose Nigeria to unwarranted Western influence “particularly as they were perceived to be washing our dirty laundry under the light of the world.”
Mr. Akinyemi noted that the trips demonstrated the callousness and reckless disregard for the plight of the Nigerian workers and retirees to whom it is due.
He said that the solution to Nigeria’s problems lies within Nigeria and among Nigerians.
He warned that Nigeria must not be governed from elsewhere in the way state governors govern their states from Abuja.
“During the most serious period of our existence, our civil war and peace meetings/conferences were held only in Africa. None were held in Europe or the Americas,” the group said, adding that it is such “neo-colonialist behavior” that has led to Nigeria’s absence from the world stage.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how top Nigerian politicians from all major political parties held meetings in London and Paris recently.
Some of those who participated in the meetings are Governor Wike Nyesom de Rivers and the presidential candidates of the three main parties, APC, PDP and Labor Party.