*Photo R-L: President Bola Tinubu and Mr Donald Trump *
Mr Boss Mustapha, the Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SHF) has urged the Federal Government to adopt a more diplomatic engagement approach in response to US President Donald Trump’s threats regarding the security situation in Nigeria.
Trump had designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
Mustapha, gave the advice on Thursday at a press briefing of the Nigerian Law School (NLS) Class of 1980 in Abuja.
The event was part of the activities to celebrate the NLS Class of 1980’s 45th Anniversary and Reunion.
The former SGF gave the insight into how the past administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, in which he served, dealt with similar situation.
“Well, because of the experience I have, this is not the first time we have been declared a Country of Particular Concern.
“In 2000 and 2020, the same Trump put us there, but without the drama that this one followed.
“There was no tweet. It was just at the level of a policy decision.
“And I remember then, we engaged, we dispatched a team to Washington, made up of technocrats.
“We applied soft diplomacy in terms of reaching out to friends within the global diplomatic community.
“And we leveraged the advantage of the stature of President Buhari to talk.
“A lot of things happen in the diplomatic clime behind the doors.
“It is not for media consumption. And, eventually, we got President Biden in 2021 to delist us.
“I expect that, that is what is ongoing now. And I believe that there should be less of noise and more of engagement.
“President Buhari will always remind me that America has a big stick and if they hit your head with it, the headache will never disappear.
“In his lighter moods, he would always remind me that caution in dealing with superpowers is important.
“Constant engagement, political back-end engagements, and leveraging friendship globally is equally important in the resolution of the issues now.
“We will resolve it. Nigeria is a great country. We have 230 million people,” he said.
He expressed concern over the growing insecurity in the country and increasing intolerance among Nigerians.
Mustapha, therefore, called for a conscious decision by people themselves to recreate the good old days when Nigerians lived together peacefully.
He said no country on earth is currently free from crisis, hence, it was incumbent on every country to evolve its own ways of addressing its challenges.
“We must evolve our indigenous ways of solving our crises,” he said.
The ex-SGF said it was not in the interest of anyone that the country should disintegrate in view of its consequences for the continent.
“If anything happens to this country, if we explode and just walk across West Africa, we’ll eat up all the food.
“And there will be starvation. People will die of starvation by our share number.
“So, even globally, the world is not interested in the breakup of Nigeria.
“I can tell you that because they know the enormity of the problems that will overflow Africa,” he said.
Mustapha said the NLS event, with theme: “The Nigerian Legal Profession at Crossroads,” would feature keynote lecture, with the topic: “Reassessing the Nigerian Legal Profession in the 21st Century – A Cry for Urgent Reforms.”