Recently, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar mocked President Bola Tinubu over what he called the snubbing of Nigeria by the US President Donald Trump who invited five African countries to the White House to discuss “commercial opportunities”. The countries include Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal.
The United States has never failed to mention that Nigeria occupies a critical and strategic position in Africa in both the economic and security sectors. To demonstrate the importance of Nigeria to the United States, , the US- Nigeria Binational Commission, ( BNC) was established in 2010. The BNC is the premier platform of official engagements between the Governments of the United States and Nigeria to expand cooperation and advance shared goals and democratic values.
Maybe former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is not aware of the existence of the BNC.
Nigeria’s GDP in 2025 is projected to be around $193.39 billion USD. Some analysts predict it could reach $198.81 billion USD in 2026 and $205.17 billion USD in 2027.
Liberia’s GDP in 2025 is projected to be around $5.00 billion USD, while that Gabon is $2.5 billion USD . Guinea-Bissau’s GDP in 2025 is projected to be $2.3 billion USD, according to World Bank
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Senegal was worth 32.27 billion US dollars in 2024. This means that the GDP estimates of the five African countries invited to the White House meeting is $41.8 billion USD compared to Nigeria’s $193.39 billion USD, and a rational being is claiming that Nigeria was snubbed?
Nigeria with a population of over two hundred million people, occupies the number one position in Africa’s economy.
No nation can afford to snub Nigeria and succeed economically on the continent .
The combined population of the five African countries invited to the meeting is not up to one third of that of Nigeria. It is possible that only African countries with small and struggling economies were invited for immediate assistance.
Going by Atiku’s logic, other economic power houses in Africa, such as Egypt, South Africa, Ghana and Kenya who were not part of the White House meeting were also snubbed. It is highly irresponsible on the part of a former Vice President to use every occasion to denigrate the country he had tried times to be its President. Even if you don’t like the current President because he defeated you in the 2023 presidential election, you don’t have to run your country down because the winner of that election is in power. You have no choice than to live with this reality. Atiku being a former Vice President ought to behave as an elder statesman. Elder statesmen rise above partisan politics when it comes to national issues. They are expected to put national interest above personal interests.
Atiku is making a monumental mistake to think that attacking President Tinubu under any guise would give him political mileage. Mr former Vice President, please grow up and don’t ever forget those who gave political succour in the past. When you had issues with your former boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, it was President Tinubu who yielded to you his platform, the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to contest the 2007 presidential election.
Under President Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s economy is on a growth trajectory taking into account all economic indices, including the statistics provided by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The bold economic reforms carried out by President Tinubu, which have been praised by renowned economists around the world are already yielding positive results.
Nigeria is now a choice destination for Foreign Direct Investments.
President Tinubu’s administration has a robust relationship with the United States. He is at liberty to visit the country as he pleases. But Atiku does not have such a luxury because of his questionable past. The political career of a former American lawmaker
William Jennings Jefferson from Louisiana, ended after his corruption scandal and conviction due to his dealings with Atiku. Let’s tell Atiku that Nigerians have not forgotten his past.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Owaikhena Osikhekha is a public affairs analyst based in Lagos
