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Former presidential aspirant, Adamu Garba, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s handling of Nigeria’s foreign policy, describing it as the “most laziest Nigeria has ever experienced,” and warning that it is exposing the country to greater diplomatic vulnerabilities.
Garba made the remarks on Monday while reacting to reports that China had warned the United States against interfering in Nigeria’s internal affairs amid rising tensions between Abuja and Washington.
According to him, the excitement among some Nigerians, particularly supporters of the government, over China’s statement reflects a “myopic mindset,” as Beijing’s verbal support has historically done little to prevent U.S. actions in other global conflicts.
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“China backed Nigeria and warned U.S against internal interference. Some are celebrating this based on myopic mindset,” Garba wrote. “So did China back Afghanistan, Iraq, Gaddafi, and Assad. Did that stop the U.S. from projecting its national interest in those countries?”
He argued that China’s diplomatic backing has rarely translated into concrete protection, noting that even countries with strong economic ties to Beijing have faced unilateral U.S. actions.
“Most recently, China backed Gaza , did that stop anything?” he asked. “China vehemently backed Iran, its most important BRI ally, but that didn’t stop the U.S. from bombing Iranian nuclear facilities right within Iran.”
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Garba stressed that in international relations, no country can offer another full protection against a superpower unless its own strategic interests are at risk. He cautioned Nigerians against interpreting China’s statement as anything beyond typical diplomatic rhetoric.
“In fact, in Nigeria, most Chinese companies have packed up due to lack of payment for jobs they executed for the government. The Chinese government is fully aware of the situation,” he added. “Believe such press statements as anything beyond paper rhetoric at your own peril.”
The outspoken APC member maintained that Nigeria’s current foreign policy posture has left the country increasingly isolated.
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“As it stands, there is no country, not even our neighbors like Niger, Cameroun or Benin, that can come for us in the event of any situation. In fact, Chad even closed their borders against us,” he said.
He urged the federal government to urgently rebuild Nigeria’s international reputation rather than relying on what he described as “propaganda” and unproductive diplomatic strategies.
“Nigeria needs to work its way to clean its name. This is very important,” Garba said. “We have to work our way out of the mess we created ourselves. Propaganda only ends on the screens of social media users.”
