By Bashir Aliyu
It is the American editorial cartoonist, David Horsey who said “as long as anger, paranoia and misinformation drive our political debate, there are unhinged souls among us who will feel justified in turning to violent (and aggressive) remedies for imagined threats.”
Given the relentless yet foiled attempts by certain unscrupulous activists to besmirch the unblemished reputation of His Excellency Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar by simply promoting falsely constructed narrative against him adds credence to my assessments that there are people who are spooked by the unprecedented accomplishments of the minister who, in just over a year, has been able to turn the fortune of Nigeria’s diplomacy around, making Nigeria a big player on the global stage. The attempt to distract His Excellency Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar with puerile accusations will continue to be futile.
Taking a cursory glance at the inconsequential accusations of incompetence made against Tuggar by this hired coalition of unpatriotic activists last week in Abuja which was published online shows there is a dark force behind their activities considered how they gave themselves away by putting a lot of emphasis on the ongoing efforts by the hourable Minister with the the full backing of the President to rejig the Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs under President Bola Ahmad Tinubu’s boldest moves in decades to “ensure that world-class efficiency and quality, will henceforth, characterize foreign and domestic service delivery to citizens, residents and prospective visitors alike,” presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said as the presidency unveiled a plan to recall its Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Consular Generals world-wide in September 2023.
Despite the onerous tasks of leading the implementation of the most strategic foreign policy reforms in decades, Honorable Yusuf Maitama Tuggar has also been at the forefront of courting international partners to assist Nigeria in adopting the evolving security and geopolitical changes in the Sahel region which poses national security threats to the stability of Nigeria. Security remains the biggest priority of the Nigerian government under president Bola Ahmad Tinubu. To be able to learn faster and adopt to emerging technologies that are changing the course of modern warfare, one of the cornerstones of Tuggar-led 4D Foreign Policy Agenda is the economic development of Nigeria which involves courting international partners and investors to help Nigeria with technologies and the know-how to build its Military Industrial-Complex that would see the country becoming capable of domestically producing modern military equipment such as drones, surveillance systems, APCs, and other urgent needs of our armed forces, creating jobs for Nigerians with multiplier effects. Tuggar’s scores of successes in this effort include pledges by major world powers such as France, the United Kingdom, the United States, China and Russia to invest billions of dollars in Nigeria, and help the country with technology transfer, training and industrial support to make sure Nigeria is able meet most needs of its armed forces through domestic production which would enable Nigeria to adequately maintain national and regional stability in the Gulf of Guinea and West African countries. As a veteran diplomat, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar is busy trying to make sure Nigeria’s national interests and foreign policy objectives under President Bola Ahmad Tinubu are pursued and achieved with vigour.
Nigeria as the economically most strategic and promising destination for Foreign Direct Investment thanks to President Bola Ahmad Tinubu’s timely decision to phase out fuel subsidy and abandon dual foreign exchange rates which has not only restored hope andnconfidence in Nigeria’s economic outlook but also increased the inflow of foreign investors to Nigeria which is an indication that Tinubu’s strategic initiative to make bring development and opportunities to Nigeria is already yielding desired results.
Under His Excellency Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Nigeria has been relentless in its efforts to strengthen democracy in Africa and deepen economic ties with countries like India in a bid to further increase the inflow of technology, talent and cultural exchange which will go a long way in accelerating the phase of Nigeria’s development in the long run.
For people like Mr. Adekunle,who has little knowledge of Bauchi, accusing Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar of using his position to actualize his governorship ambition in Bauchi is not only preposterous, it is a deliberate act of misinformation intended to politicize his achievements and downplay his relevance to the Tinubu administration and APC. We the residents of Bauchi overwhelmingly support Tuggar’s performance, and we see any personal attack on Tuggar as a work of vainglorious saboteurs who only aim to derail the immense relevance of the honourable Minister in the Bauchi politics. Tuggar has been open about his loyalty to the party, and Bauchi remains a strategic battleground in politics where President Bola Ahmad Tinubu still enjoys massive support. Tuggar is and will remain a dominant figure in Bauchi politics even though he has never indicated any intention or engage in any political maneuver to indicate interest in Bauchi governorship election. Ambassador Tuggar now focuses on making Nigeria great on the global stage.
The 4D Foreign Policy objectives will certainly be achieved. Nigeria’s national interests outweigh the personal interests of the likes of Adekunle who have lost touch with the reality on the ground.
To the hired activists who are being paid to launch a relentless campaign of calumny and polemics against His Excellency should bear in mind that their aggressive campaign will continue to ricochet because Ambassador Yusuf Maitama is clean and has no time to respond to frivolous accusations. Nigeria needs his service more than ever. He is busy focusing on making Nigeria great not only on the African continent, but also in community of nations around the world.
Bashir Aliyu is an editor at Daily Review Newspaper
