The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has reacted to the US President, Donald Trump’s purported letter to President Bola Tinubu, saying that the claimed endorsement by the American President will not save Tinubu from electoral defeat, and that celebrating a diplomatic communication from the President of another country only betrays the President’s “desperation for any form of validation.”
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC, Nigeria’s main opposition party, said the letter does not reflect the country’s worsening insecurity and ignores the painful reality that hundreds of women and children are still being held captive in Borno and Kaiama in Kwara State, while several communities in Benue and other parts of the country continue to live under constant fear.
The full statement read:
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has noted the Presidency’s attempt to present President Donald Trump’s letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as though it were a referendum on the state of the nation. It is not. While we hold the office and person of the President of the United States in high esteem, it is important to note that diplomatic correspondence between heads of state is a normal feature of international relations. Countries cooperate, leaders exchange views, and letters are exchanged.
What is apparent, however, is this administration’s desperation to seize upon any gesture of international recognition as proof of success at home. A letter from a foreign president, however well-intentioned, cannot substitute for the verdict of the Nigerian people. The true measure of any government is not what is written about it abroad, but what its citizens experience every day.
That is why the celebration surrounding this letter is difficult to understand. For the millions of Nigerians still living with the consequences of this government’s failures, President Trump’s communication changes nothing. It did not say that insecurity has been overcome or that Nigerians can once again travel freely, farm safely, and sleep without fear.
Indeed, it is telling that even as the Presidency chose to publicise President Trump’s letter, the United States Department of State’s travel advisory on Nigeria remained unchanged. While the Presidency celebrated what it regards as an endorsement from the White House, the official U.S. government advisory continued to place parts of Nigeria under Level 3 and Level 4 travel warnings, urging American citizens to reconsider travel because of crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, and other security concerns.
We therefore wonder how correspondence from a government that designates several Nigerian states as “Do Not Travel” areas can be regarded as an endorsement. That advisory alone is a reminder that, whatever diplomatic courtesies may be exchanged between presidents, the international assessment of Nigeria’s security challenges remains far removed from the picture the Presidency is eager to paint.
The daily reality of Nigerians is shaped not by diplomatic correspondence, but by the guarantee that they can go about their lives without falling victim to violent crime or terrorism. On these defining issues, no letter offers relief, and no foreign commendation can replace the real protection of citizens.
For all intents and purposes, President Trump’s letter is simply communication between one president and another. It does not amount to an endorsement of this government’s overall performance, nor does it absolve the administration of its responsibility to confront the challenges that continue to weigh heavily on more than 200 million Nigerians.
The Tinubu administration would therefore do well to devote less energy to celebrating letters of courtesy from abroad and more to delivering measurable results at home.
Ultimately, Nigerians will not judge this government by the letters it receives from foreign capitals. They will judge it by whether it improved the lives of the people it was elected to serve.
SIGNED:
Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi
National Publicity Secretary
African Democratic Congress (ADC)
