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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has lashed out at President Bola Tinubu over the exclusion of Nigeria from five African countries invited by United States President Donald Trump to discuss commercial opportunities.
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Trump is expected to host five African leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal at the White House to discuss commercial opportunities on July 9, 2025.
Nigeria was not among the nations invited, with the criteria for the invitation remains unknown.
Speaking on the development, Atiku, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Thursday, July 3, 2025, described the exclusion of Nigeria as an account of the failure of Tinubu’s administration.
Atiku stated that Tinubu’s administration had turned Nigerian to “diplomatic ghost”, saying the president had squandered Nigeria’s legacy abroad.
He stated: “Not Nigeria. Not the continent’s most populous nation, the Giant of Africa which had an economy of $500bn and was among the world’s five fastest growing economies before the cancer called the All Progressives Congress inflicted this blessed nation.
“This exclusion by the Trump administration is not a diplomatic oversight. It is not a scheduling error. It is a verdict — scathing in symbolism and staggering in implication. A verdict on Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s chaotic presidency, his divisive chairmanship of ECOWAS, and the complete evaporation of Nigeria’s diplomatic relevance.
“How do we explain it? Tinubu inherited an ECOWAS of 15 member states and left it gasping for breath with three countries pulling out and 40% of its land mass gone. Once Africa’s diplomatic compass — the nation that gave weight to regional consensus and global negotiations — Nigeria has now become an afterthought. Ignored. Sidelined. Stripped of influence. While others are summoned to negotiate Africa’s future, Nigeria is not even in the room.
“And while our Foreign Direct Investment has plunged to historic lows, Tinubu’s men lounge in St. Lucia, sipping champagne in the face of national decline. South Africa is negotiating trade frameworks with Washington. Nigeria is invisible.
“And let’s now kill the lie that’s been allowed to linger for too long: Gilbert Chagoury is not a Trump ally. He does not hold the keys to the White House. He has no diplomatic leverage in the Trump administration, having been listed as one of the major donors to the Clinton foundation.
“The illusion of his influence has collapsed under the weight of reality. Nigeria wagered its international standing on a mirage — and lost.”
The former vice president further stated that Tinubu, as ECOWAS chairman, “did not build bridges; he burnt them”, adding that the president’s “erratic, self-serving approach fractured regional cooperation, turning Nigeria into a polarizing force rather than a rallying point.”
Atiku added: “From Giant of Africa to diplomatic ghost — Tinubu has finished the job. He has squandered our legacy, diluted our stature, and silenced our voice on the world stage.
“This isn’t just an embarrassment. It is a disgrace — a resounding declaration that Nigeria, under this administration, has lost its way.
“But let it be known: we will not mourn in silence. We will not be complicit in our own erasure.
“Well, we are glad that the coalition through the ADC is here to rescue Nigeria from these urban bandits. The damage is deep — but so is our resolve. And the mission to reclaim Nigeria’s honour has already begun.
“History may not be kind to this government. But history will remember who stood up to end it.”
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