Ex-Diplomat slams Tuggar: “A serial underachiever who weakened Nigeria’s regional standing”

A former Nigerian diplomat has accused ex-Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar of eroding Nigeria’s influence in West Africa and reducing its foreign policy to “noise and photo ops.”

Farouq Bin Momoud, a foreign policy consultant based in the UAE, delivered the assessment in an opinion piece titled “Yusuf Maitama Tuggar: Silhouette of a Serial Underachiever.”

He contrasted Tuggar’s record with that of his late relative, Yusuf Maitama Sule, the revered statesman known for his diplomatic stature across Africa.

“For a man burdened with one of Northern Nigeria’s most iconic political names, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar leaves office with remarkably little to show beyond polished speeches and diplomatic photo opportunities,” Momoud wrote.

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Momoud’s sharpest criticism focused on Nigeria’s handling of the July 2023 coup in Niger.

He said Nigeria’s confrontational posture under President Bola Tinubu and Tuggar backfired, accelerating divisions in the region.

“Instead of restoring civilian rule in Niger, Nigeria helped trigger one of the biggest fractures in West African regional politics in decades,” he said.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger hardened their anti-ECOWAS stance and withdrew from the bloc, a move Momoud called “a humiliating geopolitical setback for Nigeria.”

“For decades, Nigeria positioned itself as the stabilizing anchor of West Africa. Under Tuggar, that prestige visibly eroded,” he added.

The article accused Tuggar of prioritizing international appearances and summits over concrete outcomes.

“There was no shortage of speeches, summits or carefully staged diplomatic appearances. But where were the defining outcomes? Where were the landmark agreements capable of altering Nigeria’s economic fortunes or restoring regional authority?” Momoud asked.

He also cited the 2023 recall of Nigerian ambassadors worldwide without immediate replacements, saying it left Nigeria “administratively absent from critical global conversations.”

Momoud argued that domestic problems— insecurity, inflation, and economic hardship— further weakened Nigeria’s credibility abroad.

“Foreign policy cannot be divorced from domestic strength. Under Tuggar, Nigeria attempted continental leadership while visibly weakened at home,” he wrote.

Despite Tuggar’s education and diplomatic exposure, Momoud said he left office without a defining achievement.

“No historic mediation. No transformative doctrine. No regional breakthrough. No enduring diplomatic accomplishment,” he stated.

“Maitama Sule left behind wisdom, stature and national memory. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar leaves behind the lingering image of a man who spent years orbiting power yet never quite rising above political mediocrity,” the article concluded.