I’m not going to bore you with a long essay. I will denote every point the president made in his address at the G20 Summit, 2024, in bullet points and proffer what could have been a more coherent approach in courting the attention of world leaders to the enormous issues of poverty and hunger in our beloved nation, Nigeria.

Before then, I need to state that Africa owes it to herself to break free from the shackles of imperialism, hunger, poverty, and underdevelopment. We must present the challenges bedeviling Mother Continent with every sense of responsibility and grit to do what is right in order to restore hope to our people.

What could President Tinubu have done differently at the Rio de Janeiro Summit in Brazil?

• 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐨: “I am from Nigeria. It is better to give you the true picture of what is going on in Africa. We have terrorism challenges, insecurity challenges, that is preventing farmers from even going to their farms.

“We have problem in Sudan…displacing people. We have problem of climate change, flooding, destroying crops. And we have problem of protectionism.”

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧: Highlighting the problems of poverty and hunger in Nigeria was a good starting point. After all, the essence of the Summit was to tackle global poverty and hunger directly.

However, Mr. President missed a crucial opportunity by failing to acknowledge how these issues have been worsened by factors such as insecurity, flooding, inadequate educational and healthcare facilities, and more. Addressing these root causes would provide a clearer pathway to resolving poverty and hunger in Nigeria.

While this may have been his intention, his message lacked the coherence needed to drive the point home convincingly. More importantly, the President should have taken responsibility for the many challenges facing Nigeria, emphasizing that we, as a nation, owe it to ourselves to confront these issues head-on.

• 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐨: “What do I do to help the small-scale industry? The cost of funding is expensive. What do I do to get power to industrialize my country? The cost of funding is extremely expensive. The developed world would need to extend this promises… [bulaba-balablu] must salute everyone of you, but support the continent.

“The neglect of Africa is a danger to the rest of humanity and we have to lift one another up.”

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧: Let me emphasize once again: great leaders take responsibility for the security and socio-economic challenges they face. President Tinubu missed a crucial opportunity at the Summit to earn the respect of world leaders by showcasing what his government is doing to address these issues—if only to create the perception of progress (even if it meant bending the truth). Instead, his approach came across as lamenting a lack of capacity to do what is right.

His statement that “the neglect of Africa is a danger to the rest of humanity” marked a particularly low point. This remark suggests a lack of understanding of Africa’s development challenges. The truth is, Africa was historically disadvantaged, set up to struggle in finding its footing. In international relations, no nation genuinely prioritizes another’s welfare; it’s always about stronger nations taking what they want and weaker nations giving what they must.

Moreover, President Tinubu missed the chance to outline a concrete action plan for tackling Nigeria’s key challenges—such as insecurity, poor education and healthcare systems, flooding, and more. Instead, he could have used the platform to propose a vision for the next phase of his administration while calling for decisive global partnerships to address these pressing issues and create meaningful opportunities for Nigerians.

• 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐛𝐮 𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐨 𝐝𝐞 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐨: “We have to build an inclusive economy that takes into account the population growth. In Nigeria I have over 250 million souls. The fight against hunger and poverty is not a matter of choice but a matter of priority for me. But where do I get those helps?”

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧: President Tinubu once again missed the opportunity to position Nigeria’s population as an asset rather than a liability. He could have reassured potential partners in the fight against hunger and poverty by highlighting the vast opportunity that Nigeria’s large population represents—a partnership based on mutual benefits.

Furthermore, his remark, “But where do I get those helps?” only worsened an already troubling situation. In international diplomacy and negotiations, it’s crucial for a nation to negotiate from a position of strength. The United States, for example, negotiates from its military strength and technological advancements. Similarly, Nigeria should negotiate from the standpoint of its population as a strength, never a weakness.

Indeed, Africa owes it to herself to break free from the shackles of imperialism, hunger, poverty, and underdevelopment.

-𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬 𝐎𝐧𝐲𝐞𝐦𝐚, 2027 presidential aspirant.

This article was first published on Francis Onyema’s Facebook page on the 26th Nov., 2024