ADC to Tinubu: Diplomacy is Not a Side Hustle
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has issued a scathing rebuke of the Tinubu administration’s foreign policy over what it describes as a “national humiliation” following the United States government’s latest travel advisory, which places Nigeria on Level 3: “Reconsider Travel.” In a strongly worded statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said that the US travel advisory—citing Nigeria’s rising insecurity and failing healthcare infrastructure—is a damning reflection of the Tinubu government’s inability to protect both its citizens and the country’s image abroad. The ADC again criticised the absence of Nigerian ambassadors in key global capitals, particularly Washington D.C., describing the diplomatic vacuum as abdication of responsibility.
The party also took aim at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accusing it of trivialising the urgent need for ambassadorial appointments under the guise of reforms. According to the ADC, Tinubu’s government has reduced diplomacy to a “side hustle,” warning that no country can afford to be voiceless on the world stage.
The full statement read:
Again, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is alarmed—but sadly, not surprised—by the latest travel advisory from the United States Government, which now classifies Nigeria as a Level 3 “Reconsider Travel” destination. For a nation of over 200 million people, this is another public indictment of the Tinubu administration’s failure to govern. The U.S. explicitly mentioned the collapse of Nigeria’s healthcare infrastructure and the inability of our government to guarantee even the most basic emergency services.
According to the advisory, medical facilities in Nigeria “are generally not equipped to U.S. standards,” and “many medications are unavailable.” Foreigners are being told to consider evacuation insurance before they arrive. We ask: what kind of country are we becoming? One where a visitor must plan for emergency airlift before stepping off the plane?
What makes this situation even more shameful is that Nigeria currently has no accredited ambassador in Washington D.C.—the very capital from which this damaging advisory was issued. The ADC had raised the alarm on this dangerous diplomatic vacuum just days ago. Following which, we were met with smug indifference and bureaucratic deflection from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who claimed, quite absurdly, that the failure was due to some reforms despite reports from the same Ministry earlier this year that the list of ambassadorial nominees had already been submitted to the President for approval. So which is it?
At a time when our image is under assault and foreign confidence in our systems is plummeting, Nigeria is voiceless at the world’s most important tables thanks to the Tinubu administration. Not even during the civil war did Nigeria not have ambassadors in place for so long.
It is equally important to note that since our ambassadors were recalled in October 2023, five of the G7 countries have changed their leaders. Yet, Nigeria has had no high-level diplomat in place to engage their new administrations to secure our interests in their foreign and investment agendas. This has not just been a missed opportunity, it has been an outright diplomatic failure.
The administration says that it wants to ensure “merit, competence, and integrity” in its diplomatic appointments. But this excuse rings hollow coming from a government whose appointment history reveals anything but merit. If this administration truly believes in competence, then let it prove it by doing the work, not delivering platitudes. Serious governments don’t use reforms as excuses to stop governing.
Let’s remind the government that the process of accrediting ambassadors by receiving countries could be cumbersome and time consuming. It is therefore difficult to see how this administration intends to remedy this embarrassing situation in the short time it has left. This is what happens when a government treats diplomacy as a side hustle. We are absent where we must be present. We are silent where we should be persuasive. We seem to be leaderless at home and invisible abroad.
In this regard, the ADC reiterates it’s calls on the Tinubu administration to stop hiding behind excuses and show that they understand what it takes to govern a country like Nigeria.
