News
Right of Reply: Re-Yusuf Tuggar’s Strategic Autonomy and Nigeria’s Non-Alignment Policy, Beyond the Dangerous Neighbourhood

Right of Reply: Re-Yusuf Tuggar’s Strategic Autonomy and Nigeria’s Non-Alignment Policy, Beyond the Dangerous Neighbourhood
Oladimeji Badmus
It’s good to see the Minister’s article on Nigeria’s foreign policy and its implementation has sparked a round of intellectual debate. Bola A. Akinterinwa article titled Re-Yusuf Tuggar’s Strategic Autonomy and Nigeria’s Non-Alignment Policy beyond the dangerous neighborhood published in the ThisDay Newspaper of 12th January 3025, is a healthy and enriching contribution.
That said, it’s important to stick to facts and attribute statements to those participating in this much needed discourse the way they said it and fairly. The Minister mentioned Strategic Autonomy as the fulcrum of the Tinubu Administration’s agenda, not as a sixth foreign policy objective for Nigeria. Nowhere in his article did he try to amend the Constitution and ascribe it an additional foreign policy objective. What Akinterinwa has done here is to use casuistry to turn epistemology (Strategic Autonomy, Democracy Demography and Diaspora, etc) into Ontology (the five foreign policy objectives of Nigeria stated in the Constitution).
These are two different things. Akinterinwa should have instead listed Strategic Autonomy along with Bolaji Akinyemi’s Consultation Doctrine, Gambari’s Concentricism and Olu Adeniji’s Constructive and Beneficial Concentricism.
Strategic Autonomy is the 21st Century version of Balewa’s non-alignment. If non-alignment was never mistaken to be a foreign policy objective, how can Strategic Autonomy be deemed to be one?
The executive arm of government is responsible for implementing agenda to achieve the foreign policy objectives, not to question the said objectives government officials, both political appointees and civil servants are sworn to protecting and abiding by the requirements of the Constitution. They do not have the luxury to pick and choose what parts of the Constitution are right or wrong as Akinterinwa’s article seems to regress into. He even appears to romanticize the irredentist notions of IPOB and Oodua groups and justifies it as the right to self-determination. One may then ask, how well are South Sudan and Somali Land fairing (two recent examples of irredentist movements that achieved statehood)?
There is a process for amending Nigeria’s constitution, which requires support of the two chambers of the National Assembly and two thirds of the state houses of assembly. We Nigerians expect the foreign minister to focus on actualizing our foreign policy objectives and abiding by the constitution and not pursue amendment to please irredentist movements or neighbouring countries. The Constitution may have got it wrong by mentioning the protection of national interest and respect for international law as objectives instead of an act, but so it remain until it is amended. We should not expect an administration or its foreign Minister with a four year term to focus on such pedantic hair-splitting. Their focus should be on what they swore to uphold.
Akinterinwa argues that distancing ourselves from France because some of our neighbors do not get along with her would help African integration. This is a simplistic view of complex global politics. We must not take a manichaean view of our relationships with other countries. It is not a Cowboy movie where all the good guys wear white hats and the bad guys black ones. As an intellectual, I would have expected Akinterinwa to unpack the contents of Nigeria’s relationship with France. It is presently I-Dice through which thousands of young Nigerians are to be trained in digital technology.
It is Investments in renewable energy to provide electricity. It is also in getting the support of France to become a member of the G20 and a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, where Nigeria’s big voice will help actualise the very same African integration and also assist more deliberate developmental support for the likes of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
And in terms of working with our neighbors towards a more secure neighborhood, I believe the Minister mentioned in his article that working with sahelian countries alone will not fix the security challenges without fixing Libya. You cannot fix Libya without working with the very same major powers including France that created the problem in the first place. Engaging with France based on the above is not tantamount with being bellicose towards our neighbors. And what happens tomorrow if there is another coup in Niger and the new government says they have kissed and made up with France? Would Akinterinwa then expect the Nigerian government to immediately pivot and start being friendly with France because Niger’s leadership says it’s ok? This would be the tail wagging the dog, Niger leading Nigeria.
Oladimeji Badmus is the Convener of Mwalimu Peers a Pan African International Affairs Think-Tank
Right of Reply: Re-Yusuf Tuggar’s Strategic Autonomy and Nigeria’s Non-Alignment Policy, Beyond the Dangerous Neighbourhood
Crime
Soldier Wife Arrested in Abuja vehicle theft case

Soldier Wife Arrested in Abuja vehicle theft case
By: Zagazola Makama
A notorious female suspect, Blessing Yusuf, aged 29, was arrested on April 25, 2025, by operatives of the Scorpion Squad, following a successful investigation into a vehicle theft case.
Sources disclosed that Yusuf, a resident of Kwali Area Council and wife of a serving Nigerian Army soldier, L/CPL Yusuf Yunnusa, who was arrested on April 19, 2025, was tracked down through digital forensic intelligence after fleeing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) upon learning of her husband’s arrest.
Sources said during preliminary investigations, Yusuf confessed during interrogation that she had initiated the idea of stealing a vehicle to cover her medical expenses.
She admitted to ordering a set of Toyota Corolla keys online via Jumia and later using them to steal a car at the Federal Secretariat. While her husband moved the vehicle, she provided cover and distracted passersby. After the theft, they transported the stolen car to Kwali.
Both suspects are currently in custody undergoing further interrogation.
Crime
FCT Police arrest woman for suspected child trafficking in Abuja as she claims she Purchase the Child from her father for N500K

FCT Police arrest woman for suspected child trafficking in Abuja as she claims she Purchase the Child from her father for N500K
By; Zagazola Makama
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested a woman, Vera Onyebigwa, in connection with a suspected child trafficking case.
Police sources told Zagazola Makama that On April 25, 2025, at about 2:00 p.m., a distress call was received at G/Lada Division regarding a suspected child trafficking incident near the timber shed area.
The sources said Police operatives were quickly deployed to the scene, where they apprehended Onyebigwa, a resident of No. 38 Murtala Mohammed Way, Benin City, Edo State, who was found in possession of a 6-year-old female child, whose identity remains unknown.
According to the sources, Preliminary investigations revealed that Onyebigwa had allegedly purchased the child from her father for ₦500,000 and was planning to transport her to Benin City.
The child’s cries attracted the attention of a Good Samaritan, who immediately notified the police, leading to the child’s rescue.
The sources added that the child is currently in protective care, and an investigation into the matter is ongoing.
FCT Police arrest woman for suspected child trafficking in Abuja as she claims she Purchase the Child from her father for N500K
News
EFCC operative allegedly linked to accident in Cross River

EFCC operative allegedly linked to accident in Cross River
By: Zagazola Makama
Two persons sustained injuries following a serious lone accident allegedly caused by suspected operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) along Abakpa/Igoli Road in Ogoja, Cross River State.
Zagazola Makama gathered from police sources that the accident, which occurred at about 10:45 a.m. on Friday, involved a BMW car with driven by one Bassey Precious, aged 27, with a passenger identified as Caleb Fidelis Okem, aged 24.
The sources said that a white Toyota Hiace bus, occupied by armed men suspected to be EFCC operatives carrying AK-47 rifles, intercepted the BMW and attempted to force it to a stop. One of the operatives reportedly entered the vehicle and tried to take control, leading to a scuffle with the driver.
During the struggle, Precious allegedly refused to yield, causing the vehicle to lose control, somersault, and crash. The EFCC operatives immediately fled the scene, abandoning the injured occupants.
The victims were promptly rushed to the General Hospital in Ogoja, where they are currently receiving treatment and are reported to be responding well.
The police source said that the Cross River Police Command confirmed the incident and efforts were ongoing to identify and locate the operatives involved for further investigation and appropriate disciplinary action.
The EFCC is yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident.
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