The Presidency said boasted on Monday President Bola Tinubu’s frequent foreign trips have boosted Nigeria’s global standing and strengthened international partnerships.
The Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs to the President, Ademola Oshodi, stated this on Channels Television’s Morning Brief.
Oshodi said Tinubu’s engagements abroad have earned Nigeria praises from major institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), which view the country’s reform path as a model. He noted that Nigeria has received significant recognition for its economic policies and international cooperation.
“On foreign affairs, which is my area, I can tell you that, based on what we are seeing right now, the Nigerian government has received a lot of accolades and praise for its reforms. It has had independent major institutions like the World Bank and the IMF praise its reforms. The Nigerian reform path has been seen as almost like a course on how reforms should be issued and executed,” he noted.
A recent analysis showed that in 33 months, Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima undertook 69 trips across 35 countries, spending a combined 315 days abroad. Tinubu alone accounted for 245 days, visiting 28 countries on 47 trips, while Shettima spent 70 days abroad on 22 trips.
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Tinubu’s most frequent destinations include Paris (11 visits), London (nine), the UAE (four), and Brazil (three). Altogether, he has covered about 240,000 nautical miles and logged over 380 flight hours.
Responding to criticism of the administration’s $9 million lobbying contract with U.S.-based DCI Group, Oshodi admitted the government must do more to project Nigeria’s narrative internationally. He warned that misconceptions about insecurity could pose a national security risk if not properly addressed.
Oshodi said, “I don’t think the government is doing enough to ensure we get our information out there, to get our narrative out there. We don’t want the misconception of, oh, there’s a massive killing of Christians that is focused only on Christians. We don’t want a situation whereby people feel as if the banditry is something that is political rather than economic.”
On the economic impact of reforms, Oshodi urged Nigerians to be patient, citing examples from the UK, China, and Ghana, where painful reforms eventually stabilized economies. He also highlighted improved security cooperation with global partners, saying Nigeria is on the right path toward stability and prosperity.
