The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Foreign Affairs, Ademola Oshodi, has called for more efforts to project Nigeria’s positive image globally.
Oshodi made the call while reacting to the allegation that the President Bola Tinubu administration spent about $9 million to hire lobbyists in Washington.
Speaking on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, the presidential aide warned that failure to properly project Nigeria’s image internationally could pose a serious national security threat.
“I don’t think the government is doing enough to ensure we get our information and narrative out there,” he said.
It’s important that we get the right message. We don’t want a misconception that it (insecurity) is a massive killing of Christians, with attention focused only on Christians,” Oshodi added.
He also noted that the narrative around insecurity must be properly framed to avoid misinterpretation.
“We don’t want a situation where people feel banditry is political rather than economic,” he said.
“We also don’t want a situation where West Africans see what is happening in Nigeria as an opportunity to create chaos from our borders,” he added.
Speaking further, the presidential aide emphasised that narrative management was critical.
“If it is not done right, it could be a huge national security threat, apart from the fact that people go on social media and misrepresent the government’s position,” Oshodi said.
He also urged Nigerians to be more understanding and patient, noting that those who disagree with the government had the opportunity to express their views through democratic means.
“Nigerians should be more understanding and patient. If they disagree with the government, there is an election coming up, and we are in a democracy,” he said.
Oshodi maintained that most Nigerians understand what the government is doing and expressed optimism about the country’s future.
“I believe that the majority of Nigerians understand what the government is doing for the betterment of the country, and we will see better prosperity in the near future,” he said.
He also said the government was fortunate that the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, had the opportunity to clarify several issues about Nigeria during interviews with the American press.
“She granted interviews to the American media, apart from US President Donald Trump mentioning her as a very respectable woman,” Oshodi said.
His comments followed praise by Trump, who described the First Lady of Nigeria as a “respected woman.”
