Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, has called on Nigeria to deliberately strengthen its economic and military capacity to a level that would make it impossible for any African nation to overpower it in a direct confrontation.
Akinyemi made the remark on Monday, the 5th of January, 2025, during an interview on Politics Today, a programme aired on Channels Television, where he was responding to questions on global power dynamics.
His comments came against the backdrop of the recent invasion of Venezuela by United States forces and the arrest of the country’s President, Nicolas Maduro, an incident he said underscored the reality of power relations in international affairs.
According to the former diplomat, Nigeria must understand and respect the role of power in safeguarding national interests, both within the continent and beyond.
“This is my advice to Nigeria as well. You have to respect power. And after all, when the Nigeria went into Benin Republic a few weeks back, in terms of power disparity, there is no way Benin could have resisted Nigeria, but there are countries in Africa that Nigeria will not take on.
“And that leads me to a definition of what should be the level of power that Nigeria should seek. Nigeria, in terms of economic and military power, should advance itself to a position where no country in Africa will be able to defeat Nigeria if there is a contestation between the two countries.
“I didn’t say that Nigeria should aspire to a power level where it will defeat any African country. No, I’m saying Nigeria should aspire to a power level where no country in Africa will be able to defeat,” he said.
Akinyemi stressed that the goal was not aggression but deterrence, noting that a strong and respected Nigeria would be better positioned to protect its sovereignty and command influence across the African continent.