Foreign Policy Unpacked | May 2026
May showed a Nigeria that was present, active, and deliberate in protecting its citizens abroad, projecting leadership in Africa, and turning diplomacy into investment, security, and delivery.
Nigeria acted, engaged, protected, negotiated, and positioned itself across the issues that shape national interest at home and abroad.
This edition unpacks that work, what it means, and why it should matter beyond the headlines.
#ForeignPolicyUnpacked #Nigeria #May2026 #AdemolaOshodi
Africa Day requires us to celebrate unity, but unity cannot survive where Africans are unsafe among Africans.
On Channels TV’s Hard Copy, I spoke on the recent xenophobic incidents in South Africa and Nigeria’s position. “We are not watching our people be dehumanised.”
South Africa has institutions; therefore, immigration concerns should be handled by those institutions, not mobs or vigilante groups.
Nigeria will continue to demand protection for its citizens, proper investigations, and real action from South Africa.
If African unity means anything, African dignity must be protected everywhere on the continent.
Watch the full interview on @channelstv :
[https://t.co/r9pBfApBhs]
#AfricaDay2026 #Agenda2063 #Nigeria #AdemolaOshodi
CHRISTOPHER MUSA: "The conversation around setting up a Turkish Military Base in Nigeria is a good example of when speculation and reality conflict. A defence pact with a foreign country has several components. For example, the need to travel to the base of the defence partner or for the defence partner to come to your base. These are standard protocols that don’t violate sovereignty. The defence pact with Türkiye is not structured to violate our sovereignty. Let’s desist from speculating about what is not. Signing a defence pact with Türkiye is a milestone. Its defence capabilities are ranked top-tier in the global firepower index. It is one of the largest exporters of arms and ammunition in the world."
https://t.co/djucsbyi79
Foreign Policy Unpacked | April 2026
This edition of Foreign Policy Unpacked reviews a month of progress in Nigeria’s financing, defence partnerships, regional markets, energy, and institutional reform.
Building on last month's themes, these initiatives focused on attracting investment, stabilizing key sectors, strengthening regional influence, and improving the state’s response to economic pressures and public needs.
In summary, the impact of April’s external initiatives is clear: when successfully implemented, they contribute to more affordable goods, increased job opportunities, improved mobility, and enhanced security — outcomes that make a tangible difference for Nigerians.
#ForeignPolicyUnpacked #Nigeria #April2026 #AdemolaOshodi
BREAKING: Mali’s Defence Minister General Sadio Camara has been killed amid coordinated attacks in military sites across the country, sources told Al Jazeera https://t.co/r4DehGK2o9
Presidential elections took place today in Benin Republic.
Only two candidates: Romuald Wadagni 49 (Finance Minister) easily the frontrunner, & Talon's preferred successor, versus Paul Hounkpè 56 (a one time Minister) of the opposition Cowry Forces for an Emerging Benin party.
Foreign Policy Unpacked | March 2026
This edition of Foreign Policy Unpacked tracks a month in which diplomacy touched ports, migration, customs systems, regional security, investment, and crisis response.
Nigeria used external engagement to pursue economic outcomes, protect citizens, and strengthen its position in areas that affect everyday life.
I’d like to hear your thoughts. How soon should foreign policy deals begin to reflect in the daily lives of citizens?
#ForeignPolicyUnpacked #Nigeria #March2026 #AdemolaOshodi
This week has again shown why foreign policy and economic resilience can no longer be treated as separate conversations.
That is the central argument in my latest article published by the @AfricaAtLSE blog.
When the Gulf is unstable, the effects do not remain in diplomatic briefings. They move through freight costs, insurance premiums, energy prices, fertiliser markets, and then feed directly into domestic economic pressure.
So the real question for Nigeria, and frankly, much of Africa, is whether we have built institutions that can read a disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and ask the right domestic questions early enough.
What does it mean for fertiliser prices in six weeks?
For food imports in three months?
For inflation and exchange rate pressures by next quarter?
That is what serious statecraft now requires.
I would like to hear your thoughts: are we building for the next shock, or are we still recovering from the last one?
#StraitofHormuz #ForeignPolicy #Africa #Nigeria #AdemolaOshodi
https://t.co/BZq62htxF5
Over the last few days in the United Kingdom, I have had the privilege of serving as part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s delegation during the State Visit and of engaging across several media platforms on what this moment means in practical terms for Nigeria.
My central point has been consistent. A State Visit should not be assessed by ceremony alone, nor should diplomacy be mistaken for distance from domestic realities. The more serious question is what such access enables a country to secure. For Nigeria, this means maximising high-level engagement to strengthen strategic partnerships, deepen investor confidence, widen commercial opportunities, and reinforce our standing as a country prepared to act with seriousness, clarity, and purpose. Nigeria is coming into its own. In demographic scale, market potential, and strategic relevance, it is the new India!
The pain and anger over the recent terrorist attacks are justified and deeply felt. No responsible government can be indifferent to such loss. But leadership is not measured by retreating from the world in times of strain, but by the ability to confront urgent threats at home while also using diplomacy abroad to expand the country’s room for action.
That is the proper lens through which this visit should be understood.
For Nigeria, foreign policy must help strengthen the conditions for security, growth, investment, institutional cooperation, and long-term national capacity. Symbolism has its place, but symbolism that is not converted into advantage has limited value. The real work begins after the photographs, in the discipline of translating access into outcomes that matter to citizens.
This visit is therefore not about celebrating where we are: it is an investment in where we must be: a safer, more credible, and more economically competitive Nigeria.
Our responsibility is to ensure that every handshake abroad carries measurable value at home. Nigerians are right to demand that standard, and we should be judged by it.
#UKStateVisit #Nigeria #ForeignPolicy #AdemolaOshodi
Market access alone is not a strategy.
That is the core argument in my latest article, Trade as Statecraft: Why Nigeria Must Convert Market Access into Strategic Advantage, published by Premium Times and TheCable.
As trade preferences shift, the real question is no longer whether openings exist. It is whether Nigeria is organised to use them well.
That is why the 9 March signing of the IATF2027 Host Country Agreement matters. With Lagos set to host the fifth Intra-African Trade Fair in November 2027, the opportunity is larger than visibility. It is about positioning, value addition, and leverage.
Read:
Premium Times: https://t.co/7nDEjUaMFp
TheCable: https://t.co/W2Aef2hIjB
What would it take for Nigeria to convert trade openings into durable strategic advantage?
#IATF2027 #Nigeria #ForeignPolicy #AdemolaOshodi
Foreign Policy Unpacked | February 2026🌍
Foreign policy is where Nigeria converts intent into leverage. It is the arena where security cooperation, economic positioning, and credibility are negotiated in real time, often beyond the gaze of domestic debate but never beyond its consequences.
This debut edition of Foreign Policy Unpacked maps a clear strategic posture: where Nigeria placed emphasis, how it shaped perception, and what it sought to lock in as a durable advantage.
February reflected a foreign policy that was:
• Security-forward
• Regionally anchored
• Economically intentional
• Digitally enabled
Engagement is only step one. Conversion is the metric. What should we be tracking over the next 60–90 days as proof of delivery?
#ForeignPolicyUnpacked #Nigeria #February2026 #AdemolaOshodi