Nigeria’s Ex-Foreign Affairs Minister Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi Tackles Trump Over Inaugural Speech

A former minister of foreign affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has described Donald Trump’s inaugural speech as the worst he has ever heard in his lifetime.

Professor Akinyemi, a renowned diplomat, disclosed this while speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Monday evening, monitored by our correspondent.

He compared Trump’s address to John F. Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural speech, which he hailed as one of the best and most inspiring in history.

“It’s very strange to me that the first presidential inaugural address that I first heard in my life was President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address which turned out to be the best so far and which in a way energised me and gave me a vision of what the most powerful man in the world should stand for,” he said.

“Now, the worst inaugural address I have ever heard in my life is the one I heard today. This was not an inaugural address; it was more like a rabble-rousing speech to a mob in the United States.”

LEADERSHIP reports that Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday, after which he gave his inaugural address, but Prof. Akinyemi believed the address lacked a global vision and instead threatened different parts of the world rather than extending a hand of partnership.

“There was nothing in his speech for the rest of the world—nothing that gives us hope or a vision of what to expect in the next four years. In fact, the most specific thing he said was when he targeted Mexico, saying that instead of calling it the ‘Gulf of Mexico,’ it would now be called the ‘Gulf of America’.’”

He criticised Trump’s tone and message, stating that no previous US President had ever used an inaugural address to strip away the achievements of their predecessor while they were still present.

“It was an address that stripped naked all the achievements of his predecessor while he was sitting there. It was such a cold speech,” he stated.

When asked about what Trump’s presidency means for Africa, Akinyemi dismissed the idea that the continent was even on the new US President’s radar.

“I know you want me to focus on Africa or what next Nigeria should look forward to, you are giving me a task I cannot do because I’m not really sure that if you ask Trump to spell Africa, or to spell Nigeria, or to locate where we are on the globe he will be able to do so, we are out of his focus, yes, he’s focusing on the Middle East because Isreal is a United partner of His, yes, he’s focused on South America and what have you, but, the rest of the world, he doesn’t care, this was not an inaugural address, this was not calling on the world to join him in a venture or in an adventure to rescue the world whether it is on climate change, in fact, all the things he was saying, is that the kind of language you expect from a president in an inaugural address?

“I know you want me to focus on Africa or what Nigeria should look forward to, but honestly, I don’t think Trump even knows how to spell ‘Africa’ or ‘Nigeria,’ let alone locate us on the globe.”

Akinyemi lamented the lack of diplomatic engagement in Trump’s speech, contrasting it with past US presidents who called on the world to join in solving global challenges such as climate change and economic cooperation.

“The language he used today—was that the kind of speech you expect from a president at an inauguration? It was shocking and depressing for me.”

He reflected on how Kennedy’s speech inspired his career in international relations and suggested that if Trump had been the first he ever heard, he might never have pursued diplomacy.

“If Trump’s speech had been my first inaugural address, I probably wouldn’t have taken international relations as my focus. I would have chosen something else.”

Akinyemi warned that Trump’s isolationist policies and aggressive economic strategies could backfire, particularly his stance on tariffs.

“So I am sorry if I have nothing to say on your programme about what we witnessed today, it’s something frightening, and Americans should find it frightening, yes, America can be the most powerful country in the world right now, If America thinks it can lord it over the world without consequences, it is mistaken. They will pay the price for it.”

He explained that imposing trade tariffs would ultimately hurt American consumers and trigger retaliatory tariffs from other countries, leading to economic warfare rather than mutual prosperity.

“I mean take the issue of imposing tariffs on otters, when you impose tariffs on goods coming into your country, it’s your people that the businessmen will pass the tariff unto and the other country will also now impose the tariff on your own goods, that is not a way to engender mutual prosperity in the world, no, that is a pathway for economic warfare, do you need warfare at this time when we should all rally round to try and promote prosperity, you don’t do that”

He emphasised that the rhetoric was not surprising, as he had made similar controversial remarks throughout his campaign

“But I’m surprised, no, I am not surprised because everything he said today are things he said on the campaign trail, and many were built on falsehoods. What we witnessed today was frightening, and Americans should find it frightening too.”

Addressing the challenge ahead for African leaders, Akinyemi cautioned that President Bola Tinubu and other African presidents will find it difficult to engage with Trump’s administration.

“So if you are asking President Bola Tinubu or African presidents to try and fathom a pathway to engage Trump, I will say they’ve got a heavy-duty on their hands,” the diplomat concluded.