Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, has said Nigeria must strengthen its economic and military capacity to a level where no African country would be able to defeat it in the event of a confrontation.
Akinyemi made the remark during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Monday, while reacting to the reported invasion of Venezuela by United States forces and the capture of its President, Nicolás Maduro.
According to him, power remains central in international relations and commands respect among nations.
“This is my advice to Nigeria as well. You have to respect power. After all, when Nigeria went into the Benin Republic a few weeks back, in terms of power disparity, there was no way Benin could have resisted Nigeria. But there are countries in Africa that Nigeria will not take on,” he said.
He explained that Nigeria’s ambition should not be to dominate other African states, but to build sufficient strength to avoid being overpowered.
“That leads me to a definition of the level of power 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 did not say Nigeria should aspire to a power level where it will defeat any African country. No. I am saying Nigeria should aspire to a power level where no country in Africa will be able to defeat it,” Akinyemi added.
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