We are rightly enjoined to pray for our leaders, not as a ceremonial obligation, but in sober recognition of the extraordinary institutional burdens they bear. Leadership at the level of the state is never merely personal; it is historical, civilizational, and structural. It carries the accumulated weight of institutions, the pressures of the present, and the obligations owed to generations yet to come.
The recent visit to the Republic of Türkiye must therefore be situated within this broader strategic and institutional context. At a time of pronounced global flux, the international system is undergoing a profound reordering. Long-standing assumptions that sustained post–Cold War stability are giving way under the strain of geopolitical competition, economic realignment, and security recalibration. Traditional powers particularly within Europe, our natural neighbors by history and proximity are experiencing a transformation of a magnitude not witnessed since the Westphalian settlement that shaped the modern state system.
In such an environment, responsible statecraft demands strategic diversification, pragmatic engagement, and the deliberate strengthening of multilateral relationships beyond inherited alignments. Nigeria, as Africa’s most populous nation and a pivotal regional actor, cannot afford the comfort of diplomatic inertia. Engagements such as the Türkiye visit signal an understanding that national interest in this era must be pursued through adaptive, forward-looking foreign policy architecture.
That President Bola Ahmed Tinubu discerned the strategic value of this engagement and acted upon it reflects attentiveness to the demands of contemporary governance. Public commentary may occasionally fixate on the incidental or the symbolic, but institutions endure on substance rather than spectacle. History does not measure leadership by momentary missteps; it measures it by clarity of purpose, steadiness under scrutiny, and the courage to proceed when responsibility demands action.
The joint press conference, in this regard, offered more than diplomatic formality. It revealed composure rooted in experience, confidence anchored in responsibility, and candor befitting a leader conscious of Nigeria’s place within an evolving international system. These are the quiet virtues that sustain credibility in bilateral and multilateral engagements alike.
This letter is therefore offered as a note of institutional acknowledgment. To preside over a complex polity while navigating a volatile global environment is an immense undertaking. It is a burden borne not by office alone, but by judgment, intellect, and an enduring commitment to the national interest.
When a leader slips, it is responsibility understood, embraced, and carried with courage that lifts him. Such moments deserve recognition, not as personal triumphs, but as affirmations of purposeful governance.
I will end with a Yoruba song by King Sunny Ade
Ota mi ma yo mi ti mo ba subu, ti emi ba subu e mi a dide.
Akanni Omo Olodo Ide, Aja o ni ji mo Ologbo le se. Ewo.
Respectfully,
Otunba Segun Showunmi
The Alternative.
