Why I turned down the Chatham House invitation – SDP candidate

Adewole Adebayo, the Social Democratic Party’s nominee for president, has explained why he declined the invitation to deliver a speech at Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.

Adebayo said that because of respect for Nigeria’s sovereignty, he made the decision not to go outside the nation to address the public.

He made this statement on Monday in Lagos at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs’ presidential candidate forum for 2023, which had as its topic “The world of Nigeria and Nigeria in the world: Foreign policy as an adjunct of domestic objectives.”

The SDP flagbearer stated that Nigeria’s presidential contenders had “further insulted and undervalued the country before the world by their looks” when they were at Chatham House in London.

“NIIA was established in 1961 specifically for this purpose that our foreign policy thinking should be scientific, strategic, well argued, and well researched, and this institution has the legacy at the background and the capacity to advise you on what to say on the international stage,” he continued.

To ensure that your comments on Nigeria or your nation are consistent with your nation’s diplomatic theories and policy, you should visit the top diplomatic institution in your nation before making public statements about it.

If elected president of Nigeria, Adebayo promised to uphold all contracts the government has signed and carried out under international law.

He said he would ensure that only the best would represent the nation abroad.
He said, “Nigeria has more than enough to end poverty, and it must effectively manage its sovereignty and fully rule its territory.

“I have shown that Nigeria’s afrocentric foreign strategy has not resulted in reciprocal advantages for the nation.”

It is significant that the realist, power-focused school of thinking and practice is the theoretical route to a successful foreign policy.

“I want to suggest that if Nigeria wants to utilize foreign policy to further its domestic goals in the fields of combating poverty and eliminating insecurity, economic diplomacy, spelled out in plain words, is the way ahead.”

Professor Eghosa Osaghae, the director general of the institute, said in his comments that the globe has recently extended its doors to Nigeria, which is why it is important to ask the candidates about their foreign policy plans.

Adebayo was the first applicant to accept the Institute’s offer, according to Professor Osaghae.
However, he urged the populace to use their right to vote by turning out in large numbers.

Miniechat

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