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Foreign Policy Expert, Prof. ANTHONY KILA
Professor Anthony Kilam is a Foreign Policy expert.
He is a Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy & Development. He is a Political Economist, Strategist & Public Intellectual. He is also the Director General at CIAPS.
Kila is one of those who took more than a passing interest in the recent U.S elections that threw up President Donald Trump as winner.
In this interview with City People, he reveals his thoughts on how he thinks President Tinubu can handle Trump. What are our foreign policy options we asked him.
He spoke to City People Publisher SEYE KEHINDE and Reporter GIFT. Below are excerpts.
Let’s talk about Nigeria and President Trump.
How do you see the situation of things?
I think Nigeria has a lot of vibrant business people, from very small to very big. And I think if they position themselves well, they might need to take advantage of the Trump thing, because actually Trump represents a lot of things that Nigerians are used to, especially some of the bad things. I want Nigerians to imagine Trump as the average driver in Lagos. That will give you an idea of people who are very selfish. They don’t care about the law. They just want to get to where they want to get to. And if you are really used to dealing with that kind of situation, they will be fine with Trump, as long as they’re not Immigrants. Because as long as he says he doesn’t want immigrants, if you can send your money there, he will take it. So the rich Nigerians will be fine. I feel sorry for poor Nigerians, because they have little to offer him, but the rich Nigerians might be fine. And I think the only President that we can have, the best president for Nigeria to deal with somebody like Trump is actually President Tinubu. They have a lot in common. And I think you know, in terms of getting the deal done, President Tinubu can deal with that. He’s not the man that will have quacks or some kind of ideologies. He is a very practical, pragmatic person that sees what he wants and goes for it. So to that extent, those who are okay in Nigeria have little to fear, the people who have something to fear about Trump, you know, are people who are trying to immigrate, or people who are so obsessed with climate change, or people who believe that it’s good to help the weak. You know, people believe in the old traditional values. The noble values are what makes it bigger. But mind you, I know a lot of people who believe in those values of Jesus Christ and voted Trump. I think they voted because he’s anti gay and anti abortion. They didn’t care that he’s been convicted. He’s a liar. He deals with fraud. He has issue with women. I think those things don’t matter. So in a way, he might be right. Nigerians will start changing their mind when he starts deporting their loved ones and families, maybe when the dollars that was coming then stops coming from them. It is a case of out of evil, comes good, you are able to look at this door as a shut door on Nigeria and Nigerians decide, let’s go for it. You might be good for Nigeria and the rest of the world, but it’s going to be tough, good in the end, maybe, maybe, but definitely tough.
What do you think our foreign policy should be in terms of how to relate with Pres. Donald Trump?
Well, I think we should mind our business. Trump wants to make America Great, so we should be careful not to make Trump mad, not to upset America. We should just go on our lane, don’t  stand in the way of any policy thing. It might have been a situation where we can take advantage of any possibility there. But we should also, above all, be self reliant, we can also think of a Plan B, because with all these things Trump is doing, Trump might just provoke some countries to create an alternative to using the Dollar. You see, when he does all these things, people forget that when you’re in a glass house, you have to be careful. You can not be acting like a bull in a glass house. Because if he keeps pushing this, some countries might get together and say, look, why is America so important? You break it down. Why is America so important? The first thing is because most parts of the world use the dollar. So if the owner of the Dollar is treating us badly a good thought should be lets use something else. And for the first time in about 50 years in America, there’s a possibility that an American president might turn Europe to his enemy, because normally the alliance has been of the USA UK, Europe. It’s been a natural Alliance, but with Trump going against most of the things that Europeans stand for, Europeans might just think, why not make the Euro strong? Why not the world start using the Euro? So all of a sudden, there’s a possible competition against the Dollar, from the Euro and from the Chinese Yen, and if Russia plays its cards right, they might be able to forge a new alliance in the world. But the point here is the dynamic is difference. It’s a peculiar, complex one, because while the traditional alliance of the UK US Europe is not there, Trump is also friends with Russia and contrary to what people say, he can easily make friends with China if he sees that he needs them. So that makes the equation more complex than what we imagine. But if I was sitting in a strategic session with some leaders in the world, these are the kind of thoughts I’ll put in their head that, why don’t we change this card a bit? It’s a bit like basketball or football, any kind of game. Okay, let’s change our settings and let’s see what will happen. Let’s change our strategy and let’s see what can happen. You know, those are the thoughts that might affect. If you start to touch people’s interest, don’t be surprised that people will start reacting to it.
