President Bola Tinubu employed discreet diplomacy to prevent Washington from taking a hostile stance towards Nigeria over claims of genocide.
Alhaji Isa Aremu, Director-General of the Michael Imodu Institute for Labour and Employment Studies made the claim on Wednesday.
Speaking on in Ilorin at the institute’s fifth Ramadan lecture series, organised by its Muslim community, Aremu said Tinubu avoided public confrontation with his United States (US) counterpart, Donald Trump, and instead worked quietly through diplomatic channels to defuse the issue.
He argued that restraint and behind-the-scenes engagement helped avert wider tensions at a sensitive moment, adding that a more combative response could have deepened divisions at home.
Aremu also pointed to subsequent remarks by Trump praising the work of Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, on social welfare as evidence that diplomacy had yielded results.
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While urging Nigerians to remain hopeful despite persistent security challenges in parts of the country, Aremu broadened his appeal to global affairs, calling for dialogue rather than confrontation in the ongoing tensions between Iran and the United States.
He believed diplomacy was essential to prevent further suffering among civilians and bereaved families, stressing the need for peace and coexistence worldwide.
Also at the same event, the guest lecturer, Prof AbdulRazaq AbduMajeed Alaro, outlined societal expectations of families who have lost loved ones.
Alaro, an adviser on non-interest banking to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), warned against borrowing to fund elaborate funeral rites and said outstanding debts left by the deceased should be settled before any distribution of property.