Tinubu, Kagame meet, expand diplomatic relations

By : Terhemba Daka, Rotimi Agboluaje

Date: 5 January 2026 4:25am WAT

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President Bola Tinubu (right) and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, during their private lunch meeting in Paris, France, yesterday.

President Bola Tinubu (right) and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, during their private lunch meeting in Paris, France, yesterday.

• Don’t let Trump spark religious war in Nigeria, Falana tells FG • Trump setting dangerous precedent in Venezuela, Farounbi warns

President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, held a private lunch meeting with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda in Paris, reinforcing Nigeria’s expanding diplomatic engagement across Africa and key global capitals.

However, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), said members of the Nigerian armed forces, if properly motivated, could win the war against terrorism and banditry in the country without foreign intervention.

He urged the Federal Government not to let United States President Donald Trump promote religious war in Nigeria.  Relatedly, former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dr Yemi Farounbi, described Trump’s intervention in Venezuela as a stark demonstration that in global affairs, “might often overrides right,” warning that the move sets a dangerous precedent for powerful nations in their dealings with smaller states.

The encounter between Tinubu and Kagame was disclosed by the President’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Dele Olusegun, via his verified X handle, @DOlusegun.

No detailed agenda accompanied the post, a restraint which officials, nevertheless, say underscored the growing importance of quiet, high-level engagements in advancing Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives.

Paris has increasingly become a strategic hub for Tinubu’s international diplomacy. Since assuming office in 2023, the Nigerian leader has held many bilateral engagements and working lunches in the French capital, including meetings with President Emmanuel Macron, often on the sidelines of global summits or during working visits.

Nigeria and Rwanda maintain warm bilateral relations anchored on shared priorities within the African Union (AU), particularly economic integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), regional security cooperation and institutional reform.

Tinubu and Kagame had earlier met in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in February 2025, signalling a pattern of sustained high-level dialogue between West and East Africa’s influential leaders.

Diplomatic analysts view such sideline meetings as valuable platforms for aligning positions, exchanging perspectives and strengthening Nigeria’s influence across Africa’s regional blocs.

FALANA, who expressed regret that terrorists, as seen in videos, appeared better equipped than members of the country’s armed forces, charged the Federal Government to adequately equip the military for victory in the war.

The senior advocate, who spoke in a chat with journalists in his Ilawe Ekiti hometown on Saturday, bemoaned how some known figures in the country stole funds meant for the purchase of arms and ammunition.

He urged the government to implement a mechanism for the recovery of such funds and put them into their original purpose. Falana said, “If the members of the armed forces are well equipped and motivated, they can deal with terrorism and banditry.

“But as a result of the neglect of vital security institutions over the years, the ragtag armies of criminal elements are winning the war on terror. It is a shame.”

TRUMP’S recent actions in Venezuela sparked widespread concerns over the violation of national sovereignty and the potential destabilisation of international diplomacy.

Analysts argue that Trump’s approach signals a shift in global diplomacy, where powerful nations may increasingly bypass multilateral frameworks to enforce their policies, potentially weakening institutions such as the United Nations (UN).

This, they contend, could result in a world where smaller countries face disproportionate risks from more powerful neighbours, creating a cycle of insecurity and potential conflict.

Speaking with The Guardian in Ibadan, Farounbi cautioned that the violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty could embolden other major global powers, including Russia and China, to act aggressively in similar circumstances.

The elder statesman warned that Russia could be encouraged to exert influence over former Soviet states, while larger nations in Africa and the Middle East might exploit smaller neighbours, heightening regional instability.

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