The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye, says grassroots development and mobilisation are critical to Nigeria’s foreign policy projection and international image.
Enikanolaiye said this at the 2026 Maiden National Conference of the 774 Local Government Chairmen and Chairmen of Traditional Rulers’ Councils, held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.
According to the Special Assistant, Digital Media and Public Diplomacy, Office of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Raphael Oni, the conference was convened by the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs with the theme, “Cascading President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to the Grassroots.”
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In his goodwill message, Enikanolaiye stressed that Nigeria’s domestic policies had direct implications for the country’s foreign policy and international relations.
“For us in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we believe that every aspect of our government policy at home has implications for foreign policy and Nigeria’s international relations.”
“Which is why we are interested in everything that goes on domestically because foreign policy is also a projection of domestic policy. And in this context, grassroots mobilisation and development is critical to what we do abroad,” the minister said.
Inclusive Governance
The minister said inclusive governance must be bottom-up rather than top-down, noting that traditional rulers remained a critical component of Nigeria’s governance architecture.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for approving the conference and for recognising the roles of local government areas and traditional rulers in the ongoing constitutional amendment process.
Situating his remarks within President Tinubu’s 4-D Foreign Policy Doctrine of Demography, Development, Democracy and Diaspora, Enikanolaiye said the Renewed Hope Agenda would ultimately be measured by its impact at the grassroots.
He described Nigeria’s youth population across the 774 local government areas as a major global asset, stressing the need to empower local governments and convert the country’s population strength into economic power.
On Development, Enikanolaiye said the ambition of building a $1 trillion economy could not be achieved without productive local governments.
He pointed to Nigeria’s agricultural potential, mineral resources across more than 500 sites and major infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar and Sokoto-Badagry highways, saying grassroots stability was essential to attracting foreign direct investment.
Meanwhile, the minister said empowering local governments and traditional rulers would demonstrate Nigeria’s commitment to genuine, bottom-up democratic governance.
Enikanolaiye said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would drive the foreign policy component through investment matchmaking via Nigeria’s 110 diplomatic missions abroad, partnerships with Nigeria’s international partners and the use of traditional rulers’ community intelligence to support national security.
