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In an era defined by geopolitical competition, trade wars, sanctions regimes, and shifting alliances, one phrase has migrated from European policy papers to the heart of African diplomacy: “Strategic Autonomy”.

For Nigeria, this is not a new experiment in isolation, nor is it a nostalgic return to Cold War non-alignment. As I outlined in a recent address from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, it is something far more direct and more urgent.

Strategic autonomy is alignment to Nigerian national interest. Once you are clear in what constitutes your national interest, you align with those interests regardless of which party is at the receiving end. That is the foundation. I am aware of scholarly publications that was recently put together by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs on the subject.

While the Ministry prepares the full concept note charting new fronts in a multi polar world, let me share the preliminary framework guiding Nigeria’s foreign policy under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Our goal is simple: to ensure that Nigeria, and by extension Africa, is not an object of geopolitics, but a subject that defines its own future.

What Strategic Autonomy means for Nigeria and Africa
Strategic autonomy is often misunderstood as withdrawal. It is the opposite. It is engagement on our terms. Today, Nigerian Foreign Policy has shifted. Gone is the era of reactive alignment. The Tinubu 4Ds agenda is anchored on strategies that are clearly designed to bring succor to Nigerians. The deliberate pursuit of Nigeria’s national interest across economic, security, technological, and diplomatic domains, without being locked into any single bloc. Nigeria’s strategic autonomy rests on 5 pillars in a world of continuous alignment. Together, they form the blueprint for how Nigeria engages a world that is no longer unipolar, but contested, transactional, and opportunity-rich.

NATIONAL INTEREST, NIGERIA FIRST 
Alignment to Nigerian national interest is the guiding rule. For Nigeria, Foreign Policy begins at home. Every treaty, partnership, and diplomatic gesture is measured against one question: does it deliver jobs, infrastructure, security, defence and dignity for Nigerians?

This principle was tested in the enforcement of the One China Policy. When diplomatic lines were blurred, the Ministry acted decisively: relocating trade missions from Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, and reaffirming that Nigeria speaks with one voice.  There is no room for diplomatic blunder in Nigeria. The message is clear: Nigeria will be a partner, not a pawn. Strategic autonomy means clarity of position first, and flexibility in tactics second.

ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION 
AfCFTA + global partnerships like China’s zero-tariff access. Nigeria is done with aid-for-diplomacy. The new model is trade-for-growth. Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria is leveraging two levers simultaneously: 

1. Continental integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area, to build regional value chains. 

2. Global partnerships that open markets. China’s zero-tariff policy for eligible Nigerian exports is a case in point, creating new pathways for agriculture, manufacturing, and solid minerals to reach 1.4 billion consumers.

From the Lagos-Calabar coastal transport system to industrial parks in Ogun and Lekki, Chinese, European, and Gulf investments are being steered toward productive sectors. The goal is not dependency, but diversification: more partners, more markets, more Nigerian-made exports.

SECURITY SOVEREIGNTY
African-led, but open to any partner that delivers results. Nigeria’s security doctrine is rooted in the principle that Africans must lead African solutions. ECOWAS, the AU, and regional counter-terrorism frameworks remain central.

But strategic autonomy also means pragmatism. On terrorism, maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, and cyber threats, Nigeria is open to cooperation with any partner, East or West that brings intelligence, technology, and capacity without conditions that undermine sovereignty. The benchmark is simple: results for Nigerian communities. Partnerships are judged not by ideology, but by impact on the ground.

TECHNOLOGICAL AGENCY 
Build, don’t just buy. Lead in AI and digital infrastructure. The 21st century will be won on data, chips, and talent. Nigeria refuses to be only a consumer. This is the essence of Minister Bosun Tijjani’s reforms in our digital ecosystem.  Through partnerships in 5G, fiber optics, and smart cities, Nigeria is negotiating technology transfer, not just procurement. Engagement with the World Artificial Intelligence Organization and related partnerships signal intent: to move from adoption to authorship.

The aim is to build domestic capacity in AI, fintech, and digital governance, so that Nigerian developers, not just foreign vendors, shape the platforms used daily by 200 million Nigerians. Technological agency is sovereignty in the digital age.

DIPLOMATIC FLEXIBILITY 
Engage all major powers without being locked into one camp. In a multipolar world, alignment is a choice made per issue, not per decade. Nigeria maintains a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China on infrastructure and more. It deepens trade and security ties with the US and EU. It expands South-South cooperation with India, Brazil, and the Gulf. It leads on the continent through AfCFTA and AU reform.

This is not non-alignment. It is multi-alignment: engaging all, belonging to none, and extracting maximum value for Nigeria from each relationship. Strategic autonomy is alignment to Nigerian national interests. Nigeria’s 5 Pillars offer more than a foreign policy. They offer a template for mid-sized and emerging powers navigating great power competition. It is a policy of conviction without rigidity. Of partnership without dependence. Of ambition without illusion.

Nigeria will continue to deepen partnerships that deliver infrastructure, jobs, and technology, but always on Nigerian terms. In 2026, the measure of sovereignty is not who you oppose. It is what you are able to build.

We can no longer afford an economy built only on exporting raw materials to one market and importing finished goods from another. The African Continental Free Trade Area gives us the platform to build regional value chains. At the same time, we must diversify globally. This is why we welcome China’s decision to grant zero-tariff treatment to 53 African countries, while we simultaneously deepen trade with the EU, the US, the Gulf, and our neighbors in ECOWAS. No single partner can meet all our development needs, and we will not be dependent on any one.

The primary duty of any government is the protection of its citizens. That principle must guide our security partnerships. African-led solutions through the AU and ECOWAS remain our first choice. But we will not outsource our judgment. We greatly appreciate the US but if any country says he can help me to wipe out terrorism in Nigeria in the next two weeks, will I say because I’m friend to the US I will not agree? No,”. The safety of Nigerians comes first. Strategic autonomy means we evaluate every security offer by one metric: does it deliver peace, security and stability for our people?

In a multipolar world, we must talk to everyone and be forced to choose no one. This is not duplicity. It is maturity. We have demonstrated this in recent weeks. We condemned Afrophobic attacks in South Africa because the dignity of Nigerians abroad is non-negotiable. We pushed the agenda at the recent ECOWAS Summit in Freetown Sierra Leone where President Tinubu’s voice was clear and unambiguous. At the same time, we are preserving and strengthening the Nigeria-South Africa strategic partnership because both countries benefit from trade, investment, and regional leadership. That is strategic autonomy in practice.

The 4D Agenda meets a fragmenting World
The global shifts make this doctrine necessary today.  Today, we have multipolarity. The unipolar moment has passed. Power is diffused across Washington, Beijing, Brussels, New Delhi, Riyadh, and other capitals. Under President Tinubu’s 4D Foreign Policy Agenda: Demography, Development, Diaspora and Democracy — Nigeria’s diplomacy is calibrated to one question: what does this mean for Nigerian citizens? Ideological blocs are secondary to results.

Africa has 60% of the world’s youngest population. By 2050, one in four people on earth will be African.  Nigeria will be the third most populated country in the world by 2050. We cannot allow our future to be scripted by others. We must define our own development model, centered on jobs, skills, and innovation. In this context, some analysts have described our approach as “pragmatism devoid of doctrine.” I disagree.

“I don’t agree with that kind of characterization. Everything foreign policy is about national interest,”.  What we are doing is giving that age-old principle a modern name and structure. We are drawing from our own history. As one of my lecturers at the University used to say, “ non-alignment is alignment to your national interest.” That remains true. Doctrine without delivery is rhetoric. For strategic autonomy to produce tangible benefits, Africa must take deliberate steps.

We must fully implement AfCFTA to unlock a $3.4 trillion single market. That means reducing tariffs, harmonizing standards, and building cross-border infrastructure. We must invest heavily in energy and infrastructure. No factory runs without power. No trade happens without roads, rail, and ports. Strategic autonomy requires industrial power.

Africa must speak with one voice in global forums — at the UN, G20, and WTO. Africa’s 54 countries carry more weight together than separately. It is time to protect and deepen democratic institutions. Autonomy should never be confused with authoritarianism. The legitimacy of our choices comes from the consent of our people.

Let me be clear. Strategic autonomy is not about turning our backs on partners. It is about choosing partners freely. It is the right to trade with anyone, learn from everyone, and be dominated by no one. The world is fragmenting into blocs. Africa’s best option is not to join a bloc, but to become a bloc ourselves — economically integrated, politically coherent, and diplomatically confident.

Written by Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye,
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Federal Republic of Nigeria

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India’s northeast floods have killed close to 100 people, according to an official toll update on Friday, with villages buried in mud after one of Assam state’s worst deluges in years.

No fewer than 97 people have died in the floods in Assam that have affected nearly 170,000, including thousands who have been forced into temporary shelters as swollen rivers inundate homes and farmland.

Floodwaters have submerged more than 14,000 hectares of cropland, an area almost one-and-a-half times the size of Paris.

AFP confirmed sighting half-submerged houses, uprooted trees and vehicles buried under mud across the worst-hit district of Sivasagar.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted a video on Friday of him consoling the parents of a 13-year-old boy who died while trying to rescue his pet dog from floodwaters.

“No parent should ever have to bid farewell to their child,” he wrote.

India’s Health Minister J.P. Nadda, who visited the flood-hit region on Thursday, said the scale of the devastation was “so huge that it will take time” for normality to be restored.

“Village after village has been submerged,” he told reporters.

Like most of the subcontinent, flooding is common in Assam during the June-September monsoon as the Brahmaputra — India’s biggest river — and its many tributaries overflow.

However, experts say climate change, coupled with poorly planned development, is increasing the frequency, severity and impact of the disasters.

Residents and officials have blamed illegal coal mining in the neighbouring state of Nagaland for worsening the flooding, saying it has affected areas not historically prone to inundation.

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A teenage suspect killed his grandparents before shooting dead at least six more people at a school near Bangkok Friday, police said.

First, he shot dead his grandparents, using his grandfather’s handgun, then went to a secondary school north of Bangkok and killed three teachers and three students, national police said in a statement.

Dozens of police and emergency responders gathered outside the Debsirin Nonthaburi School in Nonthaburi province on Friday, while parents raced to pick up their children and tearful students and staff comforted each other outside.

“I was afraid that I would die, and I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to pursue my dreams,” said Pawarisa Maylissa, a grade 12 student who hopes to attend medical school.

“I heard many gunshots very loudly because it seemed the suspect was on the floor directly above us. I could even hear bullets hitting the floor.”

Fifteen injured students were not struck by gunfire but hurt as they were trying to flee, deputy interior minister Polapee Suwunchwee told local broadcaster Thai PBS.

The shooter was identified as a teenage student of the school and also reported dead, according to local media reports citing authorities.

Some reports said police officers had shot and killed the suspect, while others said he had died by suicide.

“It’s such a terrible incident. It should never have happened. How could this happen in our country?” Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters at Bangkok’s Government House.

Photos published by local media show the suspect wearing a purple school uniform and carrying a black cross-body bag, with several bullet casings visible on the ground.

An AFP journalist saw a dozen mental health workers arrive at the school, where traffic was nearly at a standstill.

Thailand has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the region, with around 10 million firearms estimated to be in circulation — one for every seven inhabitants.

Past promises of tightening gun laws have not prevented repeated shootings.

Thai police shot and arrested a teenager who opened fire at a school in the south of the country in February, killing the principal and wounding two students.

The teen had used a police officer’s weapon in the shooting.

A local police chief said at the time that the suspect was hospitalised for psychiatric treatment in December and had been discharged.

The teen stabbed a police officer with a knife and stole his weapon — a 9mm pistol — just before the incident, and then used it to carry out the attack.

In 2022, an ex-policeman armed with a gun and a knife stormed into a nursery in the country’s north and murdered 24 children and 12 adults, one of Thailand’s deadliest massacres.

AFP