By Olusegun Olanrewaju
Former Nigerian Minister of External Affairs, Bolaji Akinyemi, has urged Nigeria to champion a new world order.

In a statement entitled: ‘On Planning for a New World Order’, Akinyemi, a seasoned professor of International Affairs, urged the nation to table a detailed blueprint on the paradigm of a new world order to enhance participation by the ‘medium-powers’.

According to the minister, who championed the concept of ‘Medium Powers’ to replace the Non-Aligned Movement while in office during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, said, “The characteristics of the new world order are not known.

“What is clear is that there is a scramble by median-income states to secure seats at the table to create a New World Order.

“No one wants to make the mistake of leaving the jigsaw puzzle to the two superpowers of the USA and China, plus a few handpicked European medium-powers and their allies”.

Akinyemi said, “I urge Nigeria to join in the search for a New World Order by becoming an active participant. The view widely held is that Nigeria is not an active participant on the global scene because of a lack of domestic consensus among the domestic Foreign Policy elite.

“I will not subscribe to this. What is lacking is a focussed dialogue by the elite. This is a situation that is easily rectified by a joint conference organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Institute of International Affairs and the office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

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According to him, “Nigeria should initiate consultations with all the countries bordering the South Atlantic Ocean towards establishing the South Atlantic Treaty Organisation to keep away all the superpowers in the New World Order.