Former Nigerian diplomat, Ambassador Joe Keshi, has warned that while United States President Donald Trump’s leadership has significantly disrupted the global rules-based order, it does not signal the end of multilateralism, insisting that the international system will likely rebalance after Trump’s tenure.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Thursday, Keshi said Trump’s first year in office has unsettled long-standing global norms but should be viewed as a temporary phase rather than a permanent collapse of international cooperation.
“Well, not necessarily the end of the global order to start with. Yes, we do recognise the disruption as the Canadian Prime Minister has said, but I also look back to the fact that about eight years ago, in Trump’s first term, he did things similar to what he’s doing now,” Keshi said.
“The only fundamental difference is that in his first term, he had some adults in the room with him all the time. This time around, those adults have disappeared, and you now have people who simply echo whatever Trump says and articulate it.”
Keshi said the global community would have to endure Trump’s four-year term while hoping for a return to balance in the United States’ foreign policy.
“The truth of the matter is that we have to live through this four-year phenomenon of Trump and hope that America will regain some balance and some rationale at the end of Trump’s tenure,” he said.
“What we have today is a complete disruption of what we used to have over the last couple of years.”
Addressing concerns that Trump’s approach could signal the end of multilateralism—particularly following U.S. withdrawals from or sanctions against global institutions—Keshi dismissed the idea that international organisations would collapse because of American disengagement.
“The fact that one man or one country has pulled out does not necessarily mean the end of an organisation,” he said.
“When he pulled out the last time, China and a couple of other countries stepped in to fill the gap in terms of financing. The world recognises that we need bodies like the World Health Organisation, the World Trade Organisation, and the United Nations.”
Keshi noted what he described as inconsistencies in Trump’s stance toward multilateral institutions.
“The irony is that even when Trump was criticising the United Nations, he still made commitments to work with the General Assembly. You can see the confusion in his mind,” he said.
“This is why I say we cannot do without this whole idea of multilateralism.”
He expressed confidence that the United States would eventually return to the global order it helped create, though trust in American leadership may have been weakened.
“I’m very confident that post-Trump, America will probably return to that order that it helped create,” Keshi said.
“But the world will now be asking itself: can we trust the Americans? Are we sure this is another four years of peace and stability?”
On Trump’s controversial stance on Greenland and the broader question of America’s global moral authority, Keshi said international pressure and market reactions have played a role in moderating the president’s behaviour.
“You have to realise that Trump changed his mind on Greenland for two reasons. One, the stock market went into negative territory when he threatened to use force,” he said.
“As soon as he said he was not going to use force, the stock market began to rebound.”
According to Keshi, world leaders are increasingly adopting a strategy of managing Trump rather than confronting him directly.
“Around the world, leaders are trying to engage him to see whether they can slow him down or manage him, and to some extent, it seems to be working,” he said.
“When Europe threatened retaliatory tariffs, which would have been disastrous for the U.S. because Europe is its largest trading partner, Trump began to slow down.”
Responding to arguments that Trump’s “America First” posture has encouraged other countries to prioritise their national interests, Keshi said the global system itself enabled U.S. dominance over decades.
“Why is Trump disorganising the global system and projecting this image of America First? My argument is very simple: from the 1940s till today, we emboldened and encouraged America to become what it is today,” he said.
“It’s like we created a monster.”
Keshi said the consequences of over-reliance on the United States are now becoming evident, particularly for Africa.
“For more than 70 years, whenever there was a global crisis, we called on America, and America acted on behalf of the world,” he said.
“Today, we are paying the price for not developing our own capacity to protect the global system.”
He lamented the absence of African voices in current global conversations.
“If you look at the discussions about the future of the world today, the African voice is missing, the Nigerian voice is missing,” Keshi said.
“That is because we still do not have the capacity or capability to seriously engage the rest of the world.”
On how Africa should respond to the evolving global order, Keshi stressed the need for self-reliance and resilience.
“Africa needs to build its capacity and capability to stand on its own and do things for itself,” he said.
“When you are not overly dependent on one country or one man for virtually everything, you become resilient.”
He cited cuts to U.S. aid as a wake-up call for African governments.
“Even for something as basic as caring for displaced persons or funding students and agencies, we are now exposed because those supports have been cut,” Keshi said.
“This would not be happening if we had built the necessary capacity ourselves.”
Keshi concluded that recent events have shown the importance of collective strength in global negotiations.
“When Europeans threatened collective sanctions and the markets reacted, Trump changed his mind,” he said.
“The lesson is clear: strength, unity, and capacity matter in this new world order.”
Boluwatife Enome
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