An Open Letter to President Buhari on Nigeria’s Foreign Service Management
By Shuaibu Gara Gombe
AREWA AGENDA – Permit me Mr. President first express my loyalty to you as our duely elected President and Commander in Chief and to reiterate my believe in you as one of the most honest and committed leaders to the Nigerian project.
Due to accessibility concerns, permit me to also use this medium in openly bringing to your attention the state of Nigeria’s Foreign Service Management, an institution which your Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari as a carrier Diplomat and Foreign Affairs Specialist, is a product of.
Mr. President Sir, the Nigerian Foreign Affairs System is gradually and systematically collapsing and this is due largely to damages inflicted on the institution during the tenure of the immediate past Permanent Secretary of the Ministry (MUSTAPHA) who has caused unimaginable harm to Nigeria’s Foreign mission.
Many issues in the Ministry requires your urgent attention, however, the most urgent which is threatening to bring down the entire foreign service to it’s knees and completely destroy the country’s foreign image abroad is the issue of Ambassadorial Postings.
For more than a year, career Ambassadors have been screened, but were not posted. Similarly the Political Ambassadors were also screened more than three months ago, but no posting.
Aa a result, most of our Embassies abroad were left in the hands of Gate Keepers who are only there to oversee the missions. A charge for Affairs has a limit he or she can exercise authority, hence many issues are left unattended to in the Embassies without attention because some of them need a substantive Ambassador to handle.
Sir, when you issue a letter of Credence to An Ambassador, it is your authority as President of Nigeria, you are ceding temporarily to the designated Ambassador who in turn, exercises that authority in his host country or territory. Unfortunately, the posting of Ambassadors is highly politiced in Nigeria and one cannot but wonder why?
Read Also:
Sir, information available revealed that the National Intelligence Agency, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs have all finished their job on postings as required by duty and have made recommendations for your approval, but politics and God fatherism has taken over, that is why the Ambassadors are still around in Nigeria.
There are strong allegations that some people close to you are changing the postings and some Ambassadors designate paid as much as 100,000 Dollars for their posting to be changed or to get a lucrative posting. Also it was alledged that the list was taken to London three times and a woman in the Villa has stopped the posting from going to you for approval.
Why do we allow pettiness, ego, personal ambition between someone in London and a woman in Abuja destroy your administration? Why? What is the Chief of Staff doing?
Mr. President. What is going on? We are here during the COVID 19 Lockdown about Seven Ambassadors from other countries submitted their letters of Credence to you. What then is the excuse that after one year our Embassies have no Ambassadors?
One of the greatest disservice done to our Foreign Service was the extention of the tenure of some Ambassadors last year and even that of the last Permanent Secretary (Mustapha) who was so incompetent and had caused so much havoc in the Ministry.
Sir I know what I am talking about. Why are we reducing the postings of Ambassadors like the posting of NYSC?
The present Minister of Foreign Affairs is seen to be late Abba Kyari’s bossom friend. So some people who were disagreeing with Abba KYARI when he was alive are now transferring that quarrel to Onyeama and this is affecting Governance.
It is therefore my humble submission Mr. President that you:
1. Order all Ambassadors to leave for their respective posts immediately.
2. Order for a total overhaul of the Foreign Service structure to restore subordination, dicipline, loyalty and professionalism.
3. Give an unrestricted and direct access to your Minister of Foregn Affairs as it is now I understand he is finding it difficult.
Thank you. Mr. President. This is written without prejudice.
Shuaibu Gara Gombe, writes from Abuja
Arewa Agenda is a Publication of young writers from Northern Nigeria towards Peaceful Coexistence and National Development through positive narratives
