0:08 Since the nomination of ambassador
0:10 designates, concerns have arisen over
0:13 the acceptance by host countries due to
0:15 time constraints on their tenure.
0:17 Highranking officials in the presidency
0:19 and the foreign service disclosed that
0:21 the ministry of foreign affairs was
0:23 grappling with the challenge of securing
0:26 Agrammon the formal consent of receiving
0:29 states for the nominees. According to
0:31 them, several countries may insist that
0:34 ambassadors have a minimum tenure period
0:36 of a year or two tied to the life of the
0:39 sending country's administration. With
0:41 the next presidential election scheduled
0:44 for February 2027 and Tinubu's first
0:47 tenure set to conclude in May that year,
0:49 the officials expressed concerns that
0:51 host countries may be reluctant to
0:54 accept many of the envoys for now.
0:56 joining us on the show to discuss the
0:58 possible reason for non-posting of
1:00 ambassadors designate to their
1:02 respective countries and how this is
1:04 affecting Nigeria's relations with
1:07 foreign countries is Dr. Kun Fagi a
1:09 political scientist good morning Dr.
1:11 Fagami, you're most welcome to the
1:17 >> Good morning. Ha. Thank you very much
1:19 for having me. And you got very good
1:21 African braids on.
1:29 >> You have to start on
1:32 any quickly to the point now. Isn't the
1:35 problem that we're facing now
1:37 foreseeable and avoidable
1:41 with the posting of ambassador decimate
1:44 uh in the sense that any elementary
1:46 student of diplomacy we know that it's
1:50 not automatic that you just send uh the
1:52 name of an ambassador and then the
1:54 person will be accepted and in any case
1:57 an agreement can take months
2:00 sometimes even one year and that the
2:03 receiving host country may even say no.
2:08 So where does this leave our designated
2:12 ambassadors uh who may not even go for
2:15 any posting till uh till the end of this
2:22 >> Yeah. Thank you very much Dr. Abati for
2:24 having me and asking this question the
2:27 way you've just done. Interestingly,
2:29 it's a confirmation of the challenges
2:31 that we have been facing with the incumbent
2:33 incumbent
2:36 APCled administration under President
2:40 Balahmed Tinumbu. They are operating a
2:44 very dysfunctional presidency and
2:47 diplomatic service. Like you rightly
2:50 said, every elementary student of
2:53 diplomatic practice or diplomacy of
2:56 foreign affairs understands that the
2:58 Vienna Convention
3:02 is very explicit on what ought to be.
3:04 Article three talks about the fact that
3:06 you should have a mission. Article four
3:08 talks about the agri board that we are
3:10 all making reference to which
3:13 automatically means that if you have a
3:16 mission in any country you want to
3:19 maintain the operations of that mission
3:22 at the highest level possible for
3:26 correct interface. So when in September
3:29 2023, President Tinumbu decided to
3:33 recall all these ambassadors back, if a
3:36 number of the officials in the Ministry
3:40 of Foreign Affairs were very conversant
3:42 with the provisions of the Vienna
3:45 Convention on Diplomatic Relations and
3:47 some of the protocol instruments there
3:49 from and there to. They would have
3:52 understood that you must make sure that
3:57 within the maximum of 90 days you need
4:00 to have appointed another ambassador as
4:04 it were and or appoint a special envoy
4:07 that will cover the jurisdiction.
4:10 Unfortunately, all of us are very aware
4:13 of the facts in public domain. Nothing
4:17 was done between September 2023 and
4:19 until Q3
4:23 of 2025 when we now started having a
4:27 list of first four names and then you
4:30 now had another additional list that was
4:33 sent to the national assembly. If that
4:36 is the case, it means that we are having
4:39 challenges of institutional memory and
4:41 continuity of governance services
4:44 delivery. Diplomatic practice and
4:47 foreign affairs matters are deep state
4:50 craft issues. And when you are handling
4:52 state craft issues, you understand that
4:55 the appointment of ambassadors because
4:57 you know that article 4 of the Vienna
5:00 convention talks about the agree. A
5:02 number of the issues would have been
5:05 done at back channels and behind the
5:07 scene that by the time you are even
5:10 mentioning a particular name that name
5:14 is as good as already adopted and by all
5:16 the stakeholders everybody is going to
5:19 be working towards achieving that. So if
5:22 you have a dysfunctional precedency like
5:25 we have currently that issues statement
5:27 without thinking take for instance in
5:31 the last 40 hours the certain bayona
5:34 issued a statement concerning Nigeria UK
5:37 relations and making reference to the
5:40 fact that 37 year had passed before
5:43 Nigeria is initiating another state
5:47 visit. Meanwhile, in 2003, the Queen of
5:49 England came to Nigeria and we've had
5:52 series of interfaces which were supposed
5:55 to have been referenced by him to prove
5:58 to the fact that we are maintaining a
6:00 very robust relationship with the United
6:04 Kingdom. So we have entered a one chance
6:06 bus as it were and it is unfortunate
6:09 that these ambassadors designate are
6:12 going to be on the receiving end of a
6:15 wrong stick. Mindful of the fact that it
6:18 is clearly understood that you cannot operate
6:19 operate
6:22 a situation where you do not have your
6:26 embassy properly managed for over 18
6:29 months like we have done 24 months plus
6:32 and going and you now expect a country
6:34 to jump at it when you did not send
6:37 special invoice when you did not
6:39 maintain the highest kind of
6:42 relationship that is clear that you are
6:44 holding this other countries in high
6:46 esteem and regards. For example, you
6:49 know it and it was in public domain that
6:50 South Africa and Nigeria had a brick
6:54 bath over payment of utility bills. It
6:56 means that we really have a lot of
6:59 rejiggling of the foreign affairs
7:01 ministry and the presidency, the state
7:03 chief of protocols, the director of
7:05 protocols who are supposed to be
7:08 diplomats in their own right or to awake
7:11 and arise to be doing their normal de.
7:13 >> All right. So this is where we find
7:16 ourselves. This is the situation we find
7:18 ourselves as a nation. Now, however, you
7:20 would agree that we still need to
7:23 maintain diplomatic relationships and uh
7:26 at at critical points like this, we're
7:27 looking at key countries like the United
7:29 States of America, we're looking at the
7:31 United Kingdom, we're looking at uh the
7:34 United Nations. What can we do in the
7:37 interim or how can we continue to um
7:40 pursue uh cordial cordiality between
7:41 these nations, ourselves and these
7:44 nations whilst pursu sorting out these
7:47 ambassadors um you know designate postings.
7:53 The right way to go is for the incumbent
7:56 president, commanderin-chief
8:00 uh to appoint special envoys who are
8:02 very familiar with each of those
8:06 jurisdictions like you have now they
8:08 cluster them in terms of regions. North
8:11 America there must be one or two experts
8:14 that are already familiar and these are
8:16 the people that will broker all this.
8:19 The number two is for us to understand
8:24 that it needs a shared vision with the
8:26 political elite of the Nigerian state
8:29 because no country of the world wants to
8:33 operate with uncertainty. It means that
8:35 what some of us have always said before
8:37 now that the incumbent president needs
8:41 to reach out to the opposition political
8:44 parties and build consensus on this
8:46 matter going forward. There is going to
8:50 be a need for the president to convene a
8:54 meeting of interparty and major
8:56 political stakeholders to understand
8:58 that on this subject matter of foreign
9:00 relationships, management, diplomatic
9:04 practice, we will need to maintain this
9:06 and then they will now agree that we are
9:08 going to convince the international
9:11 community that each of these ambassadors
9:14 designate that do succeed in getting
9:18 agree more will serve a minimum of 24 to
9:21 30 months. If that is coming as a
9:24 positive signal from the Nigerian
9:26 political elite that are likely to
9:29 succeed should he not win uh the 2027
9:31 election so that they will know that
9:34 they have a continuity. They're going to
9:36 have a stability. They don't want a
9:38 situation where somebody will come in.
9:41 For example, let us assume without
9:44 conceding that they agree more for any
9:48 of the three uh ambassadors designates
9:52 that are available is issued and they
9:54 were able to report at their duty post
9:57 by March one. It does not translate to
10:00 the presentation of their letters of
10:02 credence to the sovereign of those
10:04 countries immediately. And if you are
10:08 talking of March 2026
10:12 to May 2027 and another president comes
10:15 in and he summarily uh uh recalls them
10:18 back home. But if the political class in
10:21 the Nigerian state have agreed that okay
10:24 whichever case may be we are going to
10:27 retain this set of ambassadors and that
10:29 means that there is going to be a
10:32 rethinking on those who have been
10:35 designated as ambassador designates. The
10:37 only ones that will find it a lot easier
10:40 are the career diplomats. And this is
10:43 where I was hoping that Mr. President,
10:46 commanderin-chief and the entire cabinet
10:48 would have been mindful of the fact that
10:50 those of us who speak as public
10:52 intellectuals and do contribute. We do
10:55 not hate them. We are just being
10:57 patriots. We are just excited about
11:00 bringing solutions that they are not
11:02 thinking about. If they've done all this
11:04 and they can do some of these things,
11:07 get special envoys per region for
11:10 Europe, a special envoy that will break
11:13 all these things and then convene the
11:16 meeting of the political elite elite
11:19 political elite consensus that the
11:21 ambassadors that are going to go on duty
11:24 post this time around will serve for a
11:27 definitive period. So that even if the
11:30 incumbent president is not coming back,
11:32 they are sure that they would have this
11:34 opportunity of serving for this x number
11:38 of time because there's a shared vision.
11:41 The question I would like to ask is
11:43 didn't the government know that there
11:45 was going to be a case of agree more
11:48 agree more when they decided to name
11:50 these ambassadors at this point in time.
11:53 I mean is it that we don't have people
11:56 that think amongst you know them that
11:59 much you know or does that scenario plan
12:02 because all of this is another level of
12:12 Rafi my brother you are a very good
12:14 brother and you're always helping me out
12:17 to think openly
12:22 painfully we have a system populated by
12:26 actors who had no business coming to
12:29 government. And if they must come into
12:31 government, they need to understand that
12:34 they are dealing with state craft. State
12:37 craft is completely different from any
12:40 form of grandstanding. I've just told
12:42 you the language used by a number of
12:46 them in communicating lacks the decency
12:51 and the panach of somebody who is nuance
12:53 in state craft.
12:57 Two, you have a situation where you have
13:00 people that are struggling
13:04 to validate the incumbent at all costs
13:07 and as such are not ready to read. And
13:10 if they do read, what are they reading?
13:13 I just told you about the Vienna
13:17 Convention which is 1961. But there are
13:19 many instruments and protocols
13:22 thereafter that already tells you that
13:25 you cannot have an embassy in any
13:27 country and you do not have an
13:32 ambassador for more than 90 days. These
13:35 are things that if they had the correct
13:38 set of people around them and if they do
13:42 not have and they do consult the correct
13:45 nuanced and enlightened people around
13:47 them, they will not be having these
13:50 issues. You cannot have removed and
13:53 recalled ambassadors September 2023 and
13:56 you've done nothing. And you expect
13:58 those host countries to be clapping for
14:01 you and to be doing makosa dance. No,
14:03 they will react. And that is what is
14:06 happening now. And mind you, when some
14:09 of those names were mentioned, the
14:13 Nigerian populace citizens complained
14:15 about some of them. And unfortunately,
14:19 the Apabio rubber stamp senate allowed
14:21 some of those names to go through. They
14:24 are watching and they are going to react
14:26 at this level and that is what they are doing.
14:26 doing.
14:29 >> Okay. Doctor, now Dr. of fab I mean you
14:31 are so optimistic that we can achieve
14:34 the objective of an elite political
14:37 consensus I don't think such a thing
14:39 exists because the list that you've been
14:41 referring to most of those people they
14:44 are just persons who have been rewarded
14:47 for you know electoral activities for
14:50 helping the party in power uh to come to
14:52 power. So if another government comes
14:55 in, he will have his own different plans
14:57 and another set of uh you know looking
15:00 for patronage and then of course people
15:02 who are career diplomats some of them
15:05 may have even entered into retirement
15:08 phase and you know they will no longer
15:10 be in service. However, what will be
15:13 your advice uh to the persons on the
15:15 list at the moment? Uh some of them have
15:18 had Thanksgiving parties. Uh should they
15:21 should they just go home and and and not
15:24 be too optimistic or will you if the
15:26 Tobu government comes back say well the
15:29 same list should be sent uh out again
15:32 for confirmation or maybe another list
15:35 should be uh provided
15:37 and early enough you know to address the
15:43 issue of ambassador so that for them
15:51 Already they already the ambassadors
15:53 designate that one cannot be taken away
15:57 from them. But they are not going to be
16:00 able to serve until an agree more is
16:04 presented and consumated and then even
16:06 when they get the agree and they leave
16:10 the shores of the Nigerian state, they
16:12 will have to wait until they present
16:15 their letters of credence. meaning that
16:17 even when they in that country they
16:19 cannot function until their letters of
16:22 credences are presented. They can only
16:24 do administrative
16:27 issues within the embassy but not
16:30 interfacing and constructively engaging
16:33 their host countries. So that is why I
16:36 said we will need this elite consensus.
16:39 The ambassadors designate particularly
16:42 the non-career political actor
16:46 ambassador designates must become aware
16:48 of the fact that becoming an ambassador
16:52 is based on national interest.
16:54 To go serve your fatherland as an
16:57 ambassador, you no longer have personal
16:58 interest. It must be the national
17:01 interest. You must be well attuned to
17:04 the fact that national interest is not
17:06 even the interest of the incumbent
17:09 president commanderin-chief. And if it
17:14 is clear to you and they arrive at an
17:16 elite consensus that the international
17:20 community is aware of because you I can
17:22 bet you already it is clear that these
17:24 are the individuals that are not likely
17:26 to scale through. If these ones are
17:27 going to scale through and the ones that
17:30 won't have too much problem are going to
17:33 be the ambassador designates that are
17:36 career and those ones too like you've
17:38 rightly pointed out some of them are
17:41 going to be due for retirement uh very
17:44 soon. So a number of these issues but
17:46 the first thing the first thing that he
17:49 needs to do as president is to appoint
17:52 special envoys to accelerate our
17:54 interface and constructive engagement
17:57 with Europe with North America with Asia
17:59 and things like that and those ones are
18:02 usually are very interesting to do. I
18:03 want to thank you.
18:05 >> Thank you so much Dr. Pagi appoint
18:08 special envoys um as you've uh
18:10 recommended this morning to the president.
