The new list of ambassadors parades several names. - Nigerian Movies & Nollywood on Naijarules.com

obude · #1 (**permalink**) 09-30-2007, 04:14 PM

But as Joseph Ushigiale reports, it’s not hard to discern its character

The controversy is raging and would not abate until the senate concludes its task of screening ambassadorial nominees pending before it. In the same manner the ministerial list took several months before publication, President Umaru Yar’Adua, during the week, released a list of 62 ambassadorial nominees to the senate for screening.

In an approach that suggests that nothing has changed, the list is again a replication of 42 individuals who represent a re-cycling of politicians many of whose achievement is managing to be at the right place at the right time and a sprinkling of 20 career diplomats whose training is specifically to represent the country abroad.

In a covering letter containing the list that was forwarded to the senate, President Yar' Adua said the appointment of the nominees was in accordance with section 171(c) sub-section 4 of the 1999 constitution and expressed the hope that the Senate would approve their appointment expeditiously.

The list of ambassadorial nominees forwarded by Yar’Adua included: 42 politicians and 20 career diplomats with National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ahmadu Ali, topping the list and followed by presidential aspirant on the platform of the PDP at the party’s last primary elections, General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), former Senate leader, Dr. Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, and former minister Professor Iorwuese Hagher.

There is also the defeated governorship candidate of PDP in Lagos State, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Joy Ogwu, and former ECOMOG Commander, Major-General Timothy Shelpidi (rtd.).

The list also comprised the following political nominees: Chief Empire Kanu (Abia), Chief (Dr.) Etim U. Uye (Akwa Ibom) Hon. Jerry Ugokwe (Anambra), Dr. Aisha Laraba Abdulahi (Bauchi), Senator Felix Oboro (Bayelsa), Barrister Obed Wadzani (Borno), Chief Soni Abang (Cross River), Chief Godson Echegile (Delta) and Chief Polycarp Nwite (Ebonyi).

There are also Barr. Toye Olofintuyi (Ekiti), former Minister of Aviation, Chief Kema Chikwe, (Imo ), Mr. Godwin Nsude Agbo (Enugu), Alhaji Ahmed Abdullamid Malam (Jigawa), former Senate Leader, Senator Dalhatu Tafida (Kaduna) and former Kano State Governor, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano).

Alhaji Abdulahi Garba Aminch (Katsina), Alhaji Isah Aliyu Muhammed (Kebbi), Brig. Gen. Yusuf Abubakar (RTD) (Kogi), Dr. (Mrs.)Nimota Niniola Akanbi (Kwara), Senator Umaru Azores Suleiman(Nasarawa), Dr. Ishaya Majanbu (Niger), Chief Mrs Folake Marcus Bello (Ogun), Prof. Olu Agbi (Ondo), Senator Segun Bamigbetan Baju (Osun) and Amb. Peter Layi Oyedele (Oyo).

Others are Barr. Ibrahim Pada Kasai (Plateau), Hon. Desmond Akawor (Rivers), Senator Abdulahi Muhammed Wali (Sokoto), Hon. Musa John (Taraba), Ibrahim Buba Mai Sule (Yobe), Alhaji Bashir Yuguda (Zamfara), Esther John Audu (FCT), Brig. Gen Oluwole Rotimi (Ogun) (rtd), Alhaji Abubakar Cika (Sokoto) and Hon. Fidel Ayogu (Enugu State)

The career nominees between the rankings of grade levels 15 and 17 are: Mr; C. W. Winge (Abia), Ms.Asalina R. Mamuno (Adamawa) Mr. B.U. Eyo (Akwa Ibom) Mr. G.B Igali (Bayelsa), Mr. G.O Adamah (Benue) Mr. M.B Egbe (Cross River), Mr. A.B Gwari (Yobe), Mr. S.M. Pissagih (Gombe), Mr. S.L Mohammed (Jigawa)and Mr. T.Y. Zaria (Kaduna).

Also included on the career diplomat list are: Mr. R.B. Onemola (Kogi), Mr. A.A. Omaki (Nasarawa), Mr. E.A. Adigun (Ondo), Mr. G.H.Bristol (Rivers), Mr. J. Y. Hassan (Taraba), Mr. A.G Bala (Zamfara), Mr. M.A Mba (Ebonyi), Mr. C.L. Laseinde (Osun), Mr. P.A. Dauda (Kaduna), Prince Eheneden Erediauwa (Edo) and Mr. B.G Wakil, mni (Borno).

At the moment, the senate president, Senator David Mark has announced that the senate committee for foreign affairs would carry out the screening exercise in camera and inform the public of its outcome later.

However as soon as the list was made public by the presidency, there arose quite a lot interesting arguments centering round the rationale behind leveraging more on politicians over career diplomats, credibility of the nominees, the decision by the senate to adopt an in-camera screening process and the future of the country’s foreign policy direction.

What is New?

Those who favour this argument believe that although it is conceivable to nominate politicians such politicians turn diplomats must be those with proven record of performance and not the current patronizing crop of nominees whose basic qualification anchored on their failed attempts at either the presidency or governorship elections in the last elections.

What this means is that, the list of ambassadorial nominees made public by the present administration is simply a reward to political cronies, patronage to godfathers of political parties and handout to political jobbers and hangers-on who may hardly be in a position to represent the country creditably abroad.

They argue that if the administration is serious with improving the country’s image abroad, strengthen economic ties and attract foreign direct investments from abroad; it must ensure that ambassadorial nominations are depoliticized.

At a time the country’s embassies abroad are accused of insensitivity and slow response to the plight of Nigerians abroad, how would an ambassador, who sees his appointment as another round of come and chop, change this trend and be more pragmatic, proactive and responsive to the country’s foreign policy?

Perhaps more worrisome is the long term negative effect or irreparable damage that exporting uncouth diplomats to foreign countries would cost the country. Among the list announced so far, is there any nominee that can rank alongside ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair who is now UN representative to the Middle East in terms of ideas, exposure and brilliance?

If the administration was guided by history in these latest nominations, it would have been instructive to borrow from the country’s experience during the failed attempt to get ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo as the Secretary General of the United Nations.

What were Obasanjo’s democratic credentials against other strong candidates? He flaunted nothing other than the fact that he had successfully handed power as military head of state to a democratically elected government in 1979. To Nigeria, it was an unassailable record, but on the international sphere, it was only an Africa or Nigeria standard and failed short of democratic best practices. At the end, Ghanaian Kofi Annan, with a track record in international diplomacy floored Obasanjo.

Where Are the Eggheads?

Those calling for a shift from the routine appointment of just any politician as a diplomat point at the need for a general shift in all ramifications. This group point at Yar’Adua as an example of the new thinking that the country needs an injection of young, energetic and fresh individuals to redirect the country. Many believe that Yar’Adua should lead the way in charting a deliberation generational shift course to broaden the restrictive horizon and give more Nigerians the opportunities to serve.

With an estimated population of about 140m people, it is argued that the country has huge human resources from which the leadership can easily chose from. And these people can be found in the political arena, organized private sector, academia, labour and even in the medical profession to stem the circle of recyclement of old and tired individuals who have remained corridors of power for over 30 years.

The Case Against Career Diplomats

One area where opposition to the nomination of politicians as ambassadors has been rife is in the foreign affairs ministry. The career diplomats believe that the ministry and its officials should be given unchallenged run in the nominations, this may be correct. However, recent audits conducted by the federal government into how some of the embassies have conducted their affairs have revealed damning results.

It was disclosed that the audits revealed that some embassies misapplied funds allocated to them; others had huge cache of unutilized funds and were not responsive to the plight of Nigerians in The Diaspora. A case in point is that recent killing of a Nigerian in Spain by that country’s immigration officials without any meaningful intervention from the Nigerian embassy from the time the Nigerian was arrested to the point of deportation. Many believed that, had the embassy intervened in good time, the live of the deceased would have been saved.

On the other hand, fresh facts have emerged to indicate that there is an unequal spread of career diplomats in the foreign affairs ministry. Those in the know argue that those clamouring for more career diplomats slots are self serving as the number of career diplomats tilts favourably towards some states or geo-political zones.

The argument is that should the administration decide to limit such appointments to career diplomats, it would be at the expense of some states, which have no career diplomats and would not be represented with the result that the exercise would also fall short of reflecting federal character as provided for in the 1999 Constitution.

Tasking the Senate

It was Mallam Nasir El-Rufai who first blew the whistle accusing former deputy senate president, Senator Ibrahim Mantu of soliciting for gratifications from him before he would be screened as a minister.

Although Mantu and his co-accusers denied the allegation, all eyes have been on the senate’s activities since then and the upper house had put in place some checks through live telecast of some major deliberations to restore integrity and restored public confidence in its legislation.

Which is why, the recent announcement by the senate president that screening of the ambassadorial nominees would be held in camera because of paucity of funds is generating a lot of interest. Although he said the recorded version of the screening exercise would be aired afterwards, some members of the public are skeptical of the present arrangement and are already reading meaning beyond the paucity of funds.

Given these levels of suspicion and doubts, many believe that to restore public confidence in the exercise, it is only proper for the senate to give to any length to ensure that the public gets an accurate blow by blow account of the screening process.

Apart from that, should the senate go ahead with its decision to screen the nominees in camera, it is reasoned that it would have shielded the nominees from public scrutiny to ascertain their eligibility for such a high profile calling. Those favourably disposed to live coverage of the screening exercise as was done during the third term debate argue that it would the public the opportunities of finding out how versed a nominee is both in his field of study and the task that lies ahead of him and assuage the palpable feeling of ineptitude and eventual failure.

Another issue is the inability of the administration to designate each nominee to a particular country of posting. In the same way the list of ministerial nominees was sent without designate portfolio, those within the diplomatic circles argue that effecting such a radical approach would have made the senate’s job easier and streamlined its screening exercise to some key areas.

As the senate commences its screening exercise, there are fears that it would adopt its traditional approach and unsavoury path of asking some nominees to take a bow and leave the stage as was done in some cases during the ministerial screening exercise. Therefore, the onus lies now on the senate to restore confidence in the public by not only finding ways of screening the ambassadorial nominees in public, but also carry out a thorough screening exercise irrespective of the nominees’ present or previous standing in the society or government.

obude · #2 (**permalink**) 09-30-2007, 04:26 PM

Until Yar’Adua announced his list of ambassadorial nominees, public expectations were high and suggestive that the administration would establish a clean break from the past and come up with a list of ambassadorial nominees that would comprise fresh blood and establish a new generation of diplomats with ideas, who have the requisite qualifications and are capable of matching the global and whose thinking is in sync with the universal trend.

Regrettably, the hoopla so far generated suggests clearly that the list of nominees has perhaps fallen short of these huge expectations. At issue is the administration’s choice of building a corps of diplomats from largely a political front rather than favouring career diplomats. The argument is that as Nigeria meets the world, and for the country to be taken seriously, it must package and present a first rated team of world beaters and unleash them to the international community.