Our missions must not go a borrowing
The September 1, 2025 statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the dire financial state of our foreign missions has just confirmed what Nigerians know of the embarrassing situation we have push ourselves in the eyes of the international community. According to the statement, many of our missions are finding it difficult to meet […]
President Tinubu
The September 1, 2025 statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the dire financial state of our foreign missions has just confirmed what Nigerians know of the embarrassing situation we have push ourselves in the eyes of the international community.
According to the statement, many of our missions are finding it difficult to meet their financial obligations including payment of the salaries of locally recruited staff, financial obligations to service providers, payment of rent to landlords and foreign service allowance of home-based officers.
The statement admitted that the situation had made it difficult for the staff of the various missions to function effectively. The statement failed to point out how much this has damaged the image of the country in the eyes of our hosts given that our embassies should be the first positive reflection of Nigeria. Where visitors to the embassies are confronted with dilapidated infrastructure and shortage of basic operational needs to execute a simple task will certainly leave a negative impression of the country. Added to this is the embarrassment individual staff are subjected to in dealing with landlords or school proprietors.
We commend the ministry for coming out to admit this ugly scenario although this should have been addressed much earlier. Indeed, the situation has been persisting over the years even when successive administrations have continued to claim otherwise.
It is really ironic when successive governments claim to give priority to attracting foreign investments but neglect those who will are charged with the follow up on deals and marketing the country to prospective investors.
It is, therefore, time to change this ugly narrative. Under no circumstances should our diplomats be subjected to this ugly situation. The government must make adequate arrangement to ensure that our foreign missions receive adequate funding to carry out their duties. The current administration has been boasting, in recent times, of meeting its revenue target while our foreign reserves have been rising. Thus there is no reason why our missions should not be receiving their allocation when due.
Perhaps it is time for the government to seriously consider its report on rationalising our foreign missions. Nigeria has a total of 109 missions made up of 76 embassies, 22 High Commissions and 11 Consulates. Given the dynamics of international relations and the cost of maintaining such a huge number, it is time for the government to consider reducing the number. This will not only ensure that our embassies are adequately funded but will also allow for effective utilisation of all resources and monitoring. There are a number of embassies which could either be merged or scrapped because they do offer much to the nation.
Secondly, it is about two years now Nigerian missions have been without representation by Ambassadors. When the President Tinubu administration withdrew all Nigerian Ambassadors and High Commissioners at the country’s foreign missions in October 2023, it was not thought of that Nigerian missions would be without representation at full Ambassadorial for this long. When the situation lingered, many Nigerian foreign policy experts pointed out that for a country embarking on a new direction of economic reforms that required a robust engagement with the world it was imperative that Ambassadors be appointed as soon as possible to carry out this task.
Like other concerned Nigerian institutions, the Daily Trust had previously written on the matter pointing out that the non-appointment of Ambassadors to our foreign missions was robbing the country the opportunity to follow up and secure some of those critical assistance Nigeria requires for its economic and political programmes. We reasoned that no country will take us seriously in this regard, if our representation is only at the level of a Charge d’ Affaires whose authority and influence is severely limited in diplomatic relations.
Although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly assured, as it has done on this occasion, that the situation at the Missions were being looked into, many Nigerians remain skeptical.
We at Daily Trust still call on the President to urgently deploy envoys to our missions. It will not only help in strengthening relations with such countries but will help in furthering the nation’s economic interests around the globe.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must continue to work closely with all relevant ministries and agencies to ensure seamless flow of fund to our missions while putting necessary mechanism that will monitor the utilisation of such fund. We must not allow staff at our embassies to continue to live under pressure of where they will get the next meal.