Poor funding, too many non-career ambassadors weaken Nigeria’s Foreign Service – Fafowora

Poor funding, too many non-career ambassadors weaken Nigeria’s Foreign Service – Fafowora
NAN-H-12
Appointment
By Isaac Aregbesola/Fortune Abang
Abuja, Feb. 21, 2018 (NAN) Amb. Oladapo Fafowora, former Nigeria’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, says poor funding and appointment of non-career ambassadors are major weaknesses of the country’s Foreign Service.
Speaking at the inaugural Foreign Service Lecture in Abuja, Fafowora said that appointment of “too many non-career ambassadors were irritations detrimental to efficiency and professionalism of Nigeria’s Foreign Service.’’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Fafowora spoke on Tuesday at the lecture on Emerging Issues in Nigeria’s Foreign Policy organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He said that while the president was obliged to reflect Federal Character in ambassadorial appointments, such appointments should be based on merit and not merely on political considerations.
“The number of non-career ambassadors being appointed by the president is increasing in recent years and exceeding those of career ambassadors.
“The current ratio is 60 non-career ambassadors to 40 career ambassadors,’’ said Fafowora, who is President, Association of Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN).
He noted that while a few non-career ambassadors have distinguished themselves in their foreign postings, the vast majority lacked the necessary intellectual background, experience, discipline, and character to merit their appointments.
“This hurts our country very badly; it is bad for our international image.
“It is not right that ambassadorial appointments should be handed out as political patronage or in a system of outdoor relief without much discretion or regard for professional standards and competence,” he said
Fafowora noted that long-serving, diligent and deserving career diplomats were being passed over in the appointment of ambassadors because of this obnoxious practice.
According to him, this has led to much frustration among the top diplomats in our Foreign Service, and it undermines its professional competence and efficiency.
“It is also grossly unfair and morally wrong having career Foreign Service officers spend their lives working their way up the ladder only for them to be denied the top job.
“Instead, they end their careers serving as subordinates to non-career ambassadors, who then have to receive their tutelage from the professionals.
“At such diplomatic posts, there is usually a lot of tension between the non-career ambassadors and their professional subordinates. This is detrimental to the efficiency and professionalism of our Foreign Service,’’ Fafowora said.
According to the retired envoy, Nigeria spends far less than even its African neighbours on its Foreign Service on a comparative basis.
“For instance, South Africa, with a third of our GDP, spends three times on its Foreign Service as Nigeria. Even Togo and Benin spend more per capita than Nigeria on their Foreign Service.
“Nigeria spends on the average less than one per cent of its annual budget on its Foreign Service, far below what other countries, including African states, spend on their Foreign Service.
“What Nigeria spends on its Foreign Service is peanuts. In return it gets only peanuts service,” Fafowora said.
He said that poor funding of the Foreign Ministry was largely due to the unplanned growth of Nigeria’s diplomatic missions.
Fafowora then urged the Federal Government to urgently address political intrusion and poor funding of its Foreign Service to regain its lost glory and lustre. (NAN)
FEA/IAA/COF/WOJ
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Edited by Oluyinka Fadare/Wale Ojetimi