By Olukorede Yishau
Nigeria’s United States’ chancery sits pretty on a hill’s crest at 3519 International Court NW in the Cleveland Park neighbourhood of Washington, DC. It represents life in a village, a Nigerian village specifically, with individual buildings built around a central courtyard.
With about 100,000 square feet, it rivals that of China in the diplomatic district. Though construction work on it started in the late 1980s, political instability in Nigeria delayed its completion for some ten years. It was not until 1999 that it got the nod of the National Capital Planning Commission. This was under military Head of State Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar. It was ready under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in early 2002, and was inaugurated on May 5, 2003 by then Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Its beauty caught the attention of the Washington chapter of the American Institute of Architects, which awarded it a 2002 award for excellence in architecture, and featured it on the cover of the Winter 2003 issue of ‘Architecture DC’, the association’s magazine.
Calling the shots at this magnificent chancery is Dr. Uzoma Elizabeth Emenike, who celebrated her first International Women’s Day as ambassador on Tuesday. Dr. Emenike holds the record of being Nigeria’s first female ambassador to God’s own country. Before her, it had been all men affairs.
When the embassy was opened at Independence on October 1, 1960, M. J. Garba was Charge d’Affaires ad interim. By December 15, 1960, Julius Momo Udochi took charge. He gave way to N. Ade Martins on October 18, 1965. By February 28, 1968, Joe Iyalla mounted the saddle, which he yielded to Mr. E.O. Kolade on April 30, 1972.
Kolade gave way to John Mamman Garba on August 10, 1972. By October 30, 1975, Edward Olusola Sanu was in the reins. He handed over to Olujimi Jolaoso on August 11, 1977. And by June 10, 1981, Mr. M. T. Gbashah became the Minister-Counselor Charge d’Affaires ad interim. He was in charge for only twenty days before Chief, Abudu Yesufu Eke replaced him.
Some three years later, in August 13, 1984, Ignatius Chukuemeka Olisemeka took charge and gave way, on May 22, 1987, to Alhaji Hamzat Ahmadu.
The men affairs continued when he was replaced, on May 30, 1991, by Alhaji Zubair Mahmud Kazaure. Kazaure yielded the floor to Alhaji Hassan Adamu on July 26, 1996.
The first person to take charge on return to civil rule was also a man, Jibril Muhamed Aminu. He was appointed on November 29, 1999. It was the turn of another man on May 27, 2004 with the appointment of George Obiozor. Other men who came after Obiozor include Oluwole Rotimi, Ade Adefuye and Sylvanus Nsofor.
When these men were in charge, they were plagued by the regular problems facing Nigeria’s foreign missions, which recently made Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila cry out. At a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, the speaker deplored the foreign missions’ poor funding, filthy environment, poor working conditions and crumbling infrastructure.
Gbajabiamila said: “Even within Africa or outside of Africa, we call people ambassadors. I think the meaning of ambassador is very clear. They are a reflection of Nigeria. But when an ambassador does not have a car or his car is 15 years old, and it breaks down every single time, the car has even broken down with me in it before. And they had to hurriedly roll up the Nigerian flag and put it in their pockets to avoid embarrassment. You go to an embassy, the toilet is not working. You ask them why? They say there is no money. You go into an embassy the air conditioners have packed up. I can go on and on.”
Onyeama didn’t dispute the funding gap. He also could not give bankable commitment that all would be well soon.
Gbajabiamila added that the inadequate funding of the foreign missions had engendered corruption and inefficiency.
Ambassador Emenike encountered challenges while in Ireland as envoy and, as attested to by Nigerians there, she surmounted many of them, a record which recommended her to become our first female ambassador in America. She is tackling challenges in the U.S., and she appears to be winning, but I am afraid her pace would have been faster if all things are equal. One of the areas she is trying to turn things around for good is in the issuance and renewal of passports to Nigerians in America. Going by the words of a Nigerian medical doctor, who lives in DC, things are looking better in this area. The doctor narrated his recent experience with the embassy: “The embassy told me that my new passport will be mailed to my address on November 3. You’d be shocked to know that they missed that timeline by mere one week. The passport was put in the mail on November 10, and it was delivered at my house in three days on November 13 – talk of an efficient postal service. The last time I checked my mailbox was Friday evening and I hadn’t checked my mailbox this morning before going to the embassy. If I had checked my mailbox this morning, I wouldn’t have had to go to the embassy at all. Despite my doubts and skepticism, the Nigeria Embassy, Washington DC, actually delivered this time.”
She is also curbing the activities of fraudsters who are trying to fleece Nigerians in the U.S. via crooked websites promising heaven on earth as far as passport issuance and others are concerned.
Now, no transaction with the embassy can be made in cash. Only electronic transmission of funds is acceptable. All bookings for passport or biometrics appointments are now to be done through the dedicated website. Consular services about shipment of human remains to Nigeria, emergency travel certificate, life attestation, and others, have also been streamlined.
The challenges are many, but surmountable, if the ministry and the Federal Government play their parts. No doubt, Dr. Emenike has what it takes, education and training wise, to deliver the goods. Intentions and preparations alone, however, do not achieve results. That is why the government must give her the funding and other support to bring her Alpha game to bear. She deserves all.
My final take: It is time we enforced the 2022 Appropriations Act which authorises embassies to spend the capital components of their budget without approval from the ministry. And Nigeria must fund the foreign missions abundantly, half measures are not welcome.
* Yishau is a newspaper columnist and author of’In The Name of Our Father’and’Vaults of Secrets‘.