… says Nigeria won’t be pressured into aligning with global powers
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has assured that the country’s embassies across the world remain fully operational despite the absence of substantive ambassadors, insisting that there is no vacuum in the nation’s diplomatic missions.
Tuggar, who spoke while delivering a guest lecture at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos, over the weekend, stressed that chargé d’affaires and other career diplomats are effectively carrying out responsibilities and maintaining Nigeria’s global presence.
“All our embassies are functioning well. The chargé d’affaires in each mission is carrying out responsibilities effectively. The absence of ambassadors has not created a vacuum,” the minister said in a statement issued by the Ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa.
He explained that while ambassadors serve as heads of mission, the diplomatic structure provides for deputies, counsellors and officers to handle daily operations. “Diplomacy is not a one-man show. The system is designed to cope with such situations,” Tuggar added, noting that the appointment of ambassadors remains the exclusive prerogative of the President.
The minister also used the occasion to reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to an independent foreign policy, declaring that the country will not be pressured into aligning with global powers or entangling alliances. He said the guiding pillars of Nigeria’s foreign policy in the 21st century must remain democracy, demography, development and diaspora.
Tuggar warned against repeating mistakes of the past, recalling how economic “bandwagoning” led to the adoption of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). “Our idea is to avoid the booby trap of entangling alliances or ideological over-alignment, but rather to focus on issue-based relationships and partnerships of purpose,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria’s large population, internal market and size provide unique leverage in navigating a shifting global order.