The prolonged absence of an accredited diplomat to oversee Nigeria’s affairs in the United States is taking a toll on the relationship between the two countries. It has been 18 months since then outgoing ambassador, Adebowale Adefuye, died unexpectedly in Washington DC. The Buhari administration has not designated a candidate for the position and has not offered reasons for not doing so.
The administration’s inaction and silence have been a source of concern in official Washington since the waning days of the Obama administration; it is becoming more so now in the transitional period of the Trump administration.
On its part, the Nigerian diaspora community has criticized President Muhammadu Buhari for slowness to fill this strategic position.
Sources among Washington insiders reveal that Obama State Department officials may have scaled down interactions with Nigerians as they were putting final touches to their foreign policy legacy. Many of them had a good impression of Ambassador Adefuye, they had a close working relationship with him even when the relationship between Presidents Obama and Jonathan was reportedly cold.
Some of them attended the memorial service for Mr. Adefuye in September 2015 in the hope of continuing the détente with their Nigerian counterparts, they were disappointed by Mr. Buhari’s failure to appoint a new ambassador immediately. Nigeria had a lot of goodwill and diplomatic capital in Washington back then. Some Obama officials felt that the “Nigerians did not leverage their influence in Washington” in the last year of the Obama presidency by failing to accredit a lead diplomat.
Nigeria Ambassador to the U.S, Adebowale Adefuye
Unlike his Nigerian counterpart, the former American president appointed W. Stuart Symington to replace James Entwistle as soon as the latter’s tenure as U.S. ambassador in Abuja ended in July 2016. The American President’s quick action underscored the Buhari administration’s failure to maintain a steady bilateral relationship.
That failure is now having huge consequences for U.S.-Nigeria relations under the Trump administration.
Sources among highly placed Washington insiders say the Buhari administration had a shot at making “a strong, positive impression on the politically inexperienced Trump” but lost it when it did not plant a diplomat to make the rounds on Capitol Hill as the new administration was getting down to business.
-Ladi Olorunyomi I premium Times
