Nigeria Without Ambassadors: A Silent Crisis in Tinubu’s Foreign Policy Vision

 

                  Political Panorama Issue No 17

Ambassador Yussuf Tuggar
Minister of Foreign Affairs

Diplomacy on Mute

When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn into office on May 29, 2023, expectations were high that Nigeria's long-diminished foreign policy presence would be revived. His slogan, “Renewed Hope,” promised to reposition Nigeria as a diplomatic giant in Africa and an articulate voice in the Global South. But as we clock two full years into his administration, one fact stands glaring: Nigeria has no officially appointed ambassadors in most of its foreign missions.

Nigeria - Africa’s most populous country and its largest economy has failed to appoint substantive ambassadors to many of its foreign missions. What began as a routine diplomatic recall in 2023 has since morphed into a prolonged and damaging silence.

In an interconnected world where global representation is vital to national interest, Nigeria’s diplomatic absence is not merely symbolic. It is a strategic self-sabotage.

From key embassies in North America and Europe to consulates in Asia and Africa, foreign missions that once served as Nigeria’s outposts for trade, investment, security, and citizen welfare are now operating like headless bodies. Staff morale is low. Operations are slow. Visibility is invisible.

This is more than an administrative oversight. It is a quiet crisis of governance, one that imperils our national image, endangers our citizens abroad, and signals confusion at the highest levels of foreign policy planning.

A Symbolic Absence, A Practical Vacuum

Nigeria’s failure to appoint ambassadors is not just a bureaucratic delay. It is a political message. In global diplomacy, the absence of an ambassador signals a diminished relationship. It tells host countries that Nigeria either lacks interest or capacity, or both. As former U.S. diplomat John Campbell warned, “Nigeria’s diplomatic credibility is weakened when missions are underrepresented” (Council on Foreign Relations, 2023).

In major capitals like Washington, London, and Beijing where high-level lobbying, economic negotiations, and diaspora diplomacy are essential, the absence of presidentially appointed ambassadors leaves Nigeria at a strategic disadvantage. With ECOWAS under pressure, BRICS expanding its influence, and continental blocs negotiating trade and security frameworks, Nigeria is missing from key tables

Tinubu’s Foreign Policy: Strategy or Stagnation?

Tinubu has shown flashes of international ambition. He has visited the U.S., France, Saudi Arabia, and other countries, often with rhetoric about attracting investment and leading African integration. But diplomacy is not conducted at presidential summits alone. It is built through day-to-day negotiations, cultural exchanges, and behind-the-scenes manoeuvres most of which are the purview of ambassadors.

By neglecting ambassadorial appointments, the Tinubu administration undermines its own foreign policy machinery. While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that security vetting and financial constraints delayed the process (CNBC Africa, 2025), these reasons wear thin in the face of prolonged inaction. Other African countries, facing equal or greater fiscal constraints, have managed to appoint and deploy envoys.

Background: When the Silence Began

In September 2023, the Federal Government recalled all Nigerian ambassadors worldwide, career and non-career alike. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, this was to enable a comprehensive performance review and restructuring.

While such recalls are not uncommon, what is highly unusual is that no replacements have been named nearly two years later. No Senate screening has been conducted. No formal postings announced. No explanation has sufficed.

The official excuse of “financial constraints” is unconvincing. Nigeria budgeted ₦302 billion for foreign missions in the 2024 appropriation bill. How, then, does one explain the paralysis?

 Embassies in Limbo: Scenes from a Nation Adrift

In Ottawa, a once-busy Nigerian High Commission now operates without a substantive envoy. Diplomats act without clear authority. Strategic initiatives, diaspora engagement, and investor follow-ups are stalled.

In Nairobi, Lagos-born tech entrepreneur Tunde Odia recounted his frustrations: “I met the Rwandan ambassador three times in a month. I couldn’t meet mine. Nigeria’s mission had no ambassador and no answers.”

In Cairo, a Nigerian student detained during a protest in early 2025 spent three nights in custody before consular staff could secure his release because there was no ambassador to escalate the matter through official diplomatic channels.

These stories are not outliers. They are the norm.

Embassies are not mere offices. They are the face, voice, and shield of the Nigerian state. Without ambassadors, they become little more than ghost ships adrift, demoralized, and diplomatically dumb.

The Cost of Absence: Risks and Repercussions

Nigeria’s prolonged diplomatic vacuum carries consequences that extend far beyond foreign ministry spreadsheets. These costs are strategic, economic, and human.

1.     Strategic Marginalization

Nigeria's absence at key diplomatic levels weakens its influence in multilateral bodies such as ECOWAS, the African Union, and the United Nations. Who represents Nigeria’s nuanced position on the Sahel withdrawal from ECOWAS? Who lobbies for our developmental interests in Brussels or Geneva?

2.     Diaspora Disillusionment

The Nigerian diaspora over 15 million strong is not only a soft-power asset but a remittance engine, contributing over $20 billion annually to our economy. Yet in times of crisis or opportunity, they often find themselves abandoned by a diplomatic system that lacks leadership.

3.     Economic Stagnation

Diplomacy fuels trade and investment. Without ambassadors to lead economic missions, negotiate bilateral agreements, and attend high-level forums, Nigeria is forfeiting millions in foreign direct investment and strategic partnerships.

4.     Institutional Demoralization

Dozens of career ambassadors trained, tested, waiting and languishing in bureaucratic limbo in Abuja. They are ready to serve, yet remain sidelined due to unclear political calculations. It is not only wasteful; it is dehumanizing.

Why Has This Happened? A Political Diagnosis

Nigeria’s foreign policy machinery has long suffered from politicization and neglect. Ambassadorships are often used as patronage rewards rather than professional assignments.

But under the Tinubu administration, this politicization has fused with alarming indecision.

Some insiders suggest that the President’s diplomatic appointments are tied to complex power-balancing within the ruling APC across geopolitical, ethnic, and personal lines. Others blame a thin bench of foreign policy advisers and a Minister of Foreign Affairs who, though experienced but appears to lack the operational clout to drive urgent action.

Whatever the reasons, the result is clear - Nigeria is not speaking on the global stage and the world is noticing.

Public Diplomacy as National Branding

In today’s world, diplomacy is more than protocol and parades. It is nation-branding. It is about how countries sell their stories, attract investors, protect citizens, and advance global causes.

Countries like Rwanda, Ghana, and Kenya have invested heavily in proactive diplomacy. Their ambassadors are active on social media, appear on CNN, host diaspora events, and attend tech expos.

Meanwhile, Nigeria with all its potential is missing from the table.

Historical Resonance and a Moral Calling

Nigeria once led the charge against apartheid in South Africa. We hosted peace talks in Liberia and Sierra Leone. We led ECOWAS missions across West Africa. We were respected.

Have we forgotten who we are?

The Yoruba proverb reminds us - “Ilu ki i wa lai ni olori" meaning - there is no town without a king. Without diplomatic leadership, Nigeria is exposed strategically and morally. Ambassadors are the eyes and ears of the President of the nation. Their absence means that the President is missing in such a nation, though the country is existing through the leaderless embassies and high commissions.

Call to Action: Let Nigeria Speak Again

The time for excuses is over. President Tinubu must:

1.     Submit ambassadorial nominations to the Senate immediately.

2.     Prioritize merit and representation in appointments. Not political IOUs.

3.     Empower the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with timely funding, autonomy, and a clear performance mandate.

4.     Revive Nigeria’s foreign policy doctrine, aligning it with contemporary realities.

Above all, he must understand that diplomacy is not a luxury. It is a nation’s voice.

A Wake-Up Call in the Age of Global Competition

Nigeria cannot afford to be a silent giant in a world that moves at the speed of influence. The embassies we ignore today are the crises we will confront tomorrow when trade dries up, diaspora turns bitter, and geopolitical foes outmaneuver us.

Let this be a turning point. Let Nigeria speak again. Not in whispers, not in delays, but in full diplomatic force.

 Until next week, this is Political Panorama with Ola Olateju

- watching the horizon, one controversy at a time

www.politicalpanorama.com.ng