Ex-Envoy Tackles Minister Over Threat To Sue UN Agencies

A former deputy special representative of the United Nations (UN) secretary-general for Somalia, Babafemi Badejo has faulted the minister of women affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohaneye for issuing a one- month ultimatum and threatening legal action against the world body to publish donor funds collected for Nigeria.

Kennedy-Ohaneye had in an AIT interview on Monday gave the UN a one-month ultimatum from October 16, 2023 to November 15, 2023 to render published account on all the monies received in the name of Nigeria from donors, and promised to proceed to file a suit on November 16, 2023, against the body if the accounts are not rendered.

But reacting in a statement entitled, “The Promised Nigerian Suit against the United Nations: A Case for the Proper Socialisation of Cabinet Members,” Badejo questioned if an international organisation like the UN can be dealt with in such a cavalier manner?

The legal practitioner and professor of political Science/international relations said asking for accountability and transparency is very proper, and the spirit of seeking answers to lighten up grey areas that may be indicative of corruption is a great idea.

He said experience showed that some UN officials are corrupt, and some have accordingly been jailed but, there are laid down arrangements for such requests by a sovereign nation.

Badejo said not to follow the laid down procedure and embarking on media grandstanding can only portray Nigeria in bad light.

According to him, Nigeria is telling the world that it lacks the requisite leadership and structures for appropriate operation in the community of nations.

“The United Nations system’s counterpart in Nigeria is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Even, if the Minister of Foreign Affairs, after exhaustive dialogue within his Department of International Organisations has decided on the need to request for transparency from the UN, it is expected that he would take the case to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) before articulating, if at all, such a weighty position at a media show,” he said.

Badejo said President Ahmed Tinubu addressed the UN General Assembly last month and met with the UN Secretary-General but he was not reported to have indicated that Nigeria was experiencing a lack of accountability and transparency with the UN entities working in Nigeria.

The former diplomat said, it was a shock that a Nigerian minister is so amateurish in diplomatic relations, emphasising that: “Our inadequacies from lacking the appropriate arrangements for the necessary training and socialisation of new entrants into office are being shown to the world.”

He asked the minister of women affairs to do well to address corruption in her ministry by collaborating with the ongoing probe, by at least one of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies.