Rejection Of Envoys: India, Others Do Not Owe Nigeria Explanation, Says Badejo

Renowned Nigerian Professor of International Relations and Politics, Babafemi Badejo has said that India and other countries that reportedly rejected Nigerian ambassadors and high commissioners-designate sent to them do not need to explain anything to Nigeria.

The PUNCH had reported on Wednesday that the envoys were rejected over a diplomatic policy that frowns on receiving envoys from administrations with less than 2 years in office.

It quoted high-ranking officials from the Presidency as well as a senior Foreign Service official, who allegedly confirmed India’s position but expressed hope that Nigeria could exploit its relationship with New Delhi to secure an exception.

The report quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying the “Federal Government was already receiving signals from New Delhi and possibly other countries’ capitals about their reluctance to grant agrément.”

Agrément is the formal instrument of approval issued by a receiving country to accept a diplomat deployed by the sending country, and it is required before a diplomat can begin performing his duties.

The Nigerian High Commissioner-designate to India, Muhammad Dahiru, and others may have to wait for an uncomfortable length of time, which might leave their situation uncertain.

Speaking to our correspondent on Wednesday on the vexed issue, Prof Badejo said,   “The Vienna Convention requires that a sending country obtain an Agrément (literally a diplomatic agreement that the envoy can be deployed) from the receiving country beforehand. I do not know if an Agrément had been obtained from India before announcing who was going there.

India does not owe Nigeria an explanation on why the High Commissioner-designate is being rejected. The rejection could be on any ground, including political timing, or the personality Nigeria wants to deploy.”

On whether this reported rejection will affect the diplomatic relationship between Nigeria and India, the Professor at Chrisland University, Abeokuta, in Ogun state, and a prolific writer, said, “The strategic relationship between India and Nigeria is deeper than one person being rejected. The relationship will survive this development.”

He criticised the Tinubu administration for not doing well on the issue of deployment of Ambassadors, especially the President’s alleged opaque style of operating foreign relations without accredited representatives for years, and now waking up to this responsibility in the dying hours of his time in office.

“He may be convinced that he will win the next election. But it’s a possibility for other countries. Some countries may have a policy of receiving Ambassadors who are only serving for just about a year,” Badejo added.

Another serving foreign officer, who preferred anonymity, said “it could be possible for India to take such a decision in line with its foreign policy doctrine, “adding that the “Nigerian government may have caused this treatment because of the unnecessary delay in the appointment of substantive heads of Nigerian foreign missions.”

When contacted on the matter, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said he is not aware of this development, adding that he does not know of any other country that has such policy, suggesting that it is difficult to believe that a country will receive a letter of credence of another’s ambassador and still rejects same over tenure policy.

Our Correspondent contacted the Indian High Commission in Abuja, but at the time of filing this report on Wednesday, the High Commission had yet to issue any official statement on the matter.

It was also disturbing that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly announced that, so far, it has only received agréments from the United Kingdom for High Commissioner-designate Aminu Dalhatu and from France for Amb. Ayodele Oke, as uncertainty clouds the fate of 63 others.

Article 4 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations prescribes that receiving states must grant consent before any ambassador can be accredited.

After about two years without substantive heads of Nigeria’s foreign missions, President Tinubu approved on Friday, March 6, the deployment of 65 ambassadors-designate and high commissioners to various countries and the United Nations.

Some of the nominees include former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode (Germany), presidential aide Reno Omokri (Mexico), a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau (China), and Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (UN Permanent Representative), among others.