By Paul Liam
On August 27, 2024, Premium Times published a report of a press conference issued by a group known as the Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Transparency and Accountability,entitled; “Coalition demands sack of Nigeria’s foreign minister over alleged incompetence” said to have been authored by Igwe Ude-Umanta and Denis Momoh, in which they made an allegation of corruption on the person and integrity of the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, describing him as incompetent and calling for his sack by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This rebuttal is necessary only to clarify the dubious and malicious attempt to misinform the public and make a scapegoat of the Minister whose leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made significant progress in driving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision to reposition Nigeria’s foreign relations and reputation globally.
Firstly, the report alleges that “Rather than concentrate on the job he was appointed for, the coalition alleged the minister is busy working on how to actualise his gubernatorial ambition in Bauchi State in 2027.” It is not only infantile but bizarre for anyone who has been following the activities of Ambassador Tuggar, to make this type of empty allegation in the face of glaring evidence of performance is an aberration of the highest proportion. Ambassador Tuggar is arguably one of the most active of President Tinubu’s Ministers, since assumption of office in August 2023, Amb. Tuggar has committed himself to delivering on the mandate assigned to him by President Tinubu, he has dutifully represented Nigeria at international functions advancing Nigeria’s interests and strengthening ties with Nigeria’s allies leading to several outcomes including attractingdirect foreign investment into the country. It would be difficult for anyone to mention how many times Amb. Tuggar visited Bauchi State not to talk of having the luxury to scheme for his gubernatorial aspirations in 2007. One would have expected the coalition to provide evidence to its outrageous claims, to substantiate their allegation, but they couldn’t mention a single point to defend their baseless claims against the Minister.
The report reads, “We still insist that we can never get it right at the diplomatic level and global stage with a character like Yusuf Tuggar as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He remains the worst Foreign Affairs Minister anyone can remember in the Nigerian nascent history. We are not cursing our country, but we will continue to lose out on the global stage because there is nothing Tuggar has to offer except an alleged illegal and corrupt sourcing of funds for his gubernatorial ambition in Bauch State in 2027,” a part of the text read by the conveners of the coalition, Igwe Ude-Umanta and Danesi Momoh, read.”
The authors of the release also accused Amb. Tuggar of “alleged illegal and corrupt sourcing of funds for his gubernatorial ambition in Bauchi State in 2024.” One would expect a group that regards itself as a “transparency and accountability” group to provide supporting evidence to back such an audacious claim but unfortunately, the report doesn’t mention any evidence of the practices they accused the Minister of perpetuating. This is a manifestation of the dubious intent of the accusers to smear the integrity of the Minister who is perhaps the most transparent member of President Tinubu’s cabinet for obvious reasons. For the records, Amb. Tuggar throughout his public service career has been held as an accountable and incorruptible public servant. He has a standing in-house policy against corruption and any form of illegalities. He has never been accused of corruption throughout his career in both private and public service. For starters, Amb. Tuggar’s anti-corruption disposition precedes his public service career. One might add for the education of the misinformed lot that Amb. Tuggar has the financial muscle to execute any political ambition, he might have if this were the case. His private enterprises over the years and privileged lineage have put him in a leverage position to protect the public trust reposed in him by President Tinubu and by extension, Nigerians.
The report further reads, “The coalition accused Mr Tuggar of deliberately misleading President Tinubu to prematurely terminate the appointment of ambassadors and high commissioners and recall them when there was no plan to replace them. Apart from flouting procedural rules in the sudden recall of the ambassadors, the coalition said the action had stripped Nigeria diplomatically bare on the international stage. It also alleged that the recall had placed the finances of the 109 foreign missions of the country in the hands of Mr Tuggar.”
It is laughable that anyone who understands governance and processes of the government particularly as it pertains to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would make such a lazy conclusion that the Minister misled the President to terminate the appointment of ambassadors and high commissioners without the intention or plan of replacing them. This is perhaps the height of the hallucinatory tendencies of Igwe and Denis whose ignorance is bigger than their supposed knowledge of the workings of the Foreign Affair Ministry. The Ministry, like any other government establishment of its nature, is guided by rules. Suffice it to say that even if the Minister was uninformed as they claim, the accusers forget that the Ministry has a permanent secretary and directors who are seasoned civil servants knowledgeable in the affairs of the Ministry and Nigeria’s foreign relations and whose responsibility it is to advise the Minister. The Ministry’s decision was and can only be guided by the extant laws guiding its operations. In other words, there is no way the Minister could have made the decision solely without the inputs of the key officers of the Ministry and the Presidency peopled by experts knowledgeable about the processes of the Ministry. Moreover, the decision to recall Nigerian ambassadors was sanctioned by the President which was backed by a press release issued in this regard by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity dated September 2, 2023, which reads in part,
“President Bola Tinubu has directed the recall of all career and non-career ambassadors from their duty posts worldwide. The President’s directive is the sequel to his careful study of the present state of affairs at Nigerian Consulate Offices and Embassies worldwide, and in line with the President’s renewed hope agenda, the President is determined to ensure that world-class efficiency and quality, will henceforth, characterize foreign and domestic service delivery to citizens, residents and prospective visitors alike.”https://statehouse.gov.ng/news/president-buhari-directs-the-total-recall-of-all-career-and-non‐career-ambassadors/
It is unequivocally clear that the malicious allegations against Amb. Tuggar by the coalition portends no good for the country as it reeks of unfounded hate and distortion of facts available to the public. It is a well-calculated attempt by dubious individuals to discredit and ridicule the gains being recorded by the Ministry under the leadership of the Honourable Minister. The authors of the release are simply executing the evil machinations of their sponsors whose goal is to have the Minister removed.
Dr. John Adekunle, a retired ambassador, in an article entitled “Between Tuggar and Traducers” published on July 19, 2024, by This Day, made clear the facts of the matter when he remarked on the plot by individuals within and outside the Ministry hellbent on discrediting the Minister thus, “Part of the enduring damage to the culture of public debate over the years is the hijack of the civic space by the uninformed who peddle false narratives with astonishing vehemence.
Sadly, today, the malady seems to have assumed epidemic proportions. I blame this partly on the permissiveness of the social media which enables idle minds, mischief-makers, and paid mercenaries to pollute the air with what is now generally known as “fake news” or “alternative facts” easily.
A clear illustration of this syndrome can be seen in a very sensational report syndicated in some online publications a few days ago which blatantly twisted facts in Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs under Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar in particular and misrepresented the reality of Nigeria’s foreign service in general.”
Dr. Adekunle, a distinguished diplomat and former ambassador certainly is the authority to listen to on matters like Nigeria’s foreign affairs and not some intelligible folks claiming expertise in a subject beyond their pay grade. Dr. Adekunle further provides a definitive context to the challenges confronting the Ministry which the dimwit authors of the uninformed release misrepresented. He posits that,
“Perhaps, before going ahead to address those stated allegations, it may help to understand the undercurrents. Well, it is an open secret that there has been a “clash of interests” in the Foreign Ministry in recent times which has necessitated the ruffling of some feathers as well as the suspension of some personnel over alleged unethical conduct. Just as it is also a known fact that, in the eyes of right-thinking Nigerians, the Foreign Minister has exhibited thorough professionalism by insisting that due process be followed to establish the truth or otherwise over a serious allegation leveled against a powerful officer in the ministry. Rather than allow the matter to be swept under the carpet in the name of “esprit de corps”.”
The seizure of two presidential jets by a Chinese company- Zhongfu International Investment FXE, which obtained an independent Arbitral Tribunal Order in Paris, France, over a bad business deal with the Ogun State Government, ridiculed the country at home and globally. The accusers without evidence and in deliberate circumvention of obvious facts ascribed the fallout to the Minister alluding to the lack of appointment of an ambassador as the cause. This line of reasoning can only emanate from people without the balls the confront the truth staring them in the face. Nigerian embassies have remained active despite the challenge and delay in appointing new ambassadors. Nigerian embassies have been professionally manned by experienced Charge de Affairs and top diplomats versed in matters of diplomacy. It is therefore beggar belief that a group that supposedly estimates themselves as knowledgeable would negate the facts of an issue and peddle vile falsehood.
In conclusion, it is important to note some of the milestones achieved under the leadership of Amb. Tuggar Minister of Foreign Affairs. Under the leadership of Amb. Tuggar, Nigeria through the Ministry has attracted diverse foreign investment commitments including €250 million investment from the Netherlands to boost existing business in Nigeria, $14 billion worth of investment commitments from Indian investors across ICT, power, steel/manufacturing, agriculture, defense, telecom, space communications, digital solutions, insurance, processed foods, real estate, and hospitality, a financing agreement of £100 million on the Digital and Creative Enterprises Programme and the signing of MOUs worth $600m between Nigeria and France aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in digital technology and creative industries, $2bn investment with Germany on the Nigeria-Siemens Power Project, $500m MOU to export LNG to Germany between Nigeria Riverside LNG and Germany’s Johannes Schuetze Energy Import AG, Nigeria is to supply 850,000 tons of natural gas to Germany annually which is expected to rise to 1.2 million by 2026.
Similarly, the United States had committed to contribute at least $12 million to Nigeria’s efforts to increase the transparency of public monetary management and civil society efforts to increase government transparency. At the third BRI Summit in 2023, China committed to provide 85 percent financing for the construction of the Abuja-Kano and Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri railway projects, while Nigeria which had the duty of paying the balance 15% paid its part of the funding from the inception of the project through appropriations. These are evidence-based milestones achieved under President Tinubu’s administration that political marauders are incapable of seeing because of their bigoted interests to discredit the administration and invalidate the remarkable professional dexterity of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Amb. Tuggar remains committed to his statutory obligations and will not be distracted by those whose stock in trade is fan disunity and discredit a government that is working assiduously to reposition the country for strategic development.
Paul Liam Is Development Communications Scholar and International Relations Analyst.