By Joy Essien, Contributing Editor, Lagos Metropolitan.
One of the things we kept hearing during election campaign season about President Tinubu was that he had a generous reward system and was known to reward political loyalists.
So it really comes with no shock at all at the names that emerged on the ambassadorial list.
Lacking merit and credibility, it is simply loyalists being rewarded.
Ambassadors are a whole country being represented abroad. Ambassadors are the first impressions people get about a nation and the quality of a country’s ambassador is an indication of the country’s direction. Growing up, I was told that ambassadors have very clean records and were known for integrity, character, discipline and pedigree with no dent, past or present, in their image.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the names that were nominated.
- Victor Okezie Ikpeazu
Former governor, Abia State with allegations ranging from money laundering to the infamous ₦10B airport project that never existed. -
Jimoh Ibrahim – a billionaire politician with decades of battles around AMCON and multi billion naira debt recoveries which are tied to NICON, ARIK amd more.
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Otunba Femi Pedro – former deputy governor, Lagos State under President Tinubu, who was impeached for gross misconduct by the Lagos State House of Assembly.
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Grace Bent – former senator arrested, but not convicted, for her alleged role in Dieziani’s 23B election fund scandal.
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Ambassador Ayodele Okey – former DG of National Intelligence Agency who was removed from office after EFCC found S43M, £37, 000 and ₦23M hidden in an Ikoyi apartment and was declared wanted by the EFCC but case was later withdrawn.
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Femi Fani-Kayode – former minister with numerous cases with EFCC from Aviation Intervention Fund to the alleged 4.6B fraud tied to campaign funds.
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Reno Omokri – a man publicly known for lies, controversy, propaganda, online deceit, constant misinformation and hatred for Igbos. Someone who called Tinubu a drug baron, then called him Christlike the moment he was rewarded.
He screamed “Christian genocide” under Buhari, then called it a hoax under Tinubu. -
Even Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu – who supervised a highly disputed and rigged election in 2023, has now been rewarded with an ambassadorial nomination.
Coming at a time when the security issues the country is faced with is on the front burner internationally, this is extremely shabby to say the least. The world is becoming highly skeptical of Tinubu’s desire to end the continuing violence, displacement and kidnapping.
By specifically appointing dishonest people solely for their zeal in denying the atrocities, he shows that his only intention is to cover it up and deflect attention.
A large number of these nominees are non-career diplomats lacking diplomatic skills with no understanding of global power dynamics. These ones will do nothing for the stereotype the world has about Nigerians being scammers and criminals. They simply confirm it with their history and track records.
Like Presidential Pardon list, like Ambassadorial list.
