Former presidential aide, Lauretta Onochie, has sharply criticized President Bola Tinubu for his failure to appoint replacements for Nigeria’s ambassadors abroad, a situation she likened to running the country “like a private WhatsApp group.”
Onochie’s comments, made on her X handle, come nearly two years after President Tinubu announced the recall of all Nigerian ambassadors in September 2023. The prolonged absence of new appointments has left the nation’s foreign missions without substantive heads, potentially hindering diplomatic relations and representation.
In her post, Onochie accused the president of a strategic blunder, stating, “A strategist who doesn’t know that Nigeria needs Ambassadors to relate with the rest of the world is running Nigeria like a private WhatsApp group.” She further suggested that Tinubu prefers to engage with countries like St. Lucia and Kazakhstan, where, according to her, he can be “idolized and worshipped for the right price.”
The delay in appointing ambassadors has raised concerns about Nigeria’s diplomatic engagement and its standing on the global stage. Ambassadors are crucial for representing the country’s interests and maintaining diplomatic ties with host nations.
