Recession: FG Shuts Down 9 Foreign Missions

This, the Federal Government said, was part of its efforts to cut down the cost of running Nigeria’s foreign representations in the face of lingering economic downturn.

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, President Buhari further disclosed that his administration had reduced the number of officers at foreign missions.

The Federal Government also approved the training of Foreign Service officers to carry out multiple tasks in fields such as administration, immigration, trade, culture and education related functions.

Adesina said that President Buhari made the disclosure at the flag off of an induction course organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Nigerian Career Ambassadors-designate recently cleared by the Senate.

“We are optimistic that the external factors that partly contributed to push our economy into recession will ebb in 2017. Until then, I regret that the resources available to fund our missions abroad will not be as robust as we would like,” Buhari said.

“We are working hard to turn around our national economy by effectively reforming our macroeconomic environment through measures, some of which were outlined in my budget speech to the National Assembly last week.

“As we are all making great sacrifices at home, we also expect you to similarly make judicious use of the resources put at the disposal of your missions. As Heads of missions, you will be held accountable for the utilisation of all resources under your control. These are lean times, and all of us are expected to do more with less,” Buhari told the Ambassadors-designate.

“For far too long, we have allowed Nigeria to be defined by others, always emphasising our negatives. To the average foreigner, Nigeria evokes 419, terrorism, militancy, communal and religious clashes, insecurity, corruption and all our other faults.

“You have the duty to correct this narrative by taking the initiative to define and portray our country for what it truly is. We are a nation of 180 million vibrant, enterprising, hardworking, hospitable and peaceful people. We are a remarkable nation that has succeeded in harnessing our multiple diversities as strengths such that we are the leading country on the continent. Therefore, you will need to mobilise, sensitise and motivate all your staff so that together you engage with your host governments, the private sector and other segments of the society to explain that Nigeria is much more than the negative image portrayed to them.

“Think of people like Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, Chinedu Echeruo who founded Hotspot application which he sold to Apple for over a billion dollars; think of Bayo Ogunlesi, who runs over a billion dollar infrastructure fund and is now Adviser to US President-elect; and Jelani Aliyu, an accomplished car designer at General Motors. Indeed, these and other hardworking Nigerian professionals in the diaspora have never forgotten their roots and have been making significant contributions to their communities back home, and even to our economy through  their huge remittances.

“Nigerian diplomatic tradition established in 1957 by the pioneers of the Nigerian Foreign Service, sometimes referred to as the “12 Apostles” and also “bequeath same to succeeding generations.

“As Nigerian Ambassadors, you must show leadership, fairness and justice to all. Discipline, probity, accountability and zero tolerance for corruption must be your watchwords. You are expected to project the best image and traditions of our country in your conduct and all you do,” Buhari said.