By Kingsley Moghalu
Over the weekend I read a news story in The Punch newspaper about how several countries’ authorities have expressed unease about the prospect of receiving new ambassadors from Nigeria virtually 1 year to the end of tenure of our current President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. If true (and such concern would be logical based on standard diplomatic practice), this should not be a surprise.
To be announcing ambassadorial appointments nearly a year to the end of an elected government’s tenure, when the practice is that receiving countries must issue a formal “agreement”, a formal decision by the receiving country to accept credentials from the individual named as Ambassador – a process that takes several weeks to months at the earliest — does not indicate serious and responsible governance.
