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DG'S MESSAGE |
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Inauguration
of NIIA Governing Council
On Thursday, September 20, 2012, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru,
Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs inaugurated a new Governing
Council for the Institute in Abuja. The inauguration came on the
heels of the Performance Agreement done by the minister with the
permanent secretary, Ambassador Martin Uhomoibhi, undersecretaries,
directors, and the chief executives of agencies under the ministry.
The cardinal objective of the Performance Agreement is to ensure
accountability, promote efficient service delivery and greater
service output. These factors are component issues in good
governance.
Major-Gen. Ike
Omar Sanda Nwachukwu (Rtd)
Chairman, NIIA
Governing Council
In order to facilitate the attainment of this objective, Government
carefully empanelled a galaxy of academic and diplomatic
professionals with very impressive credentials. The Council is
comprised of 12 members, with Senator Ike Omar Sanda Nwachukwu as
Chairman. The appointment of Senator Nwachukwu is most appropriate.
He combines administrative, political, diplomatic and military
experiences with national cultural background and upbringing, thus
making him very unique. For instance, in terms of military
background, he was Provost Marshall of the Nigerian Army. He rose to
the level of a Major-General before he left the army. Politically
speaking, he was Governor of the Old Imo State. He was Senator of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria. At the administration and diplomacy
level, he was a Minister of Labour and a Two-time Minister of
External Affairs. In fact, he was appointed a member of the
immediate past Governing Council of the NllA but, for reasons of
force
majeure could not participate.
A
cross-section of the NIIA Governing Council Members
The membership of Alhaji S. A. Tanko Yakasai is noteworthy. A
veteran politician, he was former Commissioner for Finance, Kano
State, from 1972 to 1975; a former National Assembly Liaison Officer
to President Shehu Shagari in the period from 1979 to 1983; He was a
member of the 1994-1995 Conference; And perhaps most interestingly,
Alhaji Yakasai was a member of the First Governing Council of the
NIIA under the chairmanship of Dr. Taslim Elias. Alhaji Yakasai
represents the Presidency on the Council.
Professor Sonni G. Tyoden, a member of the Council, is a Professor
of Political Science in the University of Jos. He also was the vice
chancellor of the university. He was a member of the Board of the
National Youth Service Corps from 2008 to 2011 and Chairman of the
Governing Board of the College of Education, Akwanga. He is a member
of the Nigerian Society of International Affairs, and again, most
interestingly, had once served as a Member of the Governing Council
of the NIIA. He is currently a Research Professor with the National
Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies.
The quality of membership of the Council is high and therefore
constitutes a source of inspiration. Professor M.D. Suleiman of the
Department of History, Bayero University, is one of the members. He
is a Fellow of the Historical Society of Nigeria and of the Nigerian
Institute of Development Administration, as well as the Chairman,
Bayero University Research Board. Dr. Akin Oyebode is Professor of
International Law, with specialization on Treaties. He is of the
Faculty of Law, University of Lagos. He was a former Vice Chancellor
of the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti. Professor Ben Naanen, a
Professor of Economic History at the Department of History,
University of Port Harcourt, is a member of both the American
Academy of Political Science and of the New York Academy of Science.
He is currently the Director of Emerald Energy Institute in Port
Harcourt. Professor (Mrs.) Joy Ngozi Ezilo of the Faculty of Law,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, is a United Nations Special
Rapporteur for Trafficking in Persons.
The high quality of the academic membership of the Council is also
reflected at the level of the diplomatic experience of the
diplomatic careerists in the Council. For instance, Ambassador Pius
Ayewoh was former Consul General in San Francisco in 1984-1987
before his appointment as Nigeria's Principal Representative to
Algeria in the period from 1987 to 1991. He returned to Nigeria to
assume duty as Director of the Multilateral Economic Cooperation
Department, from 1991 to 1995 and Director of the International
Economic Cooperation Department and International Organisation
Department from 1996 to 1999. He was Nigeria's Ambassador and
Permanent Representative to Geneva from 1999 to 2003. Ambassador
Martin Uhomoibhi, an Oxonian and a Dan Manjen Koko, was similarly
Nigeria's ambassador and Permanent Representative to Geneva. He was
formerly President of the United Nations Human Commission in
Geneva. He is an academic by training and diplomatist by career. He
is currently the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. Ambassador Theophilus Anthony Babatunde Shodipo is a
veteran diplomat. He served in London in 1974 as First Secretary. He
was Chief of Protocol (COP) at the Foreign Ministry and later became
the State Chief of Protocol (SCOP). He was formerly Director of the
Consular and Legal Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He
was also a member of the EFCC Board since its inception until 2007.
In the same vein, Ammuna Lawan-Ali, another member, is a veteran
Permanent Secretary in the Civil and Public Service. She was
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Commerce, Ministry
of Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Transportation, etc. She is a
member of the National Institute. She is a public administration
consultant. With this group of sagacious minds, there is no
disputing the fact that President Jonathan is consciously building
a new foundation of objectivity of purpose for national development,
using the foreign policy instrument of the NIIA. This approach to
national development is commendable and should be further
encouraged.
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