Nigerian Ambassador to US, Oluwole Rotimi, Sacked

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Nigerian Ambassador to US, Oluwole Rotimi, Sacked
•Calls Foreign Minister a tribalist •Boasts that he defeated Maduekwe’s “ragtag” Biafran Army
By Yemi Adebowale in Lagos and Constance Ikoku in Washington DC, 02.14.2009

President Umaru Yar’Adua has appro-ved the immediate recall of Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, retired Brigadier-General Oluwole Rotimi, for “gross insubordination.”
Sources at the Nigerian embassy in Washington DC said the decision to recall Rotimi followed his running disagreement with the Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Maduekwe, over issues bordering on activities of the mission, policy, protocol and hierarchy.
[b]The disagreement that was said to have started last year resulted in a series of correspondence between Maduekwe and Rotimi, culminating in a letter written by the latter in which he called the minister a tribalist and boasted, “I have dealt with people like you in the past. I was the Adjutant General of the Nigerian army that thoroughly defeated your ragtag Biafran army.”[/b]Maduekwe who was piqued by the contents of the letter, particularly the reference to the Biafran war, formally complained to the President in a memo, attaching Rotimi’s letter.
Maduekwe in his letter to the President stated: “This man (Rotimi) has no temperament to be an ambassador of Nigeria in our most important mission.
“This is a strategic assessment of the situation. Anyone who has such a disposition may not be able to handle the Nigerian embassy in Washington, which is deemed in Nigerian diplomatic circles as a strategic and sensitive mission.
“The recommendation that he be recalled has to do with his capacity to run the place. It is not personal.”
It was on this basis that the President immediately approved his recall from the mission.In the interim, Ambassador Wakil, the Deputy Ambassador has been asked to oversee the mission pending the appointment of a replacement.
All efforts to reach the Ambassador last night on his mobile phone proved unsuccessful as it kept entering voice mail. Voice messages were not returned as at press time either.
A Nigerian embassy official in Washington disclosed that [b]the root cause of the friction between both officials started sometime last year when Maduekwe wrote two letters inviting the Ambassador and his deputy, Ambassador Wakil to a meeting in Abuja to discuss the emergence of Barack Obama as the 44th US President and what it would mean for Nigeria-US relations.
Rotimi was said to have felt slighted that the minister wrote a separate letter to his deputy whom he regarded as his subordinate.[/b]He subsequently wrote two protest letters - one to Maduekwe and a second one to the Secretary to the Govern-ment of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed. He also asked that the trip be rescheduled to enable him sort out one or two things.
Not satisfied, Rotimi further wrote to Senator Jubril Aminu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, on the same issue.
Rotimi then proceeded to Abuja when he did not receive an official reply from the minister. Maduekwe on the other hand was reportedly irked that the Ambassador proceeded on the trip without the necessary approval.
Rotimi’s action, an embassy official divulged, was seen as an infringement of an important regulation regarding the movement of public officers.
Insiders familiar with the Nigerian civil service set up said his trip was arbitrary given his protest letter and request for a postponement of the meeting, and that since he had not received feedback, it was seen as gross insubordination within foreign service regulations.
According to an official: “when you write, you wait for a reply. Movement must be sanctioned by your boss.”
Similarly, Maduekwe’s effort to streamline the operations of the foreign affairs ministry, particularly the embassies, was said to have been resisted by Rotimi in Washington.
The minister’s brusque style of leadership has reportedly ruffled feathers in the foreign service where most officials are used to “business as usual” bosses.
As such, the little or lack of cordial relations between both men compounded matters, making it almost impossible to mend fences.
In addition, other occurrences pointed to strained relations between the public officers. The usual practice is that an Ambassador receives the foreign minister at the airport when he arrives a country, and sees him off at the end of his official trip.
This was not the case when the minister visited Washington sometime last year to give a talk at a think-tank in the capital city.
However, by January this year, Rotimi tried to seek a rapprochement when he led a delegation to receive Maduekwe who flew into Washington as the head of the Nigerian delegation to President Obama’s inauguration.
But the short-lived détente came under strain again when Rotimi, during the swearing-in ceremony, introduced Emeka Anyaoku, the president’s special envoy, as the leader of delegation in the presence of the minister.
THISDAY learnt that there was actually a disagreement before the trip as to who should lead the delegation to the event.
Eventually, Anyaoku was mandated to head the Federal Government team, while Maduekwe led the foreign ministry team.
But this presented an image problem for Nigeria, because it gave the impression that the home base was in disarray.
Another official of the Nigerian embassy in Washington alleged that Rotimi only appeared for work at the embassy thrice a week and retired to Florida where he has a home, for the rest of the week. “How can he effectively run a key embassy like this,” the official queried.
Before the latest incident that led to Rotimi’s recall, Anyaoku it was gathered, tried to reconcile the two men shortly after Obama’s inauguration, but failed.
Rotimi was a former military governor of the old Western State from 1971 to 1975. He arrived Washington DC on 31st March 2008, and presented his Letters of Credence to the then President, George Bush at the White House, on April 9, 2008.
His sudden recall means that Nigeria will have to deal with the signals the incident would send to the international community, explained a diplomatic source.
One way to save face is to show that Nigeria is ready to revamp its foreign relations machinery and sharpen is focus on improving the effectiveness of the country’s foreign missions overseas, he said.

:-x

He should have been made to tender a formal apology before being disgraced out of office.
We don't need people like him representing us here.

Another official of the Nigerian embassy in Washington alleged that Rotimi only appeared for work at the embassy thrice a week and retired to Florida where he has a home, for the rest of the week. “How can he effectively run a key embassy like this,” the official queried.

Flying back and forth from DC to Florida on our money.
let him be used to set an example to all these Nigerian diplomats lazying around in DC,NY and ATL
eating Isiewu and nkwobi on the job

I could have sword I read " Nigerian Ambassador To The Usa Sacked For Tribal Marks"

osisi is finally out of control unless its someone else using her ID??

Sammy107_d:

I could have sword I read " Nigerian Ambassador To The Usa Sacked For Tribal Marks"

You're not the only one

good example

it seems we have all been throughly conditioned to expect some things (sectarian/tribalist remarks) from Osisi

its actually 'tribal remarks'- but i saw 'tribal marks ' like so many of y'all

oyb:

it seems we have all been throughly conditioned to expect some things (sectarian/tribalist remarks) from Osisi

its actually 'tribal remarks'- but i saw 'tribal marks ' like so many of y'all

Lmao, where are my glasses?

Sammy107_d:

I could have sword I read " Nigerian Ambassador To The Usa Sacked For Tribal Marks"

lol

I have stayed out this for long but now, after reading the new twist on http://saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=747:nigerias-ambassador-to-us-fired-the-inside-story&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18 , WE NEED A PROBE.

Since the emergence of this story, I had always suspected that money would have been involved one way or the other because this is unheard of. If the minister was involved in this deal with former Ambassador George Obiozor , then I see why they are trying to remove Rotimi !! No smoke without fire. It is sad that we Nigerians do not appreciate people who want to do good for the country. Look at how the likes of Ribadu and El-Rufai are being disgraced ? How can Nigeria move forward like this?

Someone mentioned in another blog that the Ambassador was unfit to hold the position. HOW? Yaradua governs the nation from his sick bed and so far we have been "OK " How much more? Is it possible for an old man to fly out conveniently every week to relax in another state? An "old man" would rather stay put !! Correct me if i'm wrong. We also have to look into if Rotimi had purchased the home when he was posted to Washington or if he  had had the home prior to his appointment.


I followed their screenings carefully, while the likes of Chikwe and Marwa battled seriously for their clearance, it is on record that Rotimi was among the very few that had impeccable records. Thus sending him to a sensitive mission such as Washington. My people, have we forgotten so soon? Mr. President, how will you face the PRESIDENCY in Washington with a development like this in your country? President Obama is preaching CHANGE - one would expect you join the bandwagon of others who are trying to do the right thing in their respective countries. With the emergence of President Atta-Mills, CHANGE came to GHANA. Nigeria does not need such damaging stories at this time.

If truly, Mr. President did INDEED sign the papers without hearing from both sides, then he is INCOMPETENT to govern Nigeria.

Question: How come only THISDAY has this out? We know this is owned by Nduka Obaigena who has benifitted tremendously from Ojo Maduekwe. Just asking.

Another side to the story:

[center]The Inside Story:

Nigeria's Ambassador to US fired?

Saharareporters, New York[/center]

The recently announced "sack" of Nigeria's ambassador to the US, General Oluwole Rotimi (Rtd) has revealed deep divisions in the team of Nigeria's Supreme Court-imposed president, Umaru Yar'adua. The ambassador, who spoke to Saharareporters briefly about his ordeal, said he is yet to receive any letter of sack from Yar'adua, contrary to a report by Thisday newspaper. When SaharaReporters reached Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ojo Maduekwe, he also refused to speak about the reported sack of the ambassador. Throughout an intense question and answer with Saharareporters, he maintained he was away from Abuja and attending a burial. He directed our reporters to call "the headquarters in Abuja" to find out what is happening.



Diplomatic sources told Saharareporters that Maduekwe was pushing the sack of the ambassador and might have used newspaper reports to pressurize Yar'adua to act upon the decision to sack Oluwole, since it was taking too long. The minister, according to our sources, had reported the Ambassador to Yar'Adua during the swearing-in–ceremony of President Atta Mills in Accra. Maduekwe reportedly made available to Yar'Adua a letter allegedly written by General Rotimi and circulated widely within the Minister's close-knit circle, including former president Olusegun Obasanjo. In it, the ambassador allegedly claimed to have defeated the Biafran Army while he was "Adjutant –General" in the Nigerian Army, but General Rotimi denies ever writing such a letter. He told Saharareporters that he was never an "Adjutant General" in the Nigerian Army but a "Quarter-Master-General". Standing his ground, he asked the media to ensure that whomever made the allegation substantiates it. He claimed that as an old man, he has friends across Nigeria and could not afford to put such a divisive statement in a letter to the minister. With Maduekwe refusing to speak about the issue, Saharareporters has not been able to confirm the existence of the letter officially. Our inquiries from one of the Thisday writers of the story did not yield any results: we were directed to speak with the Thisday Saturday editor in Lagos who is supposedly in possession of the letter that is now the subject of an intense ethnic and political debate.



Further investigations by Saharareporters show that although the Minister for Foreign affairs may be using ethnicity to make his point in getting Rotimi recalled, he not exactly a respecter of people of his ethnic origin. Only last year, in a fit of anger, he wrote several letters in which he deployed and redeployed Nigeria's female Charge d'Affaires in Ethiopia, Mrs. Chigozie F. Obi-Nnadozie. He eventually sent her off to Trinidad and Tobago. Also a US-based Professor, Mobolaji Aluko, told Saharareporters that the minister, while he campaigned for former dictator Sanni Abacha to transmute into a civilian president in 1998, told him that they will have to solve the "Yoruba problem" Aluko said he still has Maduekwe's "final solution to the Yoruba problem in Nigeria" ringing in his ears since 1998. "Tell him that I said so, and ask him whether I did not confront him with it right there in New York at the Council of Foreign Relations". Abacha died soon after those events and Maduekwe moved to the new power brokers. His search for strong authority brought him to the top of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2007.



Sources say Madukwe may have resented Ambassador Rotimi from the beginning because it was Obasanjo who nominated the ambassador as the former president was reconciling with his successor last year after a prolonged period of frosty relations. Yar'adua's supporters however became concerned that Washington DC was too sensitive to be left in the hands of Obasanjo and his men. As a result, the ambassador was left in the cold over official diplomatic activities and his deputy, Ambassador Wakili, dealt directly with Maduekwe and the presidency. General Rotimi, Saharareporters learnt, resented having to follow the minister around, on account of his advanced age, especially as Maduekwe has a taste for frequent and prolonged trips to the US. "The minister was notorious for spending weeks in the US just roaming around", a source in the Nigerian embassy told Saharareporters. During the United Nations General Assembly and the recently concluded inauguration of President Obama, Maduekwe spent several days in the US doing nothing in particular. As Nigeria's representative to the General Assembly, he was not allowed to make his presentation until almost everyone had left; even then, it was merely to read the speech of Yar'adua, who could not attend on account of his failing health.



SaharaReporters also learnt that the Federal government sent two delegations to the Obama inauguration from Abuja even though no invitation had been sent to Abuja. Chief Emeka Anyaoku led one delegation while Minister Maduekwe led yet another. Ambassador Rotimi ran into trouble with Maduekwe when he requested that the two teams be merged together for managerial and reception reasons. Maduekwe, who is known to be a highly-egotistical man, refused all entreaties to accept that the older, more experienced Chief Anyaoku lead the two teams. He was also enraged by the refusal of the ambassador to surrender his inauguration tickets to him so that he could lead the Nigerian delegation to the inauguration. But this could not be done because the US Secret Service in Washington D.C. would not substitute or permit an uninvited Foreign Minister in place of an accredited Ambassador. Both Maduekwe and General Rotimi are close to former president Obasanjo, but as things fell apart between the duo, Maduekwe is said to have portrayed to Yar'adua that General Rotimi is still loyal to the former president as Rotimi had visited Obasanjo while the latter while Obasanjo was at the UN to present his report on the peace mission in the Congo. Coincidentally, Maduekwe himself also met with Obasanjo extensively and reportedly bad-mouthed Yar'adua to Obasanjo, telling the former president that Yar'adua arrives at Federal Executive Meetings (FEC) seated before everyone and doesn't move or speak as such, underscoring the gravity of his sickness. Saharareporters sources said Yar'adua will likely approve a statement by next week recalling Oluwole, since his hands have now been forced.