The Triumph of Diplomacy: Kudos to Joy Ogwu
M. O. ENE
New Jersey, USA
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Nigeria's
candidacy for a spot in the United Nations Security Council was no secret.
However, one thing is to wish; another is
to make it happen. Enter Her
Excellency, Professor Joy U. Ogwu, the first female Ambassador and Permanent
Representative of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the United Nations. A
seasoned foreign relations expert, first female Director General of Nigeria’s
Institute of International Affairs (Nigeria’s foremost foreign policy think
tank), and immediate-past minister of external affairs, she was in familiar
waters: international diplomacy. Calm, coolheaded, and courageous, Professor
Ogwu set out to achieve where many had failed since Nigeria last occupied the
seat in 1994, 15 years ago!
It was not going to be an easy task, especially with certain African countries aspiring to average with Nigeria in international affairs. Soon after Ambassador Ogwu presented her letter of credence to the UN Secretary-General Bank Ki-Moon, she began the diplomatic legwork to secure one of the seats in the reformed and expanded Security Council, with an eye on positioning Nigeria for eventual expansion of the permanent seats. As the New York lottery ad has it; you have to be in it to win it.
Not one to make undue waves, Professor Ogwu set out to win the confidence and trust of her diplomatic colleagues. First, she took on the chair of UN Second Committee, which deals with economic and financial matters and special committee on peacekeeping operations. This position is so demanding that many would run if it dropped on their laps, which is why only those well-regarded by other ambassadors are considered for such a seat. Professor Ogwu took on the job, even as she battled with all sorts of housekeeping matters afflicting the Nigerian Mission: dilapidated prime estate at Tarrytown, dysfunctional Nigerian House elevators, no good home to rest her head after a hard day’s work, budgetary and bureaucratic bottlenecks, usual and unnecessary obstructions, and general teething problems associated with transition from her former peripatetic ministerial assignments to a diplomatic post that had seen no stellar successes in recent years.
Professor Ogwu did not waver, even as these housekeeping problems seemed insurmountable. She refused to lower standards just to cope. She kept her eyes on changing the image of Nigeria at the United Nations and winning a seat in the Security Council. As she later stated: “The decision to seek membership of the Nonpermanent Security Council seat flows from President Umaru Yar'Adua's personal desire for Nigeria to reclaim a presence in the Council, so as to strengthen its voice in global peace and security building efforts.” She had her matching orders, and she was not about to fail a boss who trusted her with reclaiming the near-natural position of Nigeria in Africa and beyond.
I was in Nigeria when many gasped at President Yar’Adua’s absence at the last crucial UN General Assembly. My thought raced to all the work that Ambassador Ogwu had done and the possibility of dropping the ball before the finish line. I knew she had put in so much work into gaining the trust of her colleagues, that only a serious scandal would burst her bubble. Of course, the President must have known the determination of the dame, a political prima donna, he sent to bat for Nigeria at the UN, the world's diplomatic center stage. I reassured some friends at a watering hole in Abuja that the lady looks like she won’t hurt a fly – and she won’t – but she carries a courageous club that could charm her colleagues before she even thinks of striking. They didn’t know her that well, just her work, so they let me have the last word.
Imagine my horror when one of them called the next morning and pointed out a newspaper report. I picked up the paper and there it was: Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General and former long-term Nigeria’s ambassador to the UN, had cast a huge, damaging doubt on “the current credentials paraded by Nigeria.” In effect, Gambari was stating that Ogwu did not have what it took “to secure a place in the expanded United Nations Security Council as Africa's representative on the world body” without President Yar’Adua coming to help her speak to the boys! Questions: After these many years at the UN, hadn’t Gambari garnered enough gravitas to give his country a helping hand? Now, assuming Gambari was in no mood to help, what about staying out of her beat?
Anyone who knows anything about the UN would rather imagine than experience the reaction to Gambari’s outburst in Nigeria’s diplomatic circles. Gambari went as far as dismissing Nigeria’s endorsement by ECOWAS and the African Union: "It is not enough to make Nigeria victorious." It was a big stab on the back of his successor, an unnecessary and unfair outburst against one’s own country… a country that has given Gambari more than his fair share of the national cake.
Everything looked set to go down the drainpipe and downstream. It was a time of great national emotional depression in Nigeria. The economy was not doing great. The banks were undergoing their worst crisis ever. All public universities had been closed for months. Kidnappers sowed fear in the southeast region. The only other national escape, soccer, was not providing any succor. The national team, Super Eagles, was floundering and not looking good to qualify for South Africa 2010. The FIFA Under-20 national team was disgracing the country in Egypt. The FIFA Under-17 tournament coming up in Nigeria held no promise since the star players who had been in training for months were disqualified for discrepancies in age. And now this!
Truth be told, I had some doubts, but I knew that Ambassador Ogwu had worked too hard to gain the confidence of her colleagues, who would want to see her seated in the Security Council as a reward for her hard work and honesty. To crown it all, she presented a 49th Independence Day celebration party that wowed even the worst skeptics about Nigeria’s ability to get things right. The ambassadors were thrilled by the display of dancers and the general classy ambiance. It was a knockout that folks still talk about.
Come this day of the election, Thursday, October 15, 2009, many ambassadors showed up personally to support the woman they had all come to admire and respect as she carried the Nigerian flag to the world stage. Many could not trust their mission officials to cast the right vote; they came themselves to support. Though Nigeria was now running unopposed, the skeptical words of Gambari rang in my ears as I watched from across the Hudson: “It must be recalled that the election is a secret ballot and you need two-thirds of the votes in secret ballot. We have to show that we are worthy. Not only that, the number of votes you get even when you have won is very important. It shows the credibility you have by the number of votes you get even if you are elected as a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council.” This is the peak of pessimism.
When the votes were tarried, Assembly President Ali Treki announced that Nigeria scored the highest votes: 186 out of the 192-member Assembly, a whooping 97%; a minimum of 127 votes or 66%, which is two-thirds of votes, is required to secure the Security Council nonpermanent seat. It was a slam-dunk. The diplomats who came to support Ambassador Joy Ogwu applauded ardently. Other countries elected are: Gabon (184), Bosnia (183), Brazil (182) and Lebanon (180).
For information, the UN Security Council is now made up of 15-country seats. There are five permanent members with veto powers: Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States of America. Ten of the council’s 15 seats are filled by regional groups for two-year terms. Five of the 10 nonpermanent members are elected by the General Assembly every year. Nigeria, which has served three times before, and the other four new members will replace Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Libya, and Vietnam on Jan. 1, 2010 and serve until January 1, 2012. Five countries were elected last year: Austria, Mexico, Japan, Turkey, and Uganda; they will serve until Jan. 1, 2011, when five new countries from their respective regional zones will replace them.
Ambassador Joy Ogwu has succeeded in bringing joy to many Nigerians seeking for good news, any news that will take away the endless stream of bad publicity in an era of “rebranding” Nigeria. She has brought home victory from a fight on the world stage, a trophy that the present administration of President Yar’Adua could display with pride in Aso Rock. Professor Ogwu has reenergized Nigeria’s diplomatic strength and repositioned the country as the Giant of Africa on international stage. If I were a traditional ruler, she would become pronto “Adaejiejemba I”; that is, the daughter with whom a nation goes to places of importance... a true female ambassador.
Regardless of the many grotesque ills and hydra-headed evils that torment the good people of Nigeria, the good efforts of such stellar ambassadors as Joy Ogwu should be celebrated. They provide tongues of light that illuminate the dark tunnels of cash-and-carry politics and primitive, corrupt acquisition of wealth by any means possible. Ambassador Ogwu’s job is just beginning. Winning is one thing, making effective use of the victory is another. There should be no fear from this angle because she has worked so hard to gain the admiration and confidence of her colleagues and her country.
It is often easier to give up on Nigeria, but there is no other country for Nigerians. Nigerians in America often change the subject when Nigeria’s problems are discussed at social events. There is indeed very little to cheer the spirit. Therefore, Ambassador Joy Ogwu should piggyback on her current successes to send some joy and hope to our downcast denizens in Diaspora. The “housekeeping issues” highlighted above could be resolved if Nigeria invests in the candid efforts of our glorious and victorious ambassador. The continued neglect of the dilapidated Tarrytown residence on 17-plus acres of prime estate overlooking the Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge over Hudson, which was rundown by previous heads of mission, is inexcusable. The improved but still deficient Nigerian House should be an edifice of international standard. Little things make citizens and visitors proud of a country: the Consulate, the residence of the ambassador, and dutiful staff members who are paid well and promptly.
Hopefully, the Nigerian government will jump on this victory and milk the goodwill by supporting the efforts of Ambassador Joy Ogwu to take Nigeria back to the center of world stage. She has achieved with so little a perfect rebranding of Nigeria at the UN. For all the millions of dollars dumped on harebrained “rebranding” schemes that have yielded no visible dividends, Joy Ogwu has used pennies to achieve a whole lot more for Nigeria. Imagine what she would do for mere dimes on the dollars wasted elsewhere. For the millions of dollars and Euros that Nigerians abroad pump into the Nigerian economy every year, the least they demand as they wait for better electoral protocols in 2011 is a good face of the country abroad, started already at the United Nations.
This is a triumph of diplomacy, a triumph of cool-headedness in the face of extreme external factors that pull Nigeria apart. It is a triumph of hard work, honesty, and humility, a triumph of decency over unnecessary armtwisting and barefaced braggadocio. It’s now up to Minister Ojo Maduekwe to convince President Yar’Adua of the need to support an ambassador who has delivered above and beyond expectations.
Kudos to Her Excellency, Professor Joy U. Ogwu, a product of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, for being a true ambassador of her alma mater and of her great country.