Diplomacy in Disarray: Tinubu’s Race to Fill Nigeria’s Empty Embassies

President Bola Tinubu is expected to announce a new slate of ambassadorial appointments in the coming days, marking what officials describe as the final stage in Nigeria’s long-delayed diplomatic overhaul. According to senior government sources, the President has directed security agencies to conclude vetting immediately, with new ambassadors to be deployed to key global capitals as early as next week.

The decision comes at a critical time for Nigeria’s foreign policy. For more than a year, the country has operated without substantive ambassadors across its 109 foreign missions, following Tinubu’s September 2023 directive recalling all envoys as part of a “comprehensive restructuring.” Since then, most missions have been managed by chargés d’affaires – career diplomats who lack the political weight and direct access needed to represent Nigeria’s strategic interests at ambassadorial level.

The absence of appointed ambassadors has not gone unnoticed. In recent months, Nigeria’s diminished diplomatic presence has weakened its voice in critical negotiations, from regional security coordination in West Africa to trade and energy discussions abroad. The issue has become more urgent in light of recent diplomatic tension with the U.S., after President Donald Trump threatened sanctions and possible military intervention over unsubstantiated claims of Christian persecution in Nigeria.

Tinubu’s forthcoming ambassadorial list is therefore both a bureaucratic necessity and a political statement. It is an attempt to project stability and competence at a time of growing international scrutiny. Yet, the names currently circulating among insiders indicate that the President’s diplomatic strategy— like much of his governance — appears motivated more by loyalty than by strategic expertise.

Among the leading contenders is Fola Adeola, founder of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, whose record in finance is unquestionable but whose experience in foreign policy is minimal. Also on the list is Femi Pedro, a former deputy governor of Lagos state whose tenure was marked more by technocratic modesty than diplomatic skill.

Perhaps the most controversial name is former aviation minister Femi Fani-Kayode, a politician whose long and turbulent career has been shadowed by corruption allegations and a carousel of party defections. Though he has repeatedly escaped conviction in a series of EFCC prosecutions stretching back nearly two decades, his reputation remains clouded by public distrust. The prospect of Fani-Kayode representing Nigeria on the international stage raises uncomfortable questions about credibility and perception. Diplomacy, after all, is as much about moral authority as it is about negotiation.

Other speculated nominees include former Kaduna senator and activist Shehu Sani, once jailed for his pro-democracy work during the military era but lacking any record in diplomatic affairs. His staunch support for Tinubu’s administration — and his vocal insistence on a second term for the President — make his potential appointment appear more like a political reward than a strategic selection. Former Abia governor Okezie Ikpeazu, also said to be under consideration, faces persistent accusations of financial mismanagement. Even after recent claims of a fraud conviction were debunked, the damage to his public image remains.

Names like former Enugu governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and ex-presidential aide Reno Omokri round out the list. Both men, known more for their partisanship than for statesmanship, represent a worrying trend: the shrinking of diplomacy into an echo chamber of domestic patronage. Omokri’s outspoken defence of the Tinubu administration — at times bordering on paid advocacy — further erodes the impression that these appointments are driven by merit.

Two facts stand out immediately. First, the absence of women on this speculated list reinforces the structural exclusion that has long characterised Nigerian politics. Despite the existence of a deep pool of qualified women in academia, the civil service, and multilateral institutions, their near-total omission signals the persistence of a gendered hierarchy in Nigerian politics. Second, none of the listed contenders possess significant foreign policy or diplomatic experience.

This is a critical oversight at a time when Nigeria’s global posture requires skillful navigation of complex geopolitical realities; from its economic partnership with China and the African Continental Free Trade Area to its relations with Western allies over security and human rights. At a time like this, appointments driven by political familiarity rather than competence risk compounding the very image problem this administration is falling over themselves to fix.

Tinubu’s government faces a growing public relations crisis at home and abroad. The country’s battered economy, security failures, and perpetual governance challenges have made it an easy target for foreign criticism. The President’s decision to finally fill diplomatic posts should be navigated as an opportunity to signal a renewed seriousness in foreign affairs. Instead, if the current roster of names holds, this opportunity will be squandered.

Nigeria’s diplomatic framework has long reflected the broader dysfunction of its political class: powerful yet performative, assertive but rarely strategic. In that sense, Tinubu’s ambassadorial nominations mirror his administration’s governing style — quick to centralise power, slow to build institutional competence. The appointments, when announced, will likely be framed as a demonstration of leadership in turbulent times. But leadership, particularly in diplomacy, demands more than political loyalty. It requires an understanding of how nations perceive one another, how reputation is built, and how credibility, once lost, is almost impossible to reclaim.