Tinubu Begins Crafting His List Of Ambassadorial Appointments…

Tinubu Begins Crafting His List Of Ambassadorial Appointments…On March 1, 2017, many Nigerians watched in disbelief as the Senate screened 82-year-old Justice Sylvanus Nsofor for an ambassadorial position. At the time, President Muhammadu Buhari was in the midst of his first term, having spent a significant portion of it receiving medical treatment in London. From his recovery bed, Buhari nominated Nsofor—a man nearly a decade older than him—for the role of Nigeria’s ambassador to India, the world’s largest democracy.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

During the screening process, the Senate asked Nsofor, a former Court of Appeal judge, to recite the national anthem. But the octogenarian, perhaps seeing the senators as his juniors, defiantly refused. “Why should I do so? You should have sent me a syllabus,” he retorted to Gbenga Ashafa, the APC senator representing Lagos East.

When questioned about his age, Nsofor responded, “Go and ask [Robert] Mugabe, who is still working,” referring to Zimbabwe’s then-president. The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Monsurat Sunmonu, later presented her report, which noted that Nsofor’s answers were often evasive, lacking detail, and at times, sarcastic. Given his responses, it was no surprise that the Senate rejected his confirmation.

However, just a few months later, in June 2017, Buhari re-nominated Nsofor for the ambassadorial post, prompting a second screening. This time, Nsofor adopted a more composed approach and answered the committee’s questions more satisfactorily. Despite concerns raised by the Department of State Services about his age, the committee recommended his confirmation, asserting that age should not disqualify a nominee who demonstrated the required competence.

In the end, the Senate confirmed Nsofor as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States.

For those familiar with history, Buhari’s insistence on bringing Nsofor on board makes sense. In 2003, during Buhari’s first presidential bid as the candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), he lost the election to the incumbent Olusegun Obasanjo of the People’s Democratic Party. However, Nsofor, who served as a member of the three-person tribunal that reviewed the election, was the only one to dissent from the majority verdict. He pointed out significant flaws and irregularities in the election process, even accusing Obasanjo of orchestrating violence. While Obasanjo ultimately secured a second term, Nsofor’s courageous dissent likely left a lasting impression on Buhari.

Twelve years later, it seemed like payback. Despite Nsofor’s frailty and advanced age, Buhari was determined to have him serve in his twilight years. And serve he did, acting as ambassador from November 2017 until his death.

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