By Fr. Alvan I. Amadi
Dear Ambassador Emenike,
It is with a sense of hope and excitement that I write this letter to you. First, I would like to offer my congratulations on your appointment as the first female Nigerian Ambassador to the United States of America. As a Nigerian citizen who resides in the United States, it is a source of immense pride that President Buhari saw fit to appoint an experienced diplomat like you to represent our country to the government of the United States.
Years ago, our country was referred to as ‘the giant of Africa.’ Some might argue – with varying degrees of persuasiveness — that this appellation is still valid. Those who insist on our maintaining this title are quick to remind everyone that we are the most populous African nation as well as Africa’s highest oil-producing nation. Undoubtedly, this situation affords our country considerable political influence and status in the world. We think of ourselves as the proverbial head of the cow that is never invisible in the cooking pot. Put simply, due to the size of the geo-political space occupied by our country in Sub-Saharan Africa, it matters who the Nigerian president sends as envoy to any country. This is especially true when we are talking of the United States of America, which is a nation that is not known to be shy to wield its enormous economic, technological, scientific and geo-political power and influence on the global stage.
As you would perhaps agree, ambassadors not only represent their countries to foreign governments, they also, in a certain sense, symbolize their countries in their places of assignment. This is where ambassadors and presidents share similar characteristics because just as presidents should embody and articulate, among other things, the hopes and dreams of their citizens, ambassadors – to a lesser degree — do the same. The very presence and persona of the envoy speaks volumes. Hence the role of the Ambassador is one that is hugely consequential. As the Canadian communication theorist, Marshall McLuhan, posited long ago regarding communication (and this can also apply to diplomacy), “the medium is the message.” After the death of the former Nigerian Ambassador, Justice Sylvanus Nsofor who died in office last December at the venerable age of 85, it is refreshing to know that the Nigerian Mission in the United States now has a new head.
In your previous diplomatic post, Madam Ambassador, you served as our country’s representative in Ireland. Students of Nigerian history remember that it was the Irish Missionaries who brought Christianity to our shores in the latter part of the 19th century. These intrepid men and women of faith also built mission schools and hospitals, which offered a lifeline of progress and development to many in our country. This is not to say that our country’s relationship with Ireland was without complications. Despite this complex history, however, our Nation and the Republic of Ireland share a bond that is strong and lasting. Your mission in Ireland was a significant contribution to nurturing that relationship and, by many accounts, it was a success.
I am also reminded that in the same country where you previously served as Ambassador, a Nigerian prelate, in the person of Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Okolo serves as the Vatican envoy also known as the Apostolic Nuncio to the Irish Republic. On days when one struggles to find kindling for the flames of national pride, the thought of you and Archbishop Okolo serves as a needed shot in the arm. Both of you, as well as many other compatriots excelling in their fields of endeavor are testament to the qualities of talent, intelligence and grit that inhabit the Nigerian mind.
As I rejoice in your appointment and what it means for the future of our country to be represented by an experienced and skilled diplomat in the United States of America, I would also like to bring a few issues to your attention. These have to do with the Nigerian consulates here in the United States. Living in the United States for the last few years first as a student and then as a permanent resident, I have had to contact and visit the Nigerian consulates in their different locations to renew my Nigerian passport. This letter has been inspired by my experiences and those of others I know with the consulate staff.
Many Nigerians I know have recounted their less than desirable experiences trying to reach the embassy by phone. There are times when the phone will ring endlessly during normal business hours without being answered. This may go on for several consecutive days. On other occasions calls will get transferred to a voicemail system where the requested person’s mailbox is full and a message cannot be left. If one is lucky, and actually gets a live person on the other end of the line, their response is as if one’s inquiry was a rude interruption to their day. This type of treatment in no way represents our great country. Perhaps those who work in these positions should be required to take classes in how to communicate effectively both personally and professionally.
Timely communication with Nigerian citizens who have appointments at the Embassy also needs attention. We all know that 2020 was marked by COVID -19. The myriad impacts of the pandemic were felt by every segment of society. I know of a Nigerian whose appointment for passport renewal had to be canceled three times because an Embassy staff was exposed to the virus. While I understand the importance of this measure, which was to ensure the health and safety of all involved, the issue in question was that the individual was never contacted by either phone or email to inform them of the cancelation. Announcing the cancelation on the website alone, perhaps the day before the appointment was scheduled to take place, without contacting the individuals affected, is not enough. A friend of mine recently shared with me his experience of driving for hours to the Embassy on the day of his appointment, only to learn that the Embassy computer used in the production of new passports had been out of order for weeks. Hence, he was not attended to. These actions reflect not only a lack of respect for Nigerian citizens but also the incompetence of those who are in charge.
Lastly, most Nigerians prepare for their appointments by downloading the necessary information from the website of the Nigerian Consulate. Sometimes and unbeknownst to them, updates with great significance had been made but never corrected on the website. How does this get overlooked? Are the individuals responsible held accountable? This sort of negligence must no longer be allowed to pass unnoticed. Significant changes must be instituted to assure a smooth process for all involved. Perhaps one of the major tasks in your new diplomatic post will be to lead the charge in promoting a healthier organizational culture and in establishing clearer lines of responsibility and measures of accountability. I am convinced that we can and should do better.
Former President Barack Obama in his widely acclaimed memoir, “A Promised Land”, writes about the responsibilities of leadership at the highest level. His words address the duties of a president, but they also apply in varying degrees to leaders everywhere. “As President” he observes, “I would be able to articulate a vision and set a direction for the country; promote a healthy organizational culture and establish clear lines of responsibility and measures of accountability. I would be the one who made the final decisions on issues that rose to my attention…” As the head of the Nigerian delegation, you, Madam Ambassador, are better able than any other person to handle and hopefully resolve these matters.
As I am sure you will agree, rendering a competent and efficient service to the citizens of our country should be ordinary and a matter of course. It should not be newsworthy that one received prompt and polite assistance at the consulate of one’s home country. For years now, however, members of the Nigerian community in the United States have put up with these indignities. Dealing with the Nigerian Embassy has long been regarded as an unpleasant experience at best and a necessary evil at worst. But does it have to be like this?
Your appointment and your track record offer great hope that positive change will not be long in coming. In a country like ours that boasts of a cadre of accomplished and outstanding female leaders who have left their mark on our nation’s history: Dora Akunyili, Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela, Oby Ezekwesili, Onyeka Onwenu, Dorothy Ipere, Buchi Emecheta, Flora Nwapa, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and many others, I am confident that we shall not hope in vain.
My hope is mingled with excitement that with your appointment as the first female ambassador of our country to the United States, it will no longer be newsworthy in the future that a woman is at the head of a prominent and sensitive diplomatic position like the one to which you have been assigned. This may seem like a small and insignificant step in the grand scheme of things, especially when a woman serves as the Vice President of the United States, another woman as the Speaker of the House of Representatives and women are Supreme Court Judges as well as heads of Fortune 500 companies, but it is a giant leap in the unfolding story of our great country.
I wish you every success in your new diplomatic post.
Sincerely yours,
Fr. Alvan I. Amadi
Fr. Alvan I. Amadi is a Catholic Priest and a writer serving in Algoma Wisconsin, USA.
