Yabo Chris Ephraim
- The choice of the immediate former service chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari as non career ambassadorial nominees couldn’t have come at a better time. In the past, Foreign Policy was primarily military related before it later include other areas such as economy, education, science and technology. Till this day, military diplomacy also referred to as defense diplomacy, allows the vast experience, exposure and strategy of the military to be deployed in diplomatic relations. Military diplomacy paved the way for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), European Union (EU) and the World Trade Organization (WTO)
- This strategic move will no doubt assert Nigeria’s interest in the international arena because prior military generals bring an incredible level of discipline and problem solving skills. They are accustom to operating in high stress environment, possess an uncanny level of composure and are excellent at risk mitigation
- The great Napoleon Bonaparte achieved so much for France as a consul and an emperor between 1799 and 1815 because of his background as a former military officer. He achieved legitimacy and autonomy for France by precisely balancing and articulating their national interest. His Section du Contentrieux and Droit Administratif became a model that was followed in other countries
- Retired five star general, Collin Luther Powell was the 65th US Secretary of State between 2001 and 2005. His prior experience was chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was during his reign as chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff that US launched Operation Desert Storm in the war with Iraq. His time as Secretary of State saw the expansion of US interest in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya
- A country’s foreign policy includes all the policies developed to pursue its national interest as it interact with other countries. This means that a country’s foreign policy is the aggregate of its domestic policies
- Nigeria’s foremost challenge at this time is insecurity, and the need to pursue Nigeria’s interest of securing our country cannot be overemphasized. This point was well articulated by Femi Oyewale, the President, National Association of Online Security Reporters (NAOSRE) when he commended the foresight of President Muhammadu Buhari for nominating immediate past service chiefs as non career ambassadors
- It is most unfortunate that some people who are perpetually inclined to mischief, neglect all these facts and have already begun a campaign of calumny against the nominations of these service chiefs. Timi Frank, who is well known for his permanent hatred for this administration since he lost his position as former publicity secretary of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), is describing it as “reward for incompetence”
- Timmy Frank who has failed woefully in every endeavor he had embarked on, cannot even remember these patriots were able to roll back the activities of Boko Haram to only a restricted area of Borno State. They were able to contain the menace of rampant and indiscriminate suicide bombing even in the FCT. They were able to rescue thousands of men, women and children that were under Boko Haram captivity. And above all, were able to preserve the indivisibility, stability and unity of Nigeria and it’s democracy from hawks and unscrupulous elements supported by people like Timmy Frank
- As Nigerians look forward to the confirmation of these great patriots and heroes of our time as ambassadors, it is believed that their coming will further advance Nigeria’s interest among the committee of nations in the area of security and military cooperation. This is very profound in prosecuting the war against insurgency and other security threats. We look forward with hope that the fight against insecurity will be a thing of the past if tackled from all fronts as approached by President Muhammed Buhari
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