Foreign missions under burden of infrastructure decay, poor staff welfare

Nigeria’s diplomatic missions abroad have been facing significant challenges, including infrastructure decay and poor staff welfare, particularly in the United States.

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives recently raised concerns about the deteriorating state of Nigerian embassies and consulates, citing issues such as infrastructural decay, financial distress, and mismanagement.

During an oversight visit to Nigerian mission houses in New York, Atlanta, and Washington D.C., legislators discovered disturbing and embarrassing conditions, including unpaid staff salaries, neglected facilities, and ineffective diplomatic participation. The situation has reportedly damaged Nigeria’s international image, potentially affecting its aspirations for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

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Call for investigation

The House of Representatives has mandated investigations into the condition of the missions to restore Nigeria’s diplomatic credibility.

Adopting a motion of urgent public importance, House Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda (Rivers, PDP), in his motion, expressed concern over findings from a recent oversight visit by the Nigeria–United States Parliamentary Friendship Group to Nigeria’s mission houses in New York, Atlanta, and Washington D.C.

Chinda said while in New York, lawmakers discovered that the mission was deeply indebted in rent and had failed to pay over 30 staff members for more than a year.

In Washington D.C., Chinda said it took the personal intervention of a patriotic Nigerian to repair a faulty elevator in the mission house—a development the lawmaker described as symptomatic of “gross negligence and systemic dysfunction.”

The lawmaker warned that the situation at the missions reflects a broader collapse in Nigeria’s foreign service operations and could damage the country’s standing in global diplomacy.

Chinda expressed worries that despite yearly budgetary allocations meant to cover salaries, facility maintenance, and operational costs, the missions remain in a deplorable state, worsened by the declining value of the naira.

“This is not just about poor maintenance; it’s about the country’s image and strategic interests,” Chinda stated.

“If we cannot manage our missions in the United States—the host country of the United Nations—we risk losing credibility in the international arena.”

The lawmaker also expressed dismay that Nigeria has failed, for two consecutive years, to appoint a Permanent Representative to the United Nations and a High Commissioner to the United States—two critical diplomatic posts that have remained vacant while key global conversations continue without Nigeria’s representation.

He further noted that Nigeria’s missions, especially in the US, are vital for advancing the nation’s diplomatic, economic, and cultural goals.

Other missions affected too

This issue isn’t limited to the US—concerns have been raised about Nigeria’s missions worldwide, with reports of rent debts, poor infrastructure, and administrative neglect.

A former diplomat, Ambassador Suleiman Dahiru, said the rot at Nigerian missions goes beyond what was seen in the US by the parliamentarians.

He said, “From my experience, everywhere you go in all our missions, you will find that they are not in good condition. So, you cannot say because these two missions are in America and because America is America, therefore, they should be taken care of. If they are to be taken care of, others should also be taken care of.

“I have visited so many of these missions, and if you see them, they are an eyesore. If you compare our diplomatic missions and consular posts with other countries, you will be ashamed.

“And if you go inside, you find that even the furnishing is extremely bad. There is a need for a total overhaul of all the missions, diplomatic or consular.

“At the same time, when you look at the type of official vehicles that we use, the representational car of the ambassador is not in good shape. The official cars in the embassies are not in good shape.”

The Minister Counsellor of the Nigerian Embassy in Turkey, Abdullahi Madobi, said the building housing the embassy in the country was not befitting of Nigeria’s status.

He made this known during a visit by a delegation of Nigerian journalists to the embassy in Ankara recently.

The diplomat acknowledged the need for a more visible and better-equipped embassy, noting that a piece of land had already been provided by the Turkish government for Nigeria to build a befitting embassy.

“We have it. It is just that our economy now is not in a shape where we can embark on those kinds of expeditions. But we do hope that maybe one day we will get those resources and build,” Madobi added.

 ‘Nigeria’s image suffering’

Meanwhile, Ambassador Dahiru has said Nigeria’s image was suffering on the international stage as a result of the embarrassing state of its missions.

“Let’s be very clear about this issue, it is the image of Nigeria that is suffering. So, the government should just summon the courage, find the resources and get all our missions abroad properly fixed.

“Don’t only rehabilitate the buildings, you also change the furnishing. Let me tell you, when I was in Vienna, Austria, between 1995 and 1998, because of the deterioration of the Nigerian embassy, which is listed as a landmark in Austria, I had to get a videographer to take video of every section of the embassy, which I sent to headquarters, for them to see. It was then that they sent some money.

“When I was in Sudan, I also did the same thing about the Nigerian embassy. It was in a horrible condition. In fact, it was a disgrace,” the former envoy said.

He advised the government to act quickly to save the country from further embarrassment, stressing that, “A committee should be set up either by the National Assembly itself, or by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or by the presidency, to visit all our missions abroad, inspect them and recommend the type of renovation that should be done and also the furnishing of those buildings.”

He also spoke on the delay in the appointment of ambassadors and high commissioners for the country, saying Nigeria was becoming a laughing stock in the international community.

The former envoy rubbished the claim that there was a paucity of funds to run the missions, insisting that: “Nigeria should understand that running a diplomatic mission is a very expensive venture. It is never cheap to run a diplomatic mission.

“If you are prepared to run an effective diplomatic service, you must be ready to pay for it. You compare, you go to other countries, you look at their chancery building, embassy building, I mean, and you go to see the ambassador’s residence, the difference is very clear.

“I refuse to accept that Nigeria does not have enough money to run an effective foreign service, manage the buildings well, manage the officers well, provide good furniture, and good vehicles. What I have always said and I will keep on saying is that it is the misapplication of resources in Nigeria. We spend money on things that we don’t need to spend money on.”

‘Gov’t aware of the situation’

Alkasim Abdulkadir, the media aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said the government is aware of the situation and is seriously working towards resolving it.

Reacting to the situation in a phone interview with Daily Trust, he said: “The federal government is well aware of what is going on, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Assembly, the Budget Office, the Accounting General’s Office, are all working in tandem to find a lasting solution to this issue”.

When asked to give a time frame when Nigerians should expect a change or a facelift in the missions, he said: “You know the way appropriation works, everything has to be captured.

“It is hoped that everything will be captured this year and it will be implemented in the 2026 budget. Don’t forget that the full implementation of the 2025 budget has not come on screen fully yet”.

Alkasim said the renovation of some of the missions was captured in the 2025 budget, assuring that more would be captured in the 2026 budget.

“I need you to bear in mind that there’s a near-global recession going on at the moment. Countries don’t have a lot of money, and Nigeria is not immune to this. So, it is hoped that the economic reforms that have been embarked upon will be more impactful so that issues like this will be better tackled,” he said.

When reminded of the minister’s promise to Nigerians in March 2025 that the list of appointed ambassadors would be released ‘soon’, Alkasim argued that the appointment of ambassadors is a prerogative of President Bola Tinubu, adding that, “He holds the overarching view of the finances of the country.

He, however, assured that the list of ambassadors would be sent to the National Assembly soon.