The website of Nigeria High Commission in UK currently has more of the polices of the government of President Goodluck Jonathan, who left office in 2015.
The policy statements of President Bola Tinubu, who assumed office in 2023, and has visited UK for at least five times since then, are not found on the website.
Although Nigeria’s anthem changed after Tinubu gave assent to the National Anthem Bill, 2024, in May, Arise O Compatriots, the former anthem, is what the high commission has on its website.
If such is the case with Tinubu, it is far worse with ex-President Muhammadu Buhari. For the eight years Buhari stayed in office, the High Commission did not display key information about his government.
Because foreign missions are the first good image publicists of a country, their websites ought to provide accurate information on their respective countries. Aside from the Sierra Leone High Commission in UK, which has stale content like that of Nigeria, checks on the websites of South Africa High Commission In UK, Kenya High Commission In UK, Ghana High Commission and that of Togo, showed they have up to date contents.
As of October 4, 2024, when our correspondent last visited the Nigerian High Commission website, information of 2010 when ex-President Goodluck Jonathan was in power were found in important segments.
Although the landing page showed a message on Nigeria’s Independence Day, while pictures of Tinubu and Mohammed Maidugu, Acting High Commissioner, were displayed conspicuously along Nigeria’s coat of arm, a visit to categories such as Economy Overview; Labour Market and Unemployment; Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing; Mining & Semi-Processing, among others which ought to educate and enlighten visitors, showed some information that have not been updated since the era of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“According to the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, inflation declined steadily from 15.1% at the end of 2008 to 11.1% at the end of July 2009,” a post on the economy overview read in part.
Incumbent governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has held multiple Monetary Policy Committee meetings and other engagements, where policy statements were made, yet none of this has found its way to the website.
Before him was Godwin Emefiele who was CBN governor for nine years, but it’s the information of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who served under the late President Umar Musa YarÁdua and later Jonathan, that was found on the website.
Commenting on this gaffe in an Op-Ed piece, Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa, Editor-in-Chief, Nigeria Year Book and Who is Who, narrated how he drew the attention of Ambassador Sarafadeen Isola, the immediate past High Commissioner, to this situation years back but nothing positive has been done since then.
“The Nigeria High Commission London is yet to post any document on the economic policies of the Tinubu Administration over a year after its inception… It never did for the Buhari Administration that lasted eight years. It is an embarrassment for Mr. President and his administration that the narrative on the website’s economy overview stops at 2009.”
“In the case of Buhari Administration they were few attempts seven months after the first and second articles were released. His Excellency the Nigerian High Commissioner in London sent an email to me on September 23, 2022 after the publication of the second article requesting that: “The above subject was brought to my attention. I will appreciate if you can provide the link to the UK embassy report. Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to redesign our website, which I must unfortunately admit is user unfriendly”. Apparently from this enquiry His Excellency was not aware of the content of the website. But why despite all the resources expended on this foreign mission there are no responsible officers with capacity to even collate and post correct information on Nigeria. This is not acceptable. The High Commission is yet to up date the website two years after this communication with the High Commissioner. What manner of diplomatic service is this?”
In an interview with Daily Trust, a former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof. Bola Akinterinwa, said the obsolete information on the commission’s website portrayed Nigeria in a bad light in the community of nations.
The diplomat lamented that the absence of Tinubu-led administration’s foreign policies on the website implied that the government is not using international relations to promote economic growth and development in Nigeria.
He said, “It is how you are perceived that people relate with you. It shows that public administration in Nigeria is at best zero. That is why, for instance, former British Prime Minster (David Cameron) described Nigeria as fantastically corrupt. When you’re fantastically corrupt, how do you expect to address minor issues like updating the website? It gives Nigeria a very bad image.
“It gives the government an image of recklessness; it tells investors that they can’t depend on information on the internet and it is better for them to make inquiries one-on-one. If you don’t have updated information, they (the investors) will engage in bad decision making. It only portrays Nigeria as, at best, an analogue country in a new world of globalisation and technologically-driven world.”
An email sent to the High Commission, seeking clarification on this development had not been responded to as of the time of filing this report.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Eche Abu-Obe, could not be reached for comments. (Daily Trust)
