The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of E.F. Network Ltd, Mr. Gideon Egbuchulam has underlined the challenges and importance of Nigerian missions abroad and expressed his readiness to offer his contribution to their success.
Egbuchulam who made the statement when he hosted the newly inducted Ambassadors at his Maitama office, Abuja, on Friday February 19, 2021, thanked President Buhari for finding the newly inducted Ambassadors worthy of serving the nation at this critical time.
The Ambassadors hosted to a send-off dinner party at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja by Mr. Egbuchulam were mainly from South East and South South of Nigeria. They included Ambassador Ijeoma Obiezu of Dublin Ireland (Imo state), Ambassador Elijah Onyeagba of Republic of Burundi (Anambra state), Ambassador Ominyi Nwanne of Republic of Zambia (Ebonyi state), Ambassador John Usanga of Guinea Bissau (Akwai Ibom state) and Ambassador Maureen Tamuno of Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Belize (Rivers state).
According to Mr. Egbuchulam, he was delighted by the crop of persons President Buhari has chosen and given what he knows about them, the President made the right decisions. He further thanked Mr. President for the honor done to the South East and South South region by selecting the best to represent Nigeria at this time.
Mr. Egbuchulam used the opportunity to share his personal knowledge on challenges faced by some Nigerians in Diaspora. These, he said, included maltreatment of Nigerians by host countries without any help from the Nigeria Embassies, Nigerians having challenges of getting passports for their newborns and even passport renewal.
He stated further that sometimes the situation gets to a point that Nigerians in diaspora doubt the existence of foreign missions in such countries and tasked the new Ambassadors on the need to change the narrative.
Mr. Egbuchulam equally expressed concern that some Nigeria Embassies are ill equipped and staff morale low. He pointed out that there were two extreme cases where Nigeria Ambassadors were given evictions by their landlords. He wondered why the Ambassador would face eviction notice and the resultant effect on the image of Nigeria.
So he advised that they be ready for the challenges ahead because the trust placed on them by Mr. President is huge. He however, advised that despite all the challenges, with effective representation and communication with Foreign Minister that their problems would surely be attended to.
E.F Network boss appreciates Mr. President for his efforts towards improving the welfares of Nigerians in diaspora since he took over power in 2015, that many Embassy challenges have been reduced significantly though not completely eradicated, expressing hopes That with time the challenges of the foreign missions will be a thing of the past, particularly, under the watch of the current Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama.
Mr. Egbuchulam re-emphasized that their assignment as representatives of the President and Nigerians underpins the challenges and the heavy burden they carry for the country. He pointed, “They are the chosen ones out of over 200 million people of Nigerians, he referred to them as, “Nigeria Investment Ambassadors”, who he said must bring investors home to assist us to repair our ailing economy caused by Covid-19 and create jobs, especially now that there are vaccines to control the spread of Covid-19.
Speaking separately, the new Ambassadors expressed the Federal Government’s commitment to improving the welfare of Nigerians in Diaspora, and that they are delighted to be given the mandate to be part of such an improvement. The Ambassadors who each spoke, thanked Mr. President for the honor done to them and pledged to serve Nigeria and Mr. President with distinction. Ambassador Ijeoma Obiezu summarized the speeches of her colleagues by saying, among other assignments by Mr. President, the two vital assignments were to positively market Nigeria abroad and bring good businesses/investors to Nigeria. That they wouldl not fail Mr. President and Nigerians in general. That Mr. President is ready to cooperate with all genuine investors in Nigeria.
