INVESTIGATION: Why Tinubu Appointed Two Top Spies As Ambassadors (Nigeria)

President Bola Tinubu is nailing a key staple in foreign relations: strategic embedding. 

In international relations, governments of nations do not just appoint anyone to foreign diplomatic missions of key strategic allies, sphere of influence or arch goes without careful, strategic considerations. 

The old USSR and the Eastern block generally operates it's foreign missions like a think tank during the heydays of the Cold War.

Likewise, the Western bloc. 

This is essentially the situation according to diplomacy and international relations, the enclave of a foreign mission or embassy is tantamount to an extension of the sovereign nation it represents in the host country. So, the high mission of India to Nigeria, is an extension of Indian nation. Do, the corners of the building and compound of the Indian mission in Abuja or Lagos belongs to the Indian federation, not Nigeria. Anything India does in the building while subscribing to the Vienna Declaration on activities of foreign missions, does not have to bow to Nigerian laws. 

In effect, foreign missions of some countries in other nations are listening and observation posts of what that host  nation and other nations in that geographical area are doing. It does not matter whether the nation is a friendly one, or a foe. That is the unwritten principle in foreign affairs. Everyone spies on the other but no one admits it and must not be caught doing so.

The 1954 Lavon Affair vividly illustrates what governments of nations do at some diplomatic missions. Is ra eli intelligence planned destabilization of Egypt by b0mbi1ng western installations and blaming in on Egypt's Muslim brotherhood to stall Britain's hanover of the size Canal to Egypt for fear it will be weaponized to cut off oil and commerce to the new nation of Is ra El.  The plan was reportedly facilitated via its mission in Egypt. 

Conversely, Egypt was also spying on Israel through recruitment of an Is ra eli top agent  Avti Elad, who was the overseer of the operation. Rlad informed the Egyptians, detailed the plan which enabled Egyptian intelligence  tail and arrest a b0mber in the act. He was arrested and the operation collapsed.

The suspected k1ll1ng of Jamal Kashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist and Washington Post columnist inside the Saudi embasdy in Turkey is another example of what a foreign government can do when it wants to weaponize its foreign mission in its hodt nation. Turkish, US and other nations could not unravel much of what happened because they cannot enter the Saudi embassy. authorization and even when US intelligence staff visited, they were limited in intelligence they could gather and areas they had access to. Despite strong, compelling evidence, especially by Kashoggi's fiancee awaiting him outside the embassy, the mission claimed Kashoggi left the mission upon completing his consular visit there.

The sort of immunity and impregnable nature that a foreign mission is so absolute that only embedded spies within that foreign nation could monitor and reveal. Police cannot go in there, foreign missions must not be for Reilly accessed or attacked, even in w@r.

While the West and Eastern blocs have mastered this doctrine to the hilt, African nations are lagging behind. 

With the new release of ambassador-designates recently, President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria wants to change this narrative. In the world of Eastern nations embracing first, communism and now, socialism led by USSR now Russia,versus West of capitalism led by United States, Nigeria is pro West. 

So, our strategic allies for a long time are from that region, UK as its colonial Lord and now, US as its strategic partner for over 50 years. In appointing envoys to other lands, this is a key consideration. And, it is an open secret that government appoints tested spies as diplomatic envoys to core countries  within their strategic interest. Many top personnel at foreign mission are dimy out, intelligence officers..

Ayodele Oke, Nigeria's ambassador-designate to France.      Courtesy: Google 

Lateef Are, ambassador designate to United States.       Source:Google

Looking through the list, Nigeria is not making any secret of its playing the game now. Ambassador-designate to France, Mr. Ayodele Oke, was the former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). This agency is responsible for nigerias6espionage and counter intelligence operations internationally

 Ambassador designate to the United States, Mr. Lateef Are, a retired colonel, was former Director General, State Security Service .

US is our strongest strategic partner for decades and master of espionage. A person of thst stature would be savvy enough to facilitate Intel gathering, analysis and swift utilization in directing Nigeria's foreign policies in US for best results in our domestic policy. 

France has a love-haye relationship with Nigeria since it lost the nation that later prove to a lucrative one to the British during the Partition of Africa. Its often sly attempts to insinuate itself into Nigeria for our mineral resources, especially crude oil,  through the back were often noted by Britain and coldly rebuffed. But, it is always hovering. 

After, france supported Biafra War during Nigerian Civil War, relations between Nigeria and the country hit an all-time low for decades afterwards. It slightly started thawing in the late 1990s. 

But now, the Nigerian President resides in France before his emergence as Nigeria's president. Tinubu says his home is still there, as he resides there when he is on holiday for total rest far from political jobbers and lobbyists that besiege his Lagos abode at such periods, making test difficult. Oke's appointment there might be to keep a more eager eye on what Nigeria's friend-enemy is up to at all times regarding Nigeria and of course, keep his residence safer in France.