Who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs?
The former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Germany Yusuf M. Tuggar is the incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The working of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
As an investor in Nigeria, you are most likely going to need the services of some of the agencies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Basically, it is one of the oldest ministries which was created to reinforce foreign decision-making and implementation processes in Nigeria with other countries.
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Not just that, the ministry also manages all external promotion and cooperation between Nigeria and other countries around the world.
As such, the ministry is in charge of managing Nigeria’s offices in both commonwealth countries and those that are not.
The ministry isn’t just about Nigeria’s relationship with other countries, it also plays a very important role in serving as the first point of call overseas when a foreign investor plans to invest in Nigeria.
They do this by playing the role of external promoters.
They play this role by providing the necessary information to a prospective investor and connecting such investors with Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment.
The ministry is Nigeria’s chief marketer in foreign countries in order to increase awareness about Nigeria’s economic potential.
It was created by the government of Tafawa Balewa in 1961 who was Nigeria’s Prime Minister at the time and appointed Jaja Wachuku as the first minister of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria.
It was known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Relations.
Agencies of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
The minister can’t do it all alone, as such, there are foreign agencies saddled with carrying out some of the mandates of the ministry.
They are:
- Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA),
- Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR)
- Directorate of Technical Aid Corps (TAC)
- Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA).
- Nigerians in Diaspora Commission
- Nigerian Foreign Service Academy
NOTE: Nigeria’s embassies and High Commissions around the world are under the purview of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This means that Foreign Affairs manages more than 100 agencies, bodies, or institutions.
| Agency | Year of Establishment |
| NIIA | 1961 |
| IPCR | February 2000 |
| TAC | 1987 |
| DTCA | 2005 |
Functions
NIIA
To provide a platform of ideas on what direction Nigeria should follow on international policies.
IPCR
To conduct training and develop capacities for the peaceful management and resolution of conflicts in Nigeria and the African continent.
TAC
To serve as a practical demonstration of cooperation with other African countries in capacity building and human resources
DTCA
To achieve cooperation and integration.
Department of Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Apart from the agencies, there are also departments that help in the effective management of human resources, they are:
- Finance And Account
- Protocol Department
- Department Of Planning, Research And Statistics (Prs)
- African Affairs Department
- Economic, Consular And Legal Department
- Regions Department
- Foreign Service Inspectorate
It is very important to point out that Nigeria’s Embassy or High Commission in the eyes of Nigeria in other countries and are coordinated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The headquarters of Foreign Affairs is at Tafawa Balewa building, Federal Secretariat,
CBD, Abuja, Nigeria
Final thought:
Foreign affairs need to do more to redefine Nigeria’s relations with other countries, Nigeria seems to have lost direction during the administration of Muhammadu Buhari unlike what the country had during the military regime of Sani Abacha and the democratic “regime” of Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 to 2007.
For instance, some of the agencies of the ministry have no functioning website at the time of this report, in this digital age.