President Goodluck Jonathan has rebuked the permanent secretary in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Danjuma Sheni, for allegedly
prompting the recall of Nigeria’s envoys to South Africa without due
authorisation, triggering a diplomatic spat between the two
countries. The president queried Mr. Sheni
Monday, and placed him on suspension to allow investigation
into the matter, officials told Newsmen Tuesday.
Nigeria announced the recall of its acting High Commissioner in
Pretoria, Martin Cobham, and the ddeputy High Commissioner in
Johannesburg, Uche Ajulu-Okeke, on Saturday, in protest of xenophobic
attacks against African immigrants in South Africa.
A statement from the foreign affairs ministry, attributed to the minister,
Aminu Wali, said the diplomats were “summoned for consultations”
over the attacks. South Africa slammed the decision, describing it as “unfortunate and regrettable”, and portraying Nigeria as opportunistic.
South Africa’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, said
in a statement that his country was shocked that the Nigerian government would resort “to such an extraordinary diplomatic step to
express outrage at actions or behaviour of another government”.
“We are not sure which actions or behaviour of the South African
Government the Nigerian Government is protesting,” Mr.
Monyela said. “If this action is based on the incidents of attacks on
foreign nationals in some parts of our country, it would be curious for
a sisterly country to want to exploit such a painful episode for whatever
agenda.”
South Africa said it did not criticise the Nigerian government’s handling of the deaths of 84 of its nationals at a collapsed guest house of Synagogue Church of All Nations on September 12, 2014.
An outraged President Jonathan holds Mr. Sheni responsible for the recall of the diplomats, sources in the ministry and the presidency told Newsmen on Tuesday.
A decision on whether to fire or replace Mr.
Sheni will depend on his response to the query
issued him, officials said.
“The president never authorised the recall,” one
source said. “For you to recall an envoy, the man
he represents has to know.”
Our sources dismissed earlier suggestions by the
foreign affairs ministry that the diplomats were
merely “summoned for consultations”, saying
such discussions could have been conducted
electronically.
It is not clear why the Minister, Mr. Wali, was
spared. On Tuesday, Mr. Wali advised against
recalling the envoys in South Africa, but urged
the evacuation of Nigerians if the situation in
South Africa deteriorates.
Mr. Sheni was appointed the permanent
secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
November 2014, having been redeployed from
the Office of the Secretary to Government of the
Federation.
Officials said despite a robust career run that saw
Mr. Sheni serve in various missions abroad,
including Washington DC, New York, USA and
Brussels Belgium, the permanent secretary has
been behind several diplomatic missteps since
arriving at the ministry.
The sources said Mr. Sheni was also responsible
for the recent row between Nigeria and Morocco,
following the north African nation’s disclosure
that its king turned down a request to speak with
President Jonathan.
The officials said it was Mr. Sheni who triggered
a statement denying that Mr. Jonathan was
snubbed, an apparent falsehood that later
embarrassed Mr. Jonathan and the country.
At the time, the president also ordered an
investigation into the Morocco row, and vowed to
punish those responsible for the misinformation.
It is unclear if he did.