Tinubu picks security pro Lateef Are for US ambassador post

Nigeria finally started restocking its empty embassies, and the first move is dropping a heavyweight security veteran into Washington.

Nigeria restarts its ambassador shuffle

• President Bola Tinubu approved three ambassador postings on Thursday.
• The destinations are France, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
• This comes more than two years after Nigeria pulled every envoy back home.

Who got the nod

• Colonel Lateef Are is headed to the United States.
• Ambassador Ayodele Oke is assigned to France.
• Ambassador Amin Dalhatu is posted to the United Kingdom.

Why this matters

• Back in September 2023, Tinubu recalled diplomats from 109 foreign missions.
• That sweep covered embassies, high commissions, and consulates.
• Since then, most missions ran on chargés d’affaires with limited clout.

Washington gets a security insider

• Lateef Are is from Ogun State and is Nigeria’s new face in Washington.
• His posting lands during increased scrutiny of Nigeria–US relations.
• Recent comments by US officials on Nigeria’s security situation raised the stakes.

Military roots run deep

• Lateef Are came out of the Nigerian Defence Academy in December 1974.
• He was part of Regular Course 12 and graduated in the top ten.
• His first major assignment landed him in the Nigerian Army Intelligence Corps.

Famous classmates

• Several course mates later became national figures.
• Names from that circle include Owoye Andrew Azazi, Sambo Dasuki, and Ganiyu Adekeye.
• That class quietly produced a chunk of Nigeria’s security elite.

Brains beyond the uniform

• Lateef Are earned a First Class Honours degree in Psychology.
• He graduated from the University of Ibadan in 1980.
• He swept multiple prizes as the best graduating student.
• Later, he added a master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos.

From intelligence to the top job

• Lateef Are worked closely with Aliyu Gusau in military intelligence.
• When Gusau became National Security Adviser in 1999, he pushed Are forward.
• President Olusegun Obasanjo named him Director-General of the State Security Service.
• The appointment stirred chatter about shared Owu roots.

Brief run at the highest security seat

• In April 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan made Are Deputy National Security Adviser.
• After Gusau stepped down, Are briefly acted as NSA.
• That stint ended when Azazi was appointed NSA in October 2010.

Post-office drama

• Lateef Are resurfaced publicly in 2015 over a housing dispute in Ikoyi.
• The State Security Service asked him to leave the residence given as a retirement benefit.
• Lateef Are fought back in court, claiming operatives forced his family out.
• A Federal High Court later ordered his reinstatement pending the case.

The bigger diplomatic picture

• These postings mark Nigeria’s first real step toward rebuilding its foreign representation.
• With Washington back in focus, sending a security-heavy envoy looks deliberate.
• It signals that Nigeria wants experienced hands in rooms where security talk dominates.