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Message: [QUOTE="Queen, post: 85029, member: 27"] Nigeria finally started restocking its empty embassies, and the first move is dropping a heavyweight security veteran into Washington. Nigeria restarts its ambassador shuffle [LIST] [*]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. [/LIST] Who got the nod [LIST] [*]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. [/LIST] Why this matters [LIST] [*]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. [/LIST] Washington gets a security insider [LIST] [*]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. [/LIST] Military roots run deep [LIST] [*]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. [/LIST] Famous classmates [LIST] [*]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. [/LIST] Brains beyond the uniform [LIST] [*]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. [/LIST] From intelligence to the top job [LIST] [*]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. [/LIST] Brief run at the highest security seat [LIST] [*]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. [/LIST] Post-office drama [LIST] [*]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. [/LIST] The bigger diplomatic picture [LIST] [*]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. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]

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