Saving Nigeria from the increasingly absurd theatrics of Jimoh Ibrahim, By Owei Lakemfa

Ibrahim is a disaster waiting to happen. In my July column titled “Jimoh Ibrahim is uninformed: UN intervenes in nation’s internal affairs,” I had observed that his knowledge of diplomacy is weak and advised him “to read the UN Charter, its main resolutions and practices.” I had also observed that he does not appear to listen to good advice. So, I suggested that he listened to our career ambassadors in the UN. Perhaps, if he had done so, he would not continue scripting absurd pieces of drama in the world body.

This week, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu featured prominently in the newest theatre of the absurd staged by Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Folorunsho Ibrahim. The stage was the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, where, on 19 October, Ibrahim presented the seven-volume UN 2027 draft budget to President Tinubu. Ibrahim began the comedy with a big, fat lie. He claimed: “This is the first time in 66 years that Nigeria will chair the Budget and Administration Committee. It is the first time, and we do not know when it will happen again in history.” Contrary to this wild claim, the first time Nigeria chaired the UN Budget and Administration Committee was on 22 September, 1971. This is verifiable in UN records, including its digitallibrary.un.org. That 1971 date was when Ambassador Edward Olu Sanu was elected the UN Budget Committee chair. At that time, Ibrahim was a four-year-old boy.

So, contrary to Ibrahim’s claim that it took Nigeria 66 years after independence to be elected chair of the UN Budget Committee, the country was actually chair within eleven years of its independence. Ibrahim followed this falsehood with the announcement that: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is making history by being able to receive this budget. He is the first Nigerian president in 66 years to receive the UN budget from the United Nations.” May Tinubu be the first and last Nigerian President to be subjected to this absurdity. The UN draft budget is not Nigeria’s budget. It is that of the 193 Member countries of the UN and is slated for deliberations at the UN Headquarters in New York, not in the Nigerian Presidency. So, what does Ibrahim want President Tinubu to do with the seven volumes? Sit down and read them? For what purpose? Can Tinubu amend, audit, veto or pass the UN budget? Why would Ibrahim’s publicity stunt be allowed to subject Nigeria to international ridicule?

All ambassadors report to the Foreign Affairs minister. Did Ibrahim pass through Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu before presenting the unofficial UN budget to President Tinubu? Did she, as procedures dictate, even approve his journey to Abuja? If she did, was the Foreign Ministry part of this charade?

This is the second time within three months that Ibrahim would be disgracing Nigeria. In July 2026, he held a press conference and announced that: “President Tinubu will be sitting very close to Donald Trump in the front row of the United Nations General Assembly. Don’t ask me how that was arranged, but he will be sitting.” He gave the impression that the UN is a corrupt organisation where sitting positions can be purchased. Secondly, he presents the slavish mentality that it will be a rare privilege for Tinubu to sit close to Trump. Ibrahim’s claims about the sitting arrangement in the UN are false. For the UNGA meetings, the arrangement is determined alphabetically by the English name of each country. The starting position is based on a random annual lottery in which the UN Secretary-General picks the name of a Member State from a box. The country so picked is assigned the first seat in the hall, which is the far right of the front row from the podium. After this, the remaining 192 countries are seated round the hall, with each entitled to six seats: three for delegates and three for alternates.

This arrangement is valid for one year and affects the sitting arrangements for all formal meetings of the UN Committees. This month, when I was in the UN to make a case for the complete decolonisation of Western Sahara, I had the privilege of visiting the UNGA Hall.

So, Nigeria already had its allocated sixth position, sitting in the front row of the General Assembly chamber for the 2026 UNGA, before Ibrahim appeared at the Presidential Villa to claim that he had a special seat for Tinubu close to where Trump is to sit. Therefore, when Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented Tinubu at UNGA 2026, sat in the sixth position and Ibrahim proclaimed that it was a significant diplomatic achievement, it was a lie.

The UN sitting arrangement is in line with UN principles of the sovereign equality of states. So, no country has a permanent front-row seat. Nigeria has a long, glorious history of diplomacy. As far back as 1486, that is 540 years ago, the Benin Kingdom, under Oba Ozolua in present-day Edo State, had an ambassador in the Court of King John II of Portugal. In 1526, Benin, under Oba Esigie, had an ambassador to Europe, as well as an embassy building in Lisbon. In return, Portugal sent ambassadors to the Benin Oba’s Court. The Itsekiri Kingdom in present-day Delta State had accredited ambassadors to the Vatican and European Courts. So, if territories that are now part of Nigeria had accredited ambassadors to Europe over five centuries ago, it is tragic that we would be presenting Nigeria today as a country that lacks diplomatic knowledge or experience.

It is indeed quite disgraceful that a country that had outstanding Permanent Representatives to the UN, such as Chief Simeon Adebo, Emeka Anyaoku, Ibrahim Gambari, who became one of the most outstanding UN envoys, and Joseph Garba, who was the face of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the UN, would appoint a Jimoh Ibrahim to such a prominent position as Nigeria’s face in the world assembly.

Ibrahim is a disaster waiting to happen. In my July column titled “Jimoh Ibrahim is uninformed: UN intervenes in nation’s internal affairs,” I had observed that his knowledge of diplomacy is weak and advised him “to read the UN Charter, its main resolutions and practices.” I had also observed that he does not appear to listen to good advice. So, I suggested that he listened to our career ambassadors in the UN. Perhaps, if he had done so, he would not continue scripting absurd pieces of drama in the world body. However, this is not about Jimoh Ibrahim, who, sooner or later, will leave. This is about our country. I think the Foreign Ministry and our foreign ministers should exercise proper supervision of our ambassadors, especially the non-career ones like Jimoh Ibrahim, who may not be experienced in diplomacy. We should also ensure that people so appointed or sent to foreign missions are knowledgeable, teachable and respectable.

I have had it said a few times that President Tinubu is his own foreign minister. No! This was what was touted about President Muhammadu Buhari, and it ended up disastrous. President Tinubu should concentrate on his job of ensuring the welfare and security of Nigerians and give the Foreign Ministry and the foreign ministers he has willingly chosen a free hand to run our international affairs.

Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.