By Hon. Kenneth C. Gbandi
For Nigerians in the diaspora, corruption is not an abstract debate. It is often the reason many left and the enduring lens through which Nigeria is judged abroad.
Few developments illustrate this tension more sharply than reports surrounding the renomination of Chief Ayodele Oke, former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), as an ambassador years after he was charged in connection with a 2017 cash discovery involving $43 million, £28,000 and ₦23 million, all allegedly found in a Lagos apartment linked to him.
At the time, the incident shook Nigeria’s credibility. It prompted a presidential investigation led by then Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, resulted in Chief Oke’s removal from office, and led to EFCC charges, arrest warrants, and intense international scrutiny. Yet, years later, the case appears to have faded from public explanation, not because it was conclusively resolved in the open, but because it slipped into institutional silence.
For Nigerians abroad, that silence speaks loudly.
Ambassadors are the first interpreters of Nigeria’s story to the world. They field uncomfortable questions about governance, accountability, and credibility. When unresolved corruption cases resurface in diplomatic nominations without clear public clarification, it weakens the moral authority of every Nigerian representative abroad official and unofficial alike.
Successive administrations have pledged to break from the past. Yet a familiar pattern persists: high-profile allegations emerge, investigations stall, political seasons change, and accountability quietly dissolves. From unresolved oil subsidy scandals to arms procurement controversies, Nigeria’s challenge has rarely been the absence of laws, but the absence of finality.
The Tinubu administration has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to reform and renewal. But reform is not measured by intent; it is measured by consistency. Diaspora Nigerians understand this instinctively, because they live in systems where unresolved allegations alone can end public careers, regardless of political connections.
This is not a call for witch-hunts or media trials. It is a call for clarity.
If cases were resolved, Nigerians deserve to know. If charges were withdrawn, the reasons should be explained. If public funds were recovered, the record should be published.
The reported diplomatic nomination also raises legitimate questions of optics. At a time when Nigeria is seeking to rebuild confidence with key international partners, including European capitals, should unresolved cases of this magnitude trail its emissaries? How does this align with the administration’s stated anti-corruption posture?
Silence, in matters such as this, fuels distrust and distrust is Nigeria’s most expensive export.
Until Nigeria reconciles power with accountability, its global image will remain fragile, no matter how eloquent its diplomats or ambitious its reform agenda.
And so Nigerians at home and abroad are left asking the same quiet, persistent question:
Can this truly be the Nigeria of our dreams?
Hon. Kenneth Chibuogwu Gbandi is a Nigerian diaspora leader and public affairs advocate, former President of Nigerians in Diaspora Germany and Continental Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Europe, and Immediate Past ADC National Deputy Chairman (Diaspora Engagement)
