Oil and gas expert Dan Kunle says President Tinubu’s call for lawmakers to “expedite action” on ambassadorial confirmations reflects the urgent international and security demands facing Nigeria, warning that the country can no longer afford bureaucratic delays.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Sunday, Kunle explained that although the president wants speed, “expedite doesn’t mean they shouldn’t do their job judiciously… they should still follow due process and do their job.”
He said the instruction is best understood as a directive to prioritise the confirmation process because of the critical role ambassadors now need to play. According to him, “‘Expedite’ in this context may mean: hurry up, leave every other thing that is not very important, and focus on this because of the importance attached to it.”
Kunle stressed that Nigeria is currently under intense global scrutiny. “As we speak, the Nigerian state is on the limelight. Everybody is expecting the government to do certain things,”*he said.
He noted that ambassadors will be central to Nigeria’s diplomacy in the ongoing fight against insecurity. “At this stage in this war on terror, these ambassadors have a lot of jobs to do for us. When it comes to negotiation, I strongly believe we would look for some weapons from some countries at this moment,” he said.
Kunle added that ambassadors will play key roles in “processing the required documentation to bring in the arms or weapons needed to tackle the present insecurity,” which may explain the urgency behind the president’s directive: “That could be one of the reasons why the president has said, ‘OK, expedite action,’ because he has some other things to do with them.”
Addressing Nigeria’s pattern of slow decision-making, Kunle criticised the culture of delays in governance. “Procrastination—what you’re supposed to do today, you leave it for two years—does not speak well of the seriousness of an administration,”he said.
He warned that delays come with real consequences: “For every failure or gap in leadership, there are consequences… which is what we just saw now.”
Kunle said Nigeria must learn from this episode: “As time goes on, the government will try to make corrections, because there are consequences for anything you don’t do—and don’t do on time.”
Boluwatife Enome
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