A BROKEN MISSION
Nigeria’s Failed Diplomacy in the Philippines and the Fight for Justice and Embassy Reform
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Before the five assassinations described in subsequent paragraphs happened, a Nigerian had gone missing in 1991. Mr. Femi Oladipupo was a Mechanical Engineering graduate student at the De La Salle University in Manila. His junior brother Tosin studied medicine at one of the local medical schools. The two Manila residents were sons of the former Head of Chancery of the Embassy of Nigeria. One fateful day, Dr. Akin Famoyegun, a very close family friend had received a frantic call from Tosin that his brother had not come home. Femi’s body would later be recovered in Cavite, a city a few short kilometers from Manila. He had been murdered. Unverified reports claimed that Femi had been a businessman while he completed his graduate studies. His murder was never solved. That justice was not pursued in the murder of the son of a former Nigerian envoy would foretell the embassy’s treatment of future crimes against the Nigerian community in the Philippines.
“We cannot interfere in the justice system of our host country”, Ajewole started after listening to the briefing of Dr. Odigie. In a clear dodge of responsibility, he claimed the embassy had no budgeted funds for emergencies like Lewis’ death. He went on to warn us to tell the community to refrain from criminal conduct to avert these kinds of murders. Ajewole was in essence telling us that Lewis had been murdered as a result of criminal conduct! This was at a time when even the authorities had not determined the cause of the assassination. While Ajewole spoke, Rotimi nodded agreement without uttering a word. As Ajewole rambled on and on nonsensically, I exploded. “Your Excellency” I interrupted him, my voice quickly rising and choking with passion, “could you please tell us what you think your responsibilities as representatives of our country are here in Manila? What do you think are the reasons for having a Nigerian embassy in the Philippines? Three of our people have been murdered in less than six months with the embassy doing absolutely nothing! How many more Nigerians must be killed before you sit up and ask questions?” As I spoke, I grew more impassioned so much so that Messrs. Ajewole and Rotimi rattled and quickly dashed to the exit and out of the room. No other compatriot had ever addressed them in the forceful and bold manner in which I did. My emotional speech had the twosome thinking a physical attack was imminent. Three minutes later, they returned to the meeting with a third officer, a big, imposing respect-inspiring man. Now resettled in his seat, Ajewole muttered, foolishly, “You think you’re the only big man. I’ve brought you a big man just in case”. Mr. Ajewole’s “big man” turned out to be Mr. S.O. Braide, the Administrative Attaché. This was my first time to meet Mr. Braide. The Administrative Attaché appealed for sobriety and suggested that another larger community meeting be scheduled at which further options on how the Mission could help would be explored. The calm, sober demeanor and the gently persuasive speech of Mr. Braide had helped to diffuse the tense situation. As the conference ended, Ajewole also offered to reimburse the eight thousand pesos I had incurred on the casket.
From Ajewole claiming the Mission had no funds for emergencies to reimbursing the full costs incurred thus far on Lewis, the 360-degree about-face spoke volumes about the callousness of the Mission and the two top officials who hated their community.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The storming and week-long occupation of the Embassy of Nigeria in the Philippines by students in 1986 had one purpose – to fight apathy and turn the Mission towards its true mandate of serving the interests of Nigeria. Treachery had betrayed this purpose, leaving successive Nigerian envoys ever more deadened to the care of their charges. By the early to late 1990s, four known and two probable Nigerian citizens had been assassinated in cold-blood in various cities across archipelagic Philippines, in circumstances that were questionable and suspect. The Embassy of Nigeria was headed by Charge d’Affaires a. i. Samuel I. Ajewole, a Deeper Life fundamentalist, who had abdicated his responsibilities to a criminally-inclined, skirt-chasing Head of Chancery named Femi Akenson Rotimi. Fear had gripped the Nigerian Community which started to clamor for official show of concern and interest by the Mission in these wanton violations of human rights. The embassy, hiding behind indefensible diplomatic clichés sat on its hands and did nothing. As the agitation for action mounted, the Mission resorted to intimidation and death threats against one of its citizens leading to unprecedented polarization in the small Nigerian Community. A Broken Mission is the story of Nigeria’s failed diplomacy in the Philippines, based on the two-year crusade to reform the Embassy of Nigeria, Manila, following official indifference to these murders. The book chronicles the implacable advocacy for justice and clean embassy government that sought to force an inept, abusive and corrupt diplomatic Mission headed by a rogue, scandalous diplomat to reform and serve its community with respect and sensitivity.
About the Author
John M. O. Igbokwe is a Social and Literary Critic, and a Book Reviewer. He started writing as a teen in the 1980s during his secondary school days at the prestigious, all-boys secondary school, the Okongwu Memorial Grammar School in Nnewi, Anambra State of Nigeria. His earliest brush with authority as a Writer was in 1980 when as President, he headed his school’s Press Club, which published the Parrot, a critically independent student magazine that scored the School Administration for incompetence and mismanagement, eliciting the brutal suppression of the magazine by the School Authorities. From then on, he has written on various themes in a wide variety of organs and periodicals, bringing his uniquely deep and passionate views to often controversial issues. Igbokwe loves poetry and has authored several works of verse He holds two business degrees-a Bachelor of Business Administration, major in Accounting and a Master of Science in Commerce, major in Finance. John is a proud Thomasian, having earned his Master’s degree at the oldest existing university in Asia and the largest Catholic university in the World-the 400-year old Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines. John has held Senior Accounting and Finance positions at many companies and municipal and provincial governments. He worked as the Controller at Implementation and Advisory Group Ltd., an Edmonton City Management Consultancy, and as Director of Finance/Municipal Treasurer for the Towns of Peace River and High Level in the Province of Alberta, Canada. Currently, he is the Director of Finance, Adult Corrections at the Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing of the Provincial Government of Saskatchewan, Canada. He lives in the City of Regina, Saskatchewan with his family. Igbokwe can be reached by email at: ABrokenMission@hotmail.com or through www.ABrokenMission.com