what I could see on TV , US engagement with China and how he brokered US engagement with the Middle East and his quiet role in engaging US interests on the continent of Africa . So my interest basically grew out of a love or a desire to be like another human being – Henry Kissinger – so my studies took me in that direction and when I finished , in 1993 , the first place I applied to was the foreign services of Kenya and out of 3,800 applicants they chose 8 and I was one of them .
Any particular moments that stand out as highlights of your career ? Absolutely ! The highlight of my career was when Kenya was in the United Nations Security Council , prior to that , we had been in the council once in 1969 , I was a kid then then , so in 1996 Kenya was elected to be a non-permanent member of the Security Council . There was a Nigerian Professor who was then permanent representative of Nigeria to the council , Professor Ibrahim Gambari , took us round and he said “ You are getting into a very important place I do not want you to go and re-invent the wheel , come with your team and I will show you the ropes ” so our entry and knowledge about the security council was through Gambari , the tricks of the trade , what to do and what not to do , how to press the big powers , when to back off , we got this knowledge from him . By the time we got in the council , and we sat in council for the first time in January 1996 ( the election was in October 1995 ) it was almost like attending a PHS seminar in international politics . I was dealing esoterically with the challenges in Bosnia – for an African diplomat our focus is mostly the continent itself and the issues of development – but now we were talking about and dealing in a substantive form for the first time with issues in far flung places in the world , so the 2years in Security Council were truly one of the most exciting in my career and I will really mark that as a huge learning experience for me .
What does the job of a diplomat entail ? You have to understand the power lines in international diplomacy . You have to push your agenda , but you always have to know who the big boys are , and you always have to understand that if you have to push your agenda with them you have to negotiate beforehand . From what I ’ ve experienced , the job of diplomacy is constant engagement and not to assume that your position is right , but your position is always negotiable and what you are looking for all the time is how to secure your permanent interest and those permanent interests change . Right now Nigeria ’ s permanent interest is that of securing the homeland from terrorists and so on – Security challenges . Tomorrow it could be different , it could be how to secure the homeland on the economic front . But in the end , how you determine your national interests and how you deploy , how you leverage the instruments of national power in the achievement of those interests is the key .
Give us a summary of Kenyan mission in Nigeria The Kenyan representation in Nigeria , prior to my arrival , wasn ’ t so strong . When the federal capital moved from Lagos to Abuja our office moved , we rented space at a place . We decides and it was a well thought out decision that Nigeria is and continues to be in the Western African sub-continent , therefore we built this Chancery at a cost of over 2billion Naira . We decided that we needed an enduring footprint , because it reflects our understanding of the continent , that we are going to be here forever and that we have to be in a place that shows our presence in a way that reflects our engagement with Nigeria . One of the first trips that President Kenyatta made anywhere was to Nigeria and subsequently President Jonathan has visited Kenya four times . Firstly on a personal level , the relationship between our
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