Ambassador Olu Adeniji, ex- Nigeria’s foreign minister dies

Ambassador Olu Adeniji, ex- Nigeria’s foreign minister dies

Thursday, November 30, 2017 7:08 am


Ambassador Olu Adeniji

Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, a former Nigeria Minister of Foreign affairs and a consumate diplomat is dead.

While announcing the death, National President of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN) Amb. Dapo Fafowora, said in a message on Wednesday: “I have received with sadness, the news of the death of Amb. Olu Adeniji in London last Sunday.

The 83 year-old former Ambassador who died in London was considered an iconic figure in Nigeria’s Foreign Service.

He was born on July 22, 1934 in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

A career diplomat who began his sojourn in July 1960, Adeniji rose through the ranks in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He was for five years, the Special Representative of the United Nations General Secretary with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).

He was also appointed United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic. The Mission was responsible for providing security in Bangui and for coordinating the legislative and presidential elections held in 1998 and 1999.

The late Adeniji also served as the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative for Sierra Leone and Head of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).

He served in Nigerian embassies in Washington, D.C., Freetown and Accra, Ghana and was Nigeria’s Ambassador to France for five years.

He retired from service in 1991 after serving as the Director-General of the Ministry of foreign affairs.

The late Ambassador was appointed Foreign Affairs Minister by former President Olusegun Obasanjo where he served between July 2003 and June 2006.

He also served as Minister of Internal Affairs.


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One Comment

  • Avosuahi says:

    I have just read with a heavy heart the sad news of the passing of Ambassador Olu Adeniji. My hearfelt condolence to the family of my former boss, the people of Ijebu Ode, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigeria as a whole. A perfect detribalized human being, a promoter of professionalism has left us. May the legacy he has left behind, especially in the Foreign Service, be maintained.
    Rest in peace oga mi owon.

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