The Cotonou Times had the honor to have a conversation with a retired Benin Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Nigeria with whom diplomacy and Benin Nigeria relations were discussed.
The Cotonou Times: Can you please introduce yourself?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé : My name is Jacques Adandé. I am a retired career Benin diplomat and former ambassador to Nigeria. I served in Europe, Canada and Africa and later I joined the United Nations System.
The Cotonou Times: What were the requirements to become a diplomat when you started your career?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: Career diplomats were recruited among university graduates with a background in Law, international relations, arts and who then were thereafter sent to specialized institutes and schools abroad, in France, Switzerland, the US and in the UK.
The Cotonou Times: This was in the 1960’s?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé : This was in the sixties and seventies.
The Cotonou Times: How long had you been a public servant before being appointed Ambassador of the Benin Republic (then Dahomey) to Nigeria?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: I would say, that I was one of the youngest ambassadors ever appointed in our time.
The Cotonou Times: How old were you at that time?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: I was around 35 years of age.
The Cotonou Times: Were most of your colleagues older than you at that time?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: : We have to take into consideration the context of our time, our independence. When our countries became independent, they were young states. Diplomacy was not a field which was familiar to us. Therefore they had to train people, and naturally young people were recruited to be trained and these were the individuals who were appointed to diplomatic positions, although some of the key positions were given to politicians. For example we had people like President Ignacio Pinto who was Ambassador to the United Nations who later became a Judge at the International Court of Justice at The Hague in the Netherlands.
The Cotonou Times: How old was Ignacio Pinto when he was appointed Ambassador?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: He was around fifty. Late Ambassador Pinto started school in Porto Novo and pursued his education at Kings College in Lagos and then in France and in many other places. Yoruba was his native language; he also spoke French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
The Cotonou Times: Who appointed you as Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Nigeria?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: An ambassador is always appointed by the President, because an ambassador is a special representative of the head of state to another of state. I was appointed by President Kerekou.
The Cotonou Times: So you received your credentials from President Kerekou that you handed over to President Gowon?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: At that time it was President Gowon and later President Murtala came into power and I was still in Nigeria.
The Cotonou Times: President Gowon was also a young man at that time.
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: He was indeed a young man, a little bit older than me, but we got on fantastically well.
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: He was indeed a young man, a little bit older than me, but we got on fantastically well.
The Cotonou Times: Given your diplomatic experience, would you advise a Head of State to appoint an Ambassador who is less than 40 years old today?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: The position of ambassador requires some quality, some experience,some maturity which automatically requires that you are a little bit older when you become an ambassador, because the responsibility is so crucial. I would personally recommend that an appointment for such an office would require a person who is over forty. Today there are young subjects who are very brilliant who have acquired a lot of experience who are thirty five who can do the job quite well, but maturity is necessary to become an ambassador
The Cotonou Times: What is the Ambassador’s relationship with the Foreign Affairs Minister? Does he report to the President of the Republic or to the Foreign Affairs Minister?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: He reports to the Foreign Affairs Minister. The administration is under the direction of the Minister who then reports to the President. Ambassadors, everybody has to go through the Foreign Affairs Minister.
The Cotonou Times: But the ambassador can have a personal relationship with the Head of State and sometimes does not directly interact with the Foreign Affairs Minister. Is this true?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: It is a very good thing when an ambassador can have good relations with the head of state, but it is not advisable that he goes straight to the head of state. He should always refer to the head of the administration who is the minister.
The Cotonou Times: Who is the ambassador’s boss given the fact that he is appointed by the President of the Republic?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: The ambassador’s boss is the Foreign Affairs Minister.
The Cotonou Times: As a former Benin diplomat who has served outside of the Benin Republic(both in Western and African countries) can you please indicate if the salary that you were receiving was adjusted to the “standard of living” of the host country or if was based on the Benin civil service pay system?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: As an ambassador the salary in the Benin diplomatic service had always been a critical issue. In the sixties and seventies, the salary was really low and based on the grid of Benin civil administration. In those days really, they were among the worst paid African diplomats serving in various countries. Then later, following my departure from Nigeria, an adjustment was made to help them meet the normal engagements of an ordinary ambassador,but salaries remained very low.
The Cotonou Times: As a Benin Ambassador to Nigeria in the early seventies (1972, 1973), what was the situation with reference to this matter? Because an Embassy needs to hire local staff, an embassy needs to have vehicles etc. Were all these materials made available to your mission in Nigeria?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: As I said, we were poorly treated, very poorly treated. It was very difficult to get adjustments, to get the Ministry of Finance to be alert to the situation.
The Cotonou Times: For example, the property hosting the Benin Embassy in Lagos, was it the property of the Benin Government or was this facility actually rented?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: We rented both the Chancery and the Residence of the Ambassador. But at that time the Nigerian Government had allocated a plot to us in Ikoyi, in Victoria Island for us to build our diplomatic premises
The Cotonou Times: So the plot of land hosting the Benin Embassy in Lagos was actually allocated by the then Nigerian Government?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: Yes
The Cotonou Times: So from the 1960s up till the 1970s ,the Benin Republic Embassy in Nigeria was actually a tenant?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: Exactly, we were renting the premises for the Chancery and for the Residence of the Ambassador.
The Cotonou Times: You served as a Benin Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the early seventies. Please indicate what was achieved diplomatically during that period between Benin and Nigeria?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: A lot was achieved and I would say that achievements started long before I arrived there, because the relations between Nigeria and Benin were really very warm. I would mention just a few things .You will recall that there were some treaties on friendship, mutual assistance, commercial agreements and so forth. During my time as an ambassador we had to implement those agreements particularly the construction of the road between Nigeria and Kraké in Benin.
The Cotonou Times: Are you referring to the Idiroko, Igolo, and Kraké road?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: Yes. It was built as part of the Benin Nigeria cooperation
The Cotonou Times: This was a major achievement. During your tenure, you met President Yakubu Gowon multiple times, correct?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: Before I answer that question, it is important to stress that we started two joint ventures: A joint cement plant and a sugar factory.
The Cotonou Times: You are referring to the Sugar factory in Sabe and the Cement plant in Onigbolo near Pobe. Are these the major achievements?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: I would also add one: the use of Cotonou port . The Lagos Apapa Port was really congested which was affecting Nigerian importers
The Cotonou Times: What you are implying here as everbody knows that Nigerians and Nigerian importers have been using the Cotonou Port for many many years .What you are telling us now is that it was an official accord between the Nigerian Government and the Benin Government, that allowed this facility to be used by Nigerian businesses?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: Correct
The Cotonou Times: As a person who was living and working in Nigeria during that period (1970s) can you please describe the political situation of that time, the economic situation, the cost of living as well as the education standards?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: Nigeria was a very prosperous nation from a commercial and economic standpoint. Oil production had started and it was booming. I remember that the Nigerian Government started to increase the salary of public servants. People were happy.
The Cotonou Times: So the economy was thriving at that time and Nigeria was a very good place to live?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: Really, it was a very good place to live. Many countries were coming to Nigeria to buy and purchase things .
The Cotonou Times: What about the cost of living?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: It was quite affordable compared to Benin
The Cotonou Times: What about education standards?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: Nigeria had the highest standards of education in the region. The universities such as Ibadan, Amadu Bello University in Zaria, had a good reputation. The University of Ibadan was among the top four African universities.
The Cotonou Times: What about the security situation?
Ambassador Jacques Adandé: Nigeria was quite a secure place, a more secure place than today.
The Cotonou Times: Nigeria has been facing a lot of challenges in the last couple of years, how do you assess the current situation prevailing in that country?
Ambassador Adandé: No matter how difficult the situation may be from time to time, Nigeria is partly developing, developing economically, industrially and commercially and reinforcing its leadership in the region. I think it is a country who is trying to increase its cooperation with its neighbors and with us, as Nigeria has always considered Benin as a sister nation .People never think in terms of Benin as a totally different country. I would like to quote one of the jokes exchanged with General Yakubu Gowon when I handed over my credentials to him. He said ” these people are funny, Dahomey are sending a Nigerian as Ambassador of Dahomey to Nigeria”. Whenever I was visiting the various states, I would always find people who are more and less relatives of mine. I visited Oyo of course, Ijesha, Ondo and various places and even when I went to Kastina, I discovered that someone from the Emir Court had relatives in Kandi, Borgou, Parakou and so on and so forth. Our nations have always been very tied.
The Cotonou Times: It has been a great pleasure to conduct this interview and we thank you for your time.
For questions and comments about this article please email us at newsdesk@cotonoutimes.com
