Last Thursday in Yaounde, Central Africa, all eyes literally settled on out-going High Commissioner of Nigeria to Cameroon, Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin and his wife, Dr. (Mrs.) Omobolanle Olonisakin, as he stepped out to receive Cameroon’s coveted rank of Grand Officer of the National Order of Valour. President Paul Biya described as his gesture as appreciation to the departing envoy for exceptionally lifting the long-standing diplomatic ties between Cameroon and Nigeria several notches higher.
Ambassador Olonisakin was decorated at a state dinner organised by the Minister of External Relations, Minister Jejeune Mbella Mbella, on behalf of his President. In his citation, Olonisakin, Nigeria’s former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was said to have worked assiduously to brighten and strengthen the cordial and excellent bilateral relationship existing between Cameroon and Nigeria.
According to local media reports including a popular Yaounde-based newspaper, Cameroon Tribune, Minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella, in a toast, recounted Olonisakin’s outstanding achievements during his 27-month stay in the country to include, among others, the holding of the impactful 8th session of the Cameroon/Nigeria Trans-border Security Committee in August 2021 in Abuja, Nigeria and the inauguration of the Ekok/Mfum Bridge.
He also cited inauguration of the Ekok/Mfum Joint Border Post through the initiative of the Cameroonian and Nigerian governments in November 2022; the inauguration of a Nigerian shopping centre, named Abuja Market Plaza in Douala in September 2023; and the active participation of the High Commission of Nigeria at the 2023 Africa Day celebration at the Ministry of External Relations (MINREX), with the performance of a dance group from Nigeria, offering Nigerian cuisine and some Nigerian companies doing business in Cameroon.
’The government of Cameroon appreciates and will continue to cherish the strengthening of bilateral relations and the diversification of cooperation between our two friendly and brotherly countries.
‘’Nigeria remains a strategic partner for Cameroon’’, the minister said, adding that a full-fledged Sub-Department, exclusively devoted to relations with Nigeria, was created while MINREX was being organized in 2013.
Some of the dignitaries who attended the investiture were Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Mr Joseph Beti Assomo, Minister of External Relations (MINREX), Mr. Lejeune Mbella Mbella, Minister of Finance, Mr Motaze Louis Paul, Minister Delegate at MINREX in charge of Commonwealth, Mr Mbayu Felix, top government officials, Deputy Head of Mission, Nigeria High Commissions and other officials of the High Commission as well as the Defence Adviser, Nigeria High Commission.
The event which held at the magnificent MINREX located in the heart of Yaounde capital city, pulled a huge crowd of important people comprising members of the diplomatic corps, military, the business class, the High Commission of Nigeria in Cameroon and a strong presence of the Nigerian community estimated at over 5 million represented by top members of different ethnic nationalities, cultural groups and professional associations resident in parts of that country.
Unveiling Olonisakin’s diplomatic odyssey
The retired Chief of Defence, accompanied by his wife, left Nigeria aboard the first-ever direct flight from Abuja to Cameroon, Yaounde, on July 6, 2021, landing in the evening at the Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport, into the waiting hands of jubilant Nigerians resident in the foremost Central African country reputed as having one of the highest literacy rates in Africa. He assumed duty succeeding Ambassador Lawan Abba Gashagar.
A high-powered delegation that received the former CDS on arrival in Yaounde were the Deputy High Commissioner, Lami Sauda Remawa-Ahmed, the Consul General, Consulate General of Nigeria, Douala, HRM Queen Efe Alexandra Clark-Okeru and the Defense Adviser, Commodore Nnamdi Ekwon.
Others were the Head of Chancery, Consulate General of Nigeria Buea, Mr. Samuel T. Amuh, top diplomats from the Cameroonian Ministry of External Relations and the enlarged Nigerian community comprising the Nigerian Union Womens’ Wing, ethnic and cultural dance groups.
The well-attended welcome party for Ambassador Olonisakin was historic even as he was said to have twice visited Cameroon’s Chief of Defence Staff as Nigeria’s defence chief.
Highpoint of his diplomatic foray in Cameroon
Credible sources told this newspaper that while he waited to present his letter of credence to President Paul Biya, Ambassador Olonisakin set out to put the High Commission in order, commencing with what he was said to have called a ‘strategic retreat’ for the entire High Commission staff, from top to bottom, to ensure he had one house, on the same page, singing from the same hymn book.
This soon became his signature tune which diplomatic observers described as reasons for his outstanding accomplishments which included doing a five-day working tour of Cameroon’s Littoral Region where he met Nigerian businessmen and interest groups from the entire Nigerian community in Douala.
‘’As a trained marksman man whose military career started in 1973 at age 12 as a boy soldier in Nigerian Military School, Zaria, he knows the nuances of oneness and jointness that ensures there’s no weak link in a platoon. He often delegated duties and ensured that every one became an integral part of a whole. Consequently, the staff soon took their assignments seriously, having seen themselves as privileged representatives of Nigeria in a foreign land’’, said a source who declined to be named.
‘’By the time he eventually presented his letter of credence to President Paul Biya, he has successfully created a new work ethic and family bond that saw the staff begin to see nationalism differently. The sense of patriotism he injected into them during his 27-month stay at the High Commission is still at an all-time high.
‘’Within Cameroon’s diplomatic circle, his stint is widely seen as the dawn of a new era in the historical relationship between Nigeria and Cameroon especially in furtherance of the mutual destinies they share in common. He fully deserves the award of the Grand Officer which represents the greatest respect ever accorded foreigners in the country. He was obviously Nigeria’s dazzling envoy’’, another top commentator said.
October 1st Nigeria National Day in Cameroon
According to staff of the High Commission, Ambassador Abayomi Olonisakin, who is a recipient of Nigeria’s national honours award of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) never missed any opportunity to rally round Nigerians in Cameroon to celebrate Nigeria’s October 1st Independence Anniversary as well as other national events and festivities for Christians and Muslims.
He had held memorable independence anniversaries at the prestigious Hilton Hotel, Yaounde attended variously by the Dean and members of the Diplomatic Corps, senior government officials and other dignitaries who came to share the moment with the Nigerian High Commission in Cameroon.
At such events, his expansive residential space was always a major celebratory spot to receive Nigerians in the centre of Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital in a creative bid to forge unity, harmony and brotherhood among Nigerians and as a means of spreading the message that they should always be peaceful, law abiding and be their brother’s keeper.
In one of his National Independence Day messages, he said:
“Nigeria is a beautifully diverse country and we must all rise up to lift the greatness in it. We are blessed to have the most important asset any nation requires for growth and development, which is human capital. It is an indication that what binds us together, and the common aspiration we share is stronger than our diversity.
“Our National Day celebration always elicits great feelings both at home and particularly for those of us in the Diaspora in all parts of the world. It is the day that underscores our resolve for national identity as Nigerians, irrespective of our ethnic, religious or other affiliations.
‘’We must not allow the wishes of our detractors to define us and we must be resolved to stand together, shoulder-to-shoulder as Nigerians, whether at home or in the diaspora”.
Takeaways from Olonisakin’s diplomatic journey
Following his appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari as Chief of Defence Staff on July 3, 2015 and voluntary retirement from active military service on January 26, 2021, Olonisakin took on a new life as a diplomat as High Commissioner of Nigeria to Cameroon. From his first day on duty, he left none in doubt about his resolve to make the most of the opportunity. As the High Commissioner, Ambassador Olonisakin remained committed to expanding mutually beneficial bilateral relations between Nigeria and Cameroon.
He attended several bilateral engagements such as Cameroon – Nigeria Trans-border Security Committee, 3rd Session of the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum, Ordinary Session of Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission and a symposium on African Continental Free Trade Area and the Dynamics of Regional Integration in Africa.
Other notable engagements included the 8th Session of the Nigeria-Cameroon Trans-border Security Committee, Thematic Conference on Rabat Protocol on Voluntary Return and Reintegration of Refugees, workshop on Joint Reporting Mechanism on UN Program of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons.
