Olugbenga Ashiru, former minister of foreign affairs, has died in a South African hospital after a long battle with illness. The
career diplomat, credited with re-energising Nigeria’s presence in
international diplomacy in the post-Olusegun Obasanjo era, died on
Saturday. Family sources told TheCable that he had been battling with
brain tumour for a while and had be hospitalised for over three months.
Former minister of foreign affairs, Olugbenga Ashiru
Ashiru
played a key role in the diplomatic face-off between Nigeria and South
Africa in 2012 over the deportation of 125 Nigerians for not possessing
valid yellow fever vaccination certificates. Nigeria retaliated and the
stand-off was eventually resolved. Ashiru, appointed minister by
President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, was removed in 2013 in a cabinet
reshuffle. He had been one of the most respected ministers but he was
said to have been nominated into the cabinet by Obasanjo who had
publicly fallen out with Jonathan.
Ashiru, while handing over,
said he had succeeded in securing 22 key international appointments for
Nigerians. Some of the positions included the commissioner for political
affairs in African Union and commissioner for peace and security at the
ECOWAS commission.
“I am leaving foreign ministry as a fulfilled
man considering my achievements in just two years,” he said. He was
born on August 27, 1948 in Ijebu Ode, Ogun state. The product of
University of Lagos, was Third Secretary at the Federal Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in 1972, and served as ambassador to the South Korea in
1991. He was Nigeria’s high commissioner to South Africa, with
concurrent accreditation to Lesotho and Swaziland, in 2005.
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