A prominent traditional ruler in Ekiti State, Oba Adebanji Ajibade Alabi, has advised the Federal Government against closing down Nigerian Consulate in Buea, Republic of Cameroon.
The Alawe of Ilawe Ekiti said shutting down the diplomatic mission in Buea could threaten national security and affect Nigeria’s economic and commercial interests in the Gulf of Guinea.
Oba Alabi, who was in the Foreign Service and served in many countries across the world before ascending the throne of his forefathers, stressed that carrying out such policy may weaken Nigeria’s diplomatic relations with Cameroun and jeopardise the interests of millions of Nigerian citizens resident in the country.
The monarch, in a statement signed by him and made available to reporters in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital urged the Federal Government not to measure the relevance of the mission in terms of revenue generation, but should be analysed in terms of relevance to national security.
Oba Alabi, who served as Vice-Consul in Buea in the course of his diplomatic career, said the Consulate was established by the late Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to take care of the interest of Anglophone Nigerians who decided to join the French Colony out of interest.
According to him, carrying out the policy will negate the unwritten and solemn agreement by Balewa that Nigeria won’t neglect the 1.5 million local population in the two provinces in Beau, since the colonial era.
The royal father contended that doing so will expose Nigerians resident in the area to anguish, intimidation and harassment by Cameroun’s Gendarmerie, aside the security threat it poses to the country.