Former
Minister of Foreign affairs, Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, has died. He died in
London at the weekend at the age of 83. Announcing his death, the National
President
of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria(ARCAN)
Amb. Dapo Fafowora, in a statement released yesterday, said the former
diplomat, died on Sunday, November 26th.
“I have
received with sadness, the news of the death of Amb. Olu Adeniji in London last
Sunday. Amb. Adeniji was an iconic figure in the foreign service rising to the
position of a permanent secretary and later foreign minister.”
Ambassador
Adeniji was born on July 22nd 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 and was for five years, the Special Representative
of the United Nations General Secretary with the United Nations Mission in
Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). He served in Nigerian embassies in Washington, D.C.,
Freetown and Accra, Ghana. He retired from service in 1991 after serving as the
Director-General of the Ministry of foreign affairs. For five years, he was the
Nigerian Ambassador to France.
He was
appointed Foreign Affairs Minister by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He
served between July 2003 and June 2006, when he was moved to head the Ministry
of Internal Affairs.
May his soul rest in peace, Amen.
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