Enthroning sustainable diplomacy as national CSR

Nigeria’s diplomatic missions abroad are meant to be the country’s windows to the world, projecting its values, culture, and credibility. Yet, many of these embassies today reflect more of the dysfunction at home than the promise of a nation eager to take its rightful place in the global community.

Reports of unpaid rent, salary arrears, and harassment of Nigerian citizens abroad have turned what should be beacons of pride into symbols of neglect. From a sustainability and corporate social responsibility perspective, this is more than just administrative failure, it is a breach of trust, a governance gap, and a waste of national goodwill.

When embassies are unable to meet their basic obligations such as paying staff and landlords, Nigeria’s image suffers. Diplomacy thrives on perception, and perception is built on consistency, integrity, and credibility. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs blames budget shortfalls and foreign exchange pressures, but what is at stake here goes beyond numbers in a ledger. It is about whether Nigeria, as a sovereign entity, is sustainably managing its global footprint. Just as businesses are called upon to meet CSR standards by balancing profit with social good, the Nigerian government must treat diplomacy as its own CSR obligation, an accountability framework owed not just to international partners, but to Nigerian citizens who deserve protection and dignity abroad.

The ripple effects of neglect are clear. Unpaid staff resorting to corrupt practices such as passport and visa racketeering is not only predictable but corrosive. It undermines public trust in institutions, fosters impunity, and leaves ordinary Nigerians already battling economic hardship, exploited by the very system meant to serve them. When corruption grows out of unpaid wages, it is not only an ethical failure but also an unsustainable practice that widens inequality and deepens reputational harm.

The wider context of Nigeria’s foreign policy weakness makes the situation worse. Between 2016 and 2023, over 300 Nigerians were reportedly murdered in foreign countries, many through xenophobic violence in South Africa or arbitrary harassment in Ghana. The recent “Nigeria-must-go” protests in Ghana, where Nigerians were stereotyped as criminals, illustrates how fragile Nigeria’s diplomatic leverage has become. A strong foreign mission infrastructure, adequately funded and responsibly managed, would have worked to counter such narratives, defend citizens, and demand accountability. Instead, Nigeria’s embassies are caught up in debt and dysfunction.

The recent arbitrary hike in passport fees by the Nigeria Immigration Service, doubling costs in less than two years, further reflects the disconnect between governance and sustainability. CSR demands that organisations, whether corporate or governmental, make decisions that balance financial needs with social equity. Yet, increasing passport fees without improving passport ranking or services amounts to exploitation. Nigerian passports remain among the weakest in Africa, behind even smaller nations with fewer resources. This imbalance not only frustrates citizens but also undermines investor confidence.

True sustainability in foreign policy means embedding long-term planning, accountability, and inclusivity into how embassies function. The stop-gap “special intervention funds” disbursed to struggling embassies are not solutions but palliatives. For Nigeria to reposition itself credibly, it must restructure its diplomatic network in line with its resources. Many countries already use shared diplomatic models, Israel, for example, runs one embassy in Kenya that simultaneously covers Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, and Seychelles. Nigeria can do the same: rationalise missions, focus on priority countries, and ensure that fewer embassies are better staffed, better funded, and better managed.

From a CSR standpoint, embassies are also impact centres. They are not only diplomatic outposts but also service providers to Nigerians abroad, facilitating documentation, protecting rights, and fostering bilateral cooperation. Failing at this role is equivalent to a corporation abandoning its host communities. It creates distrust, fuels alienation, and makes citizens feel voiceless. No serious nation striving for sustainability can afford this gap.

Appointing ambassadors should therefore not be treated as a political afterthought. It is a leadership necessity. Since September 2023, Nigeria has operated without substantive ambassadors in many posts, leaving a vacuum that has damaged the country’s image. This is the equivalent of a company leaving major subsidiaries without CEOs, chaotic, inefficient, and unsustainable. If Nigeria wants to attract investment, foster bilateral trade, and ensure the welfare of its diaspora, it must place competent, ethical, and proactive individuals in charge of its embassies.

CSR also teaches us that partnerships are key to solving systemic challenges. Nigeria must embrace this lesson in diplomacy. Agreements signed with Brazil, France, China, Colombia, and Qatar will remain ink on paper unless they are championed by embassies empowered to turn them into concrete projects. Sustainability demands that we go beyond symbolism to measurable impact, tracking how these agreements create jobs, attract investments, and improve Nigeria’s development goals.

The broader lesson here is that diplomacy is not abstract; it is governance, and governance must be sustainable. A nation that cannot sustain its embassies undermines its credibility to sustain international commitments, whether on climate action, trade, or security. Embassies must be repositioned as part of Nigeria’s CSR to the global community: a way of saying, “We are reliable, responsible partners who respect the rules of engagement.”

To achieve this, the Nigerian government must:

•          Adopt transparent budgeting for embassies and publish reports on expenditure to build trust.

•          Integrate sustainability goals into foreign missions, ensuring they promote Nigeria’s climate commitments, diaspora rights, and responsible trade.

•          Partner with the private sector and diaspora organisations to co-fund cultural, economic, and educational programs that elevate Nigeria’s image abroad.

•          Ensure that embassy staff are trained in ethical service delivery, with zero tolerance for corruption.

Nigeria cannot afford embassies that weaken instead of strengthen its place in the world. As CSR Reporters often emphasises, sustainability is about systems that work for both people and institutions. For Nigeria, the sustainability of its diplomatic missions is tied to the sustainability of its global reputation. If embassies fail, so too does the promise of Nigeria as a credible global player.

The time has come to stop treating diplomacy as a footnote and start treating it as a core CSR commitment of the Nigerian state. After all, just like corporations are judged by how they treat their stakeholders, nations are judged by how they represent and protect their citizens, home and abroad.

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