INTERVIEW WITH H.E. MR. B. B. HAMMAN
THE AMBASSADOR OF NIGERIA TO SWEDEN, DENMARK, FINLAND AND NORWAY
Could you please share your previous appointments before Sweden?
In the course of my career, which spans over two decades, I served in many different capacities in both our headquarters (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and our Diplomatic Missions outside Nigeria. At headquarters, I served as Director of the Office of the Honourable Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and African Sub-Regional Organisations Department, amongst others. I also served in our Diplomatic Missions in Budapest, Luanda, Geneva, Accra, and Rabat. I was heading the Nigerian Embassy/Permanent Mission in Vienna until my present appointment.
It has been almost two years since you arrived in Sweden. Could you share some of your experiences so far?
The Embassy of Nigeria in Stockholm is concurrently accredited to Denmark, Finland, and Norway. Our experience here has been productive. Around the time of my arrival, there was a prevalence of COVID-related restrictions, which hindered our visits to meet stakeholders across the countries of concurrent accreditation. The events for the presentation of Letters of Credence were done without the usual diplomatic ceremonies that attract in-person gathering of officials and spectators. The presentation of my credentials in Helsinki was conducted through the exchange of documents by courier. In line with the purpose of the establishment of diplomatic relations between and amongst our countries, we made efforts to promote, uphold, and protect the interests of our country and to ensure the security of our nationals within the ambit of law and diplomacy while maintaining an effective channel of communication and promoting economic, trade, and investment cooperation and partnership between Nigeria and the Nordics.
To achieve our goal, we contacted and met various stakeholders, including formal and informal meetings with some MDA heads, business entrepreneurs and prospective investors and parliamentarians, some of whom we met at their workplace while others visited us to discuss mutual interests. We established channels and mediums of cooperation between our home officials, business entities, and their counterparts to promote collaboration, cooperation, and partnership in areas of mutual interest. Since my arrival, and in line with the Embassy’s mandate of providing consular and notarial services and protecting the interests of Nigerian citizens under our purview, the Embassy embarked on 30 consular visits across various detention centres. In addition, we have succeeded in securing the release of a substantial number of Nigerians. We have ensured that they receive fair treatment, and ensure the return of their hard-earned savings and assets. Worthy of note was the case of a young lady who was to be deported from Norway but was hesitant to leave the country for fear of losing her savings to the tune of about 700,000 Norwegian krona, which is equivalent to about $70,000 tied down in the bank.
With the Embassy’s swift intervention, the authorities released her funds. The Embassy ensured that the funds were remitted to Nigeria. The Embassy’s effort was deeply appreciated by her family members. Regarding Nigerians with rejected residence permit applications, the Embassy counsels them appropriately and engages the host authorities to ensure that their rights are not violated. If our nationals agree to return home, the Embassy ensures they benefit from the reintegration grants and training, which some of the accredited countries provide as incentives for voluntary returnees.
How effective and efficient is the consular service?
Well for me as a diplomat, who has been on the job for over two decades, wherever I go, I pay attention and attach importance to the relationship between Nigerians and the Embassy, as well as different Nigerian communities who may not need regular consular services due to their status of dual citizenship. Therefore, with this foundation, I can confidently state that the Embassy, for now, does not have any serious consular problems or challenges that we have not been able to deal with effectively. In the area of notarial functions such as authentication/legalisation of academic documents, a Nigerian driver’s licence, confirmation of names, as well as marriage papers amongst others, the Embassy provides such services within 48 hours or less in most cases. Bearing in mind the importance of promptness of this essential service. It is imperative to state that we offer some of the notary services at no cost to Nigerians. It is crucial to also mention that due to the Ukrainian crisis that affected the smooth rendering of consular services by our Mission in Kyiv, the Embassy extended consular services to Nigerians in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, hitherto under the purview of our Embassy in Ukraine. In the area of passport issuance, the Mission has been very effective. Nigerians obtain their passport in real time after biometric capturing. Likewise, the issuance of visas at the Mission has been very smooth and are issued to applicants in compliance with the required regulations. Furthermore, in 2022, the Embassy conducted a passport intervention exercise in Oslo, Norway, in fulfilment of my interaction with Nigerian representatives of the Nigerian Communities in Oslo, during my inaugural visit to the Kingdom of Norway for the presentation of my Letters of Credence to the King. The intervention was the first of its kind since 2012, and it recorded a huge success as a result of our collaboration with the Consulate General of Nigeria in Frankfurt, Germany, we were able to capture and produce over 200 passports for Nigerians in Norway, who were extremely happy with our timely intervention.
It will interest you to note that the Embassy is planning to undertake a similar intervention exercise in Helsinki, hopefully in the summer of 2023, once the Nigerian Community in Finland fulfils the requirements for the exercise. I would like to use this medium to remind Nigerians of their civic responsibility to register with the Embassy, this will provide the Embassy with accurate data and information about our nationals and enable us to collaborate for mutual benefits and further development and progress in our country.
The Embassy oversees the affairs of Nigerians in how many countries and how well is the Embassy connected to Nigerians in these countries?
As stated earlier, our countries of concurrent accreditations are Denmark, Finland, and
Norway. The Embassy collaborates with the community leaders of different Nigerian associations and their apex body. Whenever there is new policy development, we relate with their leaders and encourage them to disseminate the required information to their members. We have a very cordial relationship, we are constantly in touch with them through their various leaders, I sometimes receive direct telephone calls, or text messages and answer every call from all the Nigerian community leaders, including their former leaders within the Nordic countries. We emphasize the leaders to ease the engagement process with them and to create unity among them. The Embassy maintains a very cordial relationship with the members of the various Nigerian communities in all the countries of concurrent accreditation. Just recently, my team and I participated in a virtual meeting organised by the Nigerian Community in Denmark to discuss vital issues affecting the welfare of Nigerians in Denmark. The interactions were very productive as the Embassy was able to address fundamental issues. I am very accessible and I operate an open-door policy. I do have one-on-one interactions with leaders from various Nigerian communities. More so, my team and I attended a cultural celebration in commemoration of Nigeria’s 62nd Anniversary, organised by the Nigerian Union in Stockholm where notable Nigerians over 70 years of age who have made strides in their various areas of specialisation were recognised. It was indeed a beautiful event which showcased our culture and unity in diversity.
Last year, the Embassy participated in the Nigeria-Nordic Connect which took place in Lagos on November 23rd-24th, 2021. The two-day event focused on engaging Nigerian and Nordic private and public stakeholders on smart city and green energy solutions for Lagos’ megacity in areas such as waste and wastewater management, renewable energy, and transport solutions. The Embassy is also looking forward to participating in the Nigeria-Nordic Connect proposed for the last quarter of this year. Furthermore, on May 16–17, 2022, the Embassy co-organised the Sweden-Nigerian Business Forum in Stockholm, Sweden. The Nigerian delegation was led by the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment with representations from the Ministry of Transportation, Nigeria Communications Commission, Lagos State, and the private sector (including MTN and Oando Clean Energy). The forum focused on collaboration between Nigeria and Sweden in the areas of ICT, clean and sustainable/renewable energy, and sustainable green transportation. The Embassy facilitated the coordination and participation of the Nigerian delegation at the Nordic Africa Foreign Ministers Summit, which was held in Helsinki from 13th-15th June 2022. The Nigerian delegation was led by our Minister of Foreign Affairs. The summit also afforded an opportunity to hold a bilateral meeting between the Nigerian Foreign Minister and his Finnish counterpart to discuss matters of mutual interest, such as trade, renewable energy, ICT, health, education, agriculture, regional and global terrorism, peace and security concerns, irregular migration, and the menace of human trafficking. Despite the current economic downturn, the Embassy has been doing a lot to promote and facilitate win-win collaboration and cooperation in areas of trade and investment between Nigeria and the Nordic countries. However, some deliberate policy issues could thwart the desired trade and investment cooperation between our two regions due to unexplained restrictions enforced by the Scandinavian financial system in preventing direct banking transactions to and from Africa, in addition to delays and cumbersome processes involved in the issuance of visas to business/official delegations that want to visit for a business engagement at the invitation of stakeholders and counterparts. Prospective investors from both sides route their transactions through a third-country financial system outside the Nordics to effect payments for investment and trade obligations. This is indeed very worrisome and requires positive consideration by the concerned sector. The Embassy also facilitated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on “Cooperation in the Field of Crop and Livestock Production” between the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark in February 2023.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy, what investment opportunities are there for Finnish investors who want to invest in Nigeria?
I would rather talk about areas of mutual trading interest between Nigeria and Finland. It may interest you to know that Nigeria is the second-largest trading partner of Finland in Africa in areas such as ICT, Renewable Energy, and trading in spices, rubber and seeds. Educational exchanges is another promising area of mutual interest between the two friendly nations.
