The World See Competence in Nigerian Women – Ajayi, Nigeria’s candidate for UN top job

By: Michael Mike

Nigeria’s Candidate for the position of Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Eniola Ajayi, is another Nigerian woman gunning for a top job at the global stage after Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Amina Mohammed are making great impacts at that level, in a chat with journalists in Abuja in the former Nigerian Ambassador to Hungary and the Netherlands noted that Nigerian women competencies are seen on the global stage and that is what market then for high stake job globally, excerpts

Why your decision to vie for the position of the Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons?

When you say decision, it is like it was totally up to me. But the truth is, some of my colleagues recognised the fact that I could do the job; they contacted me that have I thought about it? And even after thinking about it, because it is a country position, it is not up to me, my country has to nominate me. So, yes, I put up my application, knowing that I had been encouraged to participate and I requested the nomination of my government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then, the president graciously approved my nomination and put it forward to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

In one of your recent interviews, you said that you are a bridge between science and diplomacy. What do you mean by that?

In fact, this is an auspicious day for you to understand it. I am at this event that you are interviewing me; it is called Family of Optometric Mentors. My training as a person is first of all as an optometrist and an ocular pathologist. So, I am an eye doctor by profession. But sometime in my life, precisely 2017 to 2023, I served as the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria first to Hungary, with concurrent accreditation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia and subsequently, I was cross posted to the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2021 as the ambassador of Nigeria still for a second tour of duty. This time, I was also the permanent representative of Nigeria to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice and Common Fund for Commodities. So, when I say I am a bridge between science and diplomacy, it is because my background is science and I am also a trained diplomat. A diplomat twice recognised by my country and also recognised by my peers because at some point in our journey, I became the first and current chairperson of the FGN Women Ambassadors Network – ambassadors of Nigeria past, present and future; that is the body that caters for that.

Moving from being an eye doctor to diplomacy, how has it been?

It has been wonderful. My career is very interesting. I started my career in the military as a civilian staff. I worked in the Nigeria Air Force, including my service year for 20 years and then, I started my practice. While doing private practice, I was invited to be the commissioner for education, science and technology in Ekiti State before I became the commissioner for environment somewhere along the journey. And then, I was also encouraged to contest for the House of Representatives, representing Ekiti Central Constituency Twoin 2015. When that election didn’t go as we envisaged, I was nominated as the ambassador to represent Ekiti State and that was how I became an ambassador under President Buhari and retained for a few months until all ambassadors were recalled under the current president, President Tinubu.

If elected into this position, what will you bring to bear on the job? What do you want to achieve?

There are a lot of things I want to achieve. My vision for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, they are quite a lot, but I will mention a few: the first one is what we call the universality of the convention. What do I mean? There are 193 countries accredited to OPCW right now. Theonly four countries that are not in the OPCW are Israel, Egypt, South Sudan and North Korea. And even Israel has signed the convention, it is just yet to ratify. So, what I intend to do is to make sure that all the countries of the world sign up to the convention so that we can get a universal convention.
The other one is that there are some outstanding dossiers like the Syria dossier. They have declared some chemical weapons, but we have not concluded the work in that area of verification. So, I intend to ensure a timely and speedy conclusion of that particular dossier.
Then, not in the order of priority, I intend to be able to use artificial intelligence in an ethical manner, while serving as the DG of OPCW. They currently use it in the OPCW, but I will further look into how we can use artificial intelligence to our advantage.
The fourth is budgeting. I will ensure that the budget is, number one, smart and fit for purpose. It will match the priorities of the organization to the point that the emergingthreats, because right now, the OPCW has achieved a lot. We have done like 99 percent of the declared chemical weapons. We have been able to verify that. So, in that regard, you could say there is not a lot to do in that direction. But when you look at the fact that there are also emerging threats from what you call rogue regimes and non-state actors who still try to use chemical weapons, then there is a lot of work and focus in that area. There is also the issue of abandoned chemical weapons. So, what I am saying is that the budget of the organization will be fit for purpose, will take care of the new phase of the organization and the emerging threats that could occur in the future.
There is the issue of diversity. Diversity in the sense that the organisation will reflect the nature of its composition – the people that work there in the technical secretariat, I will ensure that there is diversity and there is gender equity; more women representation and representation across geopolitical groups.
I would also make sure that I pay attention to emerging threats for our world. I would ensure we have a focus and forward-thinking leadership for the organization. And then, there will be obvious global cooperation amongst the state parties.
Right now, we live in a very polarised world. I will see how I can be a bridge-builder, bringing everybody together to focus on the core reason why the convention came about in the first place, which is to rid the world of chemical weapons, so that chemical weapons will not be used by anyone, at anytime, and anywhere in the world going forward. So, I will ensure that there is proper collaboration, there is less polarisation within the organisation and see how we can build a consensus around the issues that matter regarding the prohibition of chemical weapons.

If elected, what would your position bring to Nigeria and perhaps the rest of Africa?

Right now, what you need to know is, first of all, even the moral standing that it gives Nigeria is that Nigeria is very concerned about the security architecture of the world. It brings a lot of respect and honour that Nigeria is paying attention to the security of the world, especially to be able to attain peace and well-being for the citizens of the world. But when you come back home and say, okay, so what’s in it for us? The thing is this, like begets like. Part of why I’m doing this now is to create an awareness about the organisation. Many people, when I tell them, oh, the president has nominated me for the position of Director General at OPCW, they’re like, what is OPCW? And then I have to say it’s the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. I have to try and explain. So what will happen when I become the DG of OPCW is that more Nigerians, and even by your work today, become aware of this organisation. You cannot apply for a job you don’t know anything about. So like begets like.
When a Nigerian, an African is in that position, more nations of Africa will take notice. We have the talent, we have the people, but if they don’t know anything is happening somewhere, they cannot partake of it. So that is what it would do for Nigeria.
It would give us a lot of respect on the international stage. It would also give us access. That means I’ll have access to many places in the world that otherwise I would have not had access to. And that exposure will create opportunity and access also for my people in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. And this organisation has had four DGs since its inception. The first two are from GULAC, that’s Latin America and the Caribbean. The next two, including the current one, are from the West European group. You understand? So having an African and a woman will be the first for the organisation. I’m sure all of you are familiar with Ben Suda, who was the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Many of us took notice of that particular organisation.

What are your chances?

My chances are pretty good actually.
Let me tell you why. First of all, when I was the permanent representative to OPCW, I had the opportunity of holding critical positions within the organisation. I was vice chairman for two consecutive terms, representing Africa. And while I was doing that, I now doubled as the chairperson for what we call the Chemical Industry Cluster and other Article 6 issues. Now, that exposed me to the organisation. But I was also fortunate to be made the chairperson of the Executive Council for the 99th session of council at the OPCW. And this happened at a critical juncture in the organisation’s history. What do I mean? It was about five days after the conflict in Ukraine started. So everybody had expected a rancorous session. And it was really a tense moment. But I managed to do the three days of the Executive Council in a timeless manner. And at the end of the three days, we were able to adopt a report. That was what actually showcased me to the rest of my colleagues. Because I had only just arrived in the Netherlands a few months before, I had to take on the chairperson’s role in the Executive Council. So having led the organisation in a way that was practicable, that everybody can see, that’s number one.
I don’t want to compare myself to anyone, but I’ll tell you I’m one of the few of those contestants who actually have worked at that level in the organisation. Apart from that, while I was in The Hague, I conducted myself in a way that was obvious, that I’m a firm, friendly, and fair person. I was able to carry people along and to be a bridge builder in every sense of the word.
I had a lot of good relationships while I was in The Hague. So I demonstrated capacity. I also demonstrated the ability to rally people around. And I demonstrated the capacity to act as a leader under pressure. Even in my interactions since this race began, my nomination was in May this year. And the race to become the DG of OPCW actually began June 2nd, where we had interactions with regional groups. First Africa, Asia, East European group, West European group, and then the RULAC group. In all my interactions, and even before we did a presentation of all candidates to the Executive Council on July 7th, I was able to give a good account of myself, and the feedbacks I got were positive. And some state parties will tell you categorically, when I also started doing bilateral consultations with them, they are thinking about me.
You know what I mean. Statements like, your priorities clearly align with ours. Things like, you are in our top three.
You know, out of the level. And the way the straw polls are done is such that the organisation is seeking to get a consensus candidate from all of us. So it’s not like they are just going to vote once, or vote for one person. They are going to give points to candidates. And I know that I have a broad appeal across the five regional groups. So, that’s why I believe I have a good chance.
And then, you know, there are times that things are just tacked up in your favour. I’m a woman, and I believe this organisation is poised to elect its first female DG. Secondly, I am also an African. I know that they believe there is no routine rule that it must be rotated around the regions. But the African group and the GRULAC, having done it two times each, I think it’s only fair that the other regions should get a chance. So right now, the groups that have not been DG are the East European group, the Asia group, and the African group. And Asia did not present any candidates. So it’s between Africa and the East European group. And each of us, we have four candidates.
So, I believe I actually have a very good chance.

Many believe that women are not given opportunities in government in the country. But you seem to be making impacts internationally. At least, we have Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Amina Mohammed there. And hopefully you. What do you think you are showcasing there that folks back home do not seem to be seeing?

Okay. Thank you very much.
What we show out there is that we have a lot of competence. But it’s not only international people that see it. Even Nigerians abroad see it. Everyone who comes in contact with a quality woman sees it. I’ll explain. When I was in Hungary and they asked me to come and make a presentation to their chamber of commerce, I didn’t really have enough materials to take.
It just occurred to me that this is not rocket science. Let me do something myself. So I did my first publication, Nigerian Land of Opportunities. And then I did the next one, Arts, Culture and Tourism. I also took the cultural troupe of Ekiti to Budapest. And, of course, showcased them to the diplomatic community and our community over there.
And then during the COVID years, I was like, what will I be doing with my time? Precisely 2020, I did the publication on food and cuisine in Nigeria. At that time, for the first time, I shared it online to someone and it went viral. Now, the last publication was Nigeria at a glance in 2023. I just thought to myself, if anybody was coming to Nigeria and they needed a publication they can lay their hands on, that will show everything you need to know about Nigeria. So I put it, our currency, the history of newspapers in Nigeria, history of photography, hotels, common phrases, our currency, everything you need to know, I put in that book. And, of course, it went around and a lot of people saw it and were impressed by it. Now, this quality, and then I did trade and investment summits. In fact, the last one I did in the Netherlands was huge. It happened April 20, 2023. In fact, I don’t know if it was responsible, but really, it was shortly after that, that I now discovered that Netherlands became the number one trading partner of Nigeria. Did a lot of things that people recognize, because while I was even in Budapest, I got an award from one African forum based in England, because people see the work that you do. Even the Nigerians in diaspora, they see it.
So when those things happen like that, yes, they may see it quicker there, because it’s a smaller environment than here in Nigeria. Till today, I don’t think we’ve ever met and you didn’t know anything about me. So that’s the reason that it doesn’t seem to show within Nigeria, because we’re so large and there’s so many talented people.
So you can’t compare it to maybe other countries that are just small. Hungary was less than 10 million in population. Netherlands was less than 18 million.
So for you to be seen in certain environments, it’s easier than in Nigeria. But the thing is this, quality will always show everywhere. A goldfish has no hiding place.
I started as an optometrist, who was just looking out for the well-being of my colleagues, always looking out for them, always looking to advance their course. So I got promoted. Every time I served, I moved.
I never had to struggle for anything. So service distinguished me. Even my country took notice, because for them to have made me an ambassador.

The World See Competence in Nigerian Women – Ajayi, Nigeria’s candidate for UN top job