A former Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, has died in South Africa at the age of 66, after a protracted illness.
He was Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister from 2011 to 2013.
During his tenure, he was known to have highlighted the need to increase awareness about Nigeria’s economic potential but more importantly he championed what is termed citizen diplomacy where he placed emphasis on the treatment of Nigerians abroad.
In 2013, he ordered the repatriation of some South African citizens in retaliation of the ill treatment meted out on some Nigerians on account of not possessing the yellow fever vaccine card before arriving in South Africa.
Before his appointment as Foreign Affairs Minister, the late Olugbenga Ashiru was Nigeria’s envoy to the United Kingdom, Democratic People’s Republic Of Korea, South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho and Swaziland.
