…as Anyim Urges Public Servants to Document Their Career Experiences
Former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius-Anyim, has urged public servants to document their professional experiences, saying personal accounts help preserve institutional history and provide lessons for future generations.
Senator Anyim made the call in Abuja at the presentation of a memoir by former Nigerian Diplomat, Ambassador Chudi Okafor, titled “My Diplomatic Sojourn: The Full Story”.
He said public servants should take responsibility for telling their own stories rather than leaving others to interpret their careers and contributions.
“If you are a public servant and you don’t tell your story by yourself, you would have destroyed your career. Because when others will tell the story, you won’t recognise yourself,” Anyim said.
He also encouraged professionals to document their experiences for the benefit of their children and future generations, explaining that memoirs help preserve the decisions, challenges and circumstances that shaped their careers.
Senator Anyim, who served as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, described Ambassador Okafor as a diligent and dependable public servant, recalling their working relationship when the diplomat served in his office.
He said Ambassador Okafor helped him coordinate the office and contributed significantly to its operations, particularly at a time when he was the first person without a career civil service background to occupy the position.
Also, the Emir of Zazzau, Ambassador Nuhu Bamalli, recalled benefiting from the professional foundations Ambassador Okafor established during his diplomatic service in Thailand, particularly in strengthening relationships with institutions and supporting the Nigerian community.
Reviewing the book, a former colleague of the Author, Ambassador Oseloka Obaze described it as a personal account of diplomatic service, written in accessible language and structured around the author’s professional journey.
He described diplomatic memoirs as valuable historical records that can provide insights into policy decisions and inform future decision-making.
The reviewer said the 377-page memoir contains 13 chapters, with accounts of Ambassador Okafor’s early life, National Youth Service Corps experience, diplomatic postings and reflections on Nigeria’s foreign policy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He noted that the book provides an insider’s perspective on diplomatic practice while documenting the experiences, decisions and institutional challenges encountered during the author’s career.
According to the book reviewer, the memoir documents Ambassador Okafor’s 35-year career in public service, including diplomatic postings to Trinidad and Tobago, Malaysia, the Russian Federation, the United States, Thailand and Myanmar.
Addressing the gathering, Ambassador Okafor said he wrote the book to preserve his experiences and insights in public service, with particular emphasis on Nigeria’s foreign service.
He explained that the memoir also examines Nigeria’s foreign policy, its national interests and the challenges confronting the country’s diplomatic engagements.
“I raised these questions in the book to elicit further discussions and debates among the practitioners, policymakers, scholars, and the general public, given the changing nature of the international environment,” he said.
The former Diplomat called for Nigeria to strengthen its domestic institutions, improve leadership and reposition the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond more effectively to emerging global challenges.
He also highlighted the need for coherence, strategy and clarity in the country’s foreign policy, arguing that Nigeria could regain its former diplomatic influence if the right measures were adopted.
He traced his interest in international affairs to his late father, a Second World War veteran whose experiences in India and Burma, now Myanmar, influenced his understanding of the world.
Ambassador Okafor said his diplomatic career exposed him to different cultures, international relations and the changing dynamics of global politics.
The Chairman of the Organising Committee, Ambassador Ozo Nwobu, described the memoir as an important contribution to the documentation of Nigeria’s public service history.
The book presentation brought together former government officials, diplomats, members of the diplomatic corps and other dignitaries to celebrate Okafor’s career and contribution to Nigeria’s foreign service.
