Former Minister of Aviation and Ambassador-Designate to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has disclosed that his decision to seek redeployment from Germany to South Africa was motivated by his desire to serve in Africa rather than Europe.
In a statement released yesterday in Abuja, Fani-Kayode explained that although he was initially assigned to Germany, he formally requested a transfer to South Africa due to his profound interest in African affairs, Pan-African cooperation, and Nigeria's relationships with other African nations.
He noted that having spent the majority of his life in Europe, he found it more rewarding to serve in an African country that maintains closer ties and shares similar perspectives with Nigeria on international matters.
“It gives me pleasure to announce the fact that the President has graciously approved my posting as Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to South Africa,” Fani-Kayode said. “This came a few days after the initial posting to Germany was announced and after I made a formal representation to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, that I was not comfortable with Germany for a number of personal reasons.”
“Given the fact that I had lived in Europe most of my life, I would prefer to go to South Africa, which is a country that I had never been to and for which I have so much interest,” he added.
The former minister emphasized that South Africa’s strategic position in Africa and its relationship with Nigeria also influenced his decision. “I would rather serve in a country that shares some of my convictions, beliefs and values when it comes to world affairs; that has the biggest economy in Africa; that has closer ties to Nigeria and that is more proximate to my political thinking when it comes to foreign affairs and a pan-African vision,” he stated.
Fani-Kayode revealed that he submitted his redeployment request two days after the initial diplomatic posting announcement. He commended former Minister Tuggar for considering the request favorably before forwarding it to President Bola Tinubu for approval. He also expressed gratitude to Senator Sam Enang, who agreed to a redeployment arrangement that facilitated his posting to South Africa.
The ambassador-designate criticized misleading reports surrounding the redeployment, urging sections of the media to exercise professionalism and accuracy in their reportage.
Meanwhile, Senator Ita Enang, who was originally posted to South Africa, will now serve as Germany’s ambassador-designate in Fani-Kayode’s stead.
It would be recalled that on March 6, 2026, President Tinubu approved the posting of over 60 ambassadors, including Fani-Kayode, assigning them to their respective host countries. A week after the postings, reports surfaced alleging that Germany had rejected Fani-Kayode as an envoy. According to those reports, the German government cited his “erratic behaviour, controversial past statements, particularly his divisive ethnocentric, tribalistic, and religious fundamentalist comments in Nigeria,” which the European country deemed “destabilising.”
The alleged rejection came days after Fani-Kayode was said to have exchanged words with the United Kingdom’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, during a Ramadan dinner hosted by Bashir Lado, the President’s Special Adviser on Senate Matters, at his Abuja residence.
However, in the statement announcing his re-designation to South Africa, Fani-Kayode debunked those reports, asserting: “I take this opportunity to once again confirm that this was my choice and that Germany never formally rejected me, which was a fake report that was published in an irresponsible online magazine that thrives on sensationalism, lies and blackmail.”
Fani-Kayode said he has directed his legal team to file a civil defamation suit against the newspaper.
