CONCEPTIONS AND ORIGIN OF CAREER AND NONCAREER DIPLOMATS IN NIGERIAN FOREIGN SERVICE: IMPLICATION FOR CAREER PRACTICE AND DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

This paper was an analysis of the concept of career and noncareer
diplomats as represented in the Nigerian Foreign Service.
The issue of career and non-careerism in the appointment of heads
of Nigerian missions abroad have been hotly debated in various
fora. Thus, this paper attempted to give a clear-cut conceptions on
the ideas surrounding the two opposing concepts in Foreign
Service, as well as its origination and trends in the Nigerian
Foreign Service from 1960 to 2015. This was to bring forth its
implication for career practice and development in Nigeria's
foreign affairs. This paper was based on secondary analysis of
data, drawn from primary and secondary sources. The paper
revealed that the concept of career diplomats in Nigeria's foreign
mission is well spelt out in various Foreign Service regulations,
compared to non-career diplomats that involves various
positional antics. It further shows that appointment of both career
and non-career diplomats in the Nigerian Foreign Service
between 1960 and 2015 have been influenced by constitutional
provisions, regime structure and political patronage. In addition,
it was highlighted here that the implications of the dichotomies in
the use of career and non-career diplomatic heads in Nigerian
foreign missions are diverse with both negative and positive
effects. The paper, therefore, concluded that non-career diplomats
serve as “salts” or “creams” to Nigeria's diplomatic
representations abroad. Thus, it was recommended that merit and capability should be reconciled with political influence in the
appointment of non-career diplomats for the headship of Nigerian
missions abroad.