MONROVIA – The Special Representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission in Liberia, Babatunde Olanrewaju Ajisomo, has reached the end of his mandate in Liberia after eight years of service.
In his announcement, Ajisomo said, “it has been an honor and a privilege to serve a country that I have come to cherish”. He said the relationship established with Liberia “was more than one person”.
Ajisom said he is proud of how much has been “accomplished together in strengthening the bond between Liberia and ECOWAS”. He expressed warmest gratitude to the Government and people of Liberia for the kindheartedness shown him during the course of his assignment to Liberia.
The Special Representative of the President of the President of ECOWAS Commission further recalled the captivating role his office played in the United Nations Missions in Liberia (UNMIL’s) drawdown and up to its closure, securing ECOWAS radio station for Liberia and ECOWAS member states and facilitating the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, among others.
During his stay in Liberia, he provided regular information on ECOWAS matters as well as transmitted information on ECOWAS matters from the Executive Mansion of Liberia to ECOWAS Commission and performed relevant activities that the both the president deemed necessary in sustaining peace and reconciliation.
Also, the establishment of the National Early Warning Coordination and Response Mechanism (NCCRM), which Statutory Board is being chaired by the Vice President and comprised of other Cabinet Ministers, is also seen as an achievement of Ajisomo during his stay in Liberia. Additionally, he provided regular briefing on regional Early Warning Mechanism and the strengthening of the NCCRM.
Ajisomo, during his eight years stint in Liberia, promoted capacity building through the deployment of ECOWAS volunteers to the Ministry as Gender Empowerment Specialists (M&E) and Peacebuilding; and provided ECOWAS scholarship for 47 indigent Liberian Girls for Excellence, and four boys, totaling 51, from Primary School to University Education.
His support for Fistula victims, Gender Empowerment through socio-economic interactions cannot be over emphasized, among others. He strengthened collaboration between ECOWAS Gender Centre in Dakar, Senegal and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in Liberia.
Ajisomo served meritoriously as a Nigerian Diplomat for more than 31 years in various capacities in the Nigerian Missions in Cotonou, Republic of Benin; The Hague, Netherlands; Warsaw, Poland; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Bangkok, Thailand. While in Bangkok, he was accredited to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) as Alternate Permanent Representative of Nigeria to ESCAP in 2012. He was posted as Head of Mission to the Embassy of Nigeria, Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010 and appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in February 2013.
He served in various Departments and Divisions at the Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, such as, Finance and Budget, European Affairs, South America and Caribbean, Protocol, Trade and Investment, Consular, Education and Information, West Africa Affairs; International Organizations and Regions, including the Office of the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs as a substantive Director.
He also served as a member of the High-Level Delegations of the Nigerian Government to several Member-States in West Africa, Africa, Europe, US, China, including the AU Commission in Addis Ababa, EU in Brussels, Commonwealth in London and the UN in New York. He was a member of the Nigeria Delegation to ECOWAS Ministerial Meetings and Summits from 2007-2010. He also served as Secretary to the Joint Ministerial Council of the Nigeria-Sao Tome Joint Development Zone, comprising, Ministers of Petroleum Resources, Defence, Agriculture and Foreign Affairs from 2007-2010.
Educational qualifications and Professional Training Acquired
Among others, Ambassador AJISOMO holds a Master’s Degree in Diplomacy and International Law from the University of Lagos (MILD); a Certificate in Multilateral Diplomacy from the University of Malta; E-Learning Certificate on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Geneva.
He also obtained another E-Learning Certificate on Legal Aspect of Public Debt Management from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), Geneva. Ambassador Ajisomo also completed specialized training in “Negotiation and Mediation as an Instrument for Conflict Resolution” from the Clingendael, Netherlands Institute of International Relations, The Hague. He also attended and obtained a Certificate in Management and Strategic Leadership Course from Albion College at the University of London in 2009.
In addition, he acquired a Professional Certificate in International Relations, Law and Diplomacy at the Foreign Service Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as a BSC (Hons) in Political Science from the University of Lagos in 1981.