Wahab Adekola Akande (born 5 September 1967) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

known for his advocacy for

cultural diplomacy Cultural diplomacy is a type of public diplomacy and soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding". The purpose ...

, and a long-serving French Language Translator and

Protocol Officer In international politics, protocol is the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state. It may also refer to an international agreement that supplements or amends a treaty. A protocol is a rule which describes how an activity should be performed ...

to several Nigerian presidents. He is Nigeria’s current Consul General at the Consulate General of Nigeria in Frankfurt,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. His leadership at the Nigeria Consulate General in Frankfurt is known to have brought about improvements in consular operations in the mission and other engagements, among which is the first-ever consulate-organized Nigeria cultural carnival.

Early background

Wahab Adekola Akande had his secondary education at the Ede Muslim Grammar School in present-day

Osun State Osun State (; yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Ọ̀ṣun), occasionally known as the State of Osun by the state government, is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states, to the north by Kwara State, to the south by Ogun S ...

from 1981 to 1986. He proceeded to the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

where he graduated from the Department of European Studies with a bachelor of arts degree in French, second class (upper division). Between 1991 and 1992, he served under the mandatory

National Youth Service Corps The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a program set up by the Nigerian government during the military regime to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building and the development of the country. There is no military conscription in Nigeria, ...

(NYSC) in

Jos Jos is a city in the north central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. During British ...

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

, with his primary assignment at the University of Jos. He began his working career as a graduate assistant with the

University of Jos The University of Jos, abbreviated as Unijos, is a Federal University in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria. History What became the University of Jos was established in November 1971 from the satellite campus of the University of Ibadan. ...

, before joining the Federal Civil Service.

Diplomatic career

Ambassador Wahab Akande joined the Nigeria Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 1993 and served in several headquarters departments and Nigerian diplomatic missions abroad, including Lome, Togo; Yaounde, Cameroon; and Brussels, Belgium.

Tour of duty

In February 2007, Ambassador Akande was posted to the State House, Office of the President, where he served until 2011 as French language Interpreter/Protocol Officer to Presidents,

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

Umaru Musa Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who, was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 20 ...

and

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...

before his diplomatic posting to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. On his return from Brussels, he was redeployed to the State House, Office of the President, to again serve as President Goodluck Jonathan's interpreter/protocol officer. At the dawn of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration, he was deployed to the Office of the

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

as Presidential Liaison Officer (PLO), where he served for six years. In recognition of his decades of meritorious service to Nigeria, he was appointed Ambassador-in-situ on 18 December 2020. On 11 January 2021, he was appointed Consul-General to the Consulate General of Nigeria in Frankfurt, Germany.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adekola, Wahab Akande Living people 1967 births University of Ibadan alumni Nigerian diplomats Yoruba people