AMB. HASSAN ARDO TUKUR, MFR, OFR

Hassan Ardo Tukur, born on the 3rd of January, 1957, is a Nigerian Career Diplomat who has served Nigeria in various capacities starting from Chief Examiner to the Government to Charge d’ Affairs of the Country’s  Embassy in Equatorial Guinea. Amb. Hassan Ardo Tukur speaks 7 languages; English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Fulfulde, Hausa, and Chamba.

Amb. Hassan Ardo Tukur began the journey into service, diplomacy and commitment to his country when he joined the Ministry of External Affairs in August 1981 and had several internal and external postings including Finance and Welfare Department and African Affairs Department.

 

Early Life

Born in Kilbawo, Jada Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria, Amb. Hassan Ardo Tukur, completed his primary, secondary and tertiary education between 1964 and 1980 all in the northern part of the country cumulating in a B.Sc. (Political Science) degree from the Bayero University, Kano. Mr. Hassan Tukur is married with children. And lives in Abuja, Nigeria.

As a young graduate, Amb. Hassan Ardo Tukur was saddled with the responsibility of the Chief Examiner for Government at the Government College, Bida, for the 1980/81 session during his Youth Service in Niger State. To his credit, his effort saw the students passing in flying colours in their School Certificate Examinations for that Session, having overall scores of 98%. It was a first for the school, and this record is yet to be attained.

 

Diplomatic Career

Tukur joined the then Ministry of External Affairs in August 1981, now known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he rose to the apex position of Ambassador.

His first public service posting was in 1981 as Foreign Service Officer to the Embassy of Nigeria, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He was also the Principal Protocol Officer to the Head of State, State House Lagos, Nigeria between 1984 and 1985. His external postings also include postings Nigeria High Commission, London between 1986 and 1989; and Embassy of Nigeria, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea where he was the First Secretary between 1992 and 1993, he then headed the Mission as Charge d'Affaires a.i. from January 1994 to November 1998.

While Serving in Equatorial Guinea as the Charge d’ Affaires, he was able to successfully guide negotiations on the Maritime Boundary Demarcation between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea leading to the signing of a Treaty between the two countries as well as the unitization of Zafiro/Ekanga oil fields. He was also actively involved in the negotiations that led to the signing of the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Treaty between Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe (DRSTP); a development that was not lost on Nigeria as he was subsequently appointed one of the pioneer directors of the Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Authority (JDA).

He was also a member of the UN Election Team to Namibia that ensured SWAPO's victory to usher in Namibia's Independence.

Amb. Tukur was a member of National Boundary Commission (NBC) Technical Committee {TC) on boundary negotiations from 1989 to 2005

 

Political Appointment

In 2005 upon his return to the country, Abm. Hassan Ardo Tukur was appointed as a Special Assistant to the Honourable Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

He was appointed Secretary, National Energy Council and Senior Special Assistant to Mr President on Energy Partnership in September 2007 till June 2010.

He was later appointed Principal Secretary to the President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, in the year 2011.

 

Honour and Recognition

In 1985, Amb. Tukur was honoured by his country with a Letter of Commendation from the then Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari for his patriotism and hard work.

For his contribution to the fostering of unity and peace between the two countries (Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria), the Government of Equatorial Guinea, in 1998, conferred upon Abm. Tukur the highest honour given to any foreign diplomat, Commander of the Order of Independence. He was also awarded the award of the Grand Commander of the Order of Independence in the year 2001.

He was conferred with the National Honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2004 by President Olusegun Obasanjo; and Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in 2011 by the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

 

Philosophy on Nation Building

Widely travelled, Mr. Hassan Tukur appreciates the country’s challenge of nation-building within the context of emerging world order and argues that what matters are not the challenges but how they are resolved. “The world will always have crisis, what is important is how you manage the crisis and how you don’t allow whatever crisis you have internally or externally to distract you from your main objective”, he says.

For him the nation’s challenges are a passing phase: ‘’it’s a phase and Nigeria will come out stronger”. He believes, however, that the ability of the nation to get out of the woods bolder and stronger depends on the willingness of the political elites, to act responsibly. “You can politick but when you have a national crisis, the entire citizenry should support government to address these issues because there are issues that are fundamental, that everybody has that burden of responsibility to resolve”, he says.

 

Beyond Service Years

After retirement, Amb. Hassan Tukur has delivered consultancy services to African countries on Maritime Boundary Demarcation issues. He has been actively engaged in philanthropy within this period. He has also supported critical nation building programmes in Nigeria and is patron of the Unveiling and Rebranding Nigeria Initiative.

He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board, Gulf of Guinea Consulting and the Vice Chairman, Dragon Oil and Gas, an Exploration & Production Company.