Bosun Tijani Pulls Out of ITU Deputy Secretary-General Race
Nigeria’s minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, Bosun Tijani, has withdrawn his candidacy for the post of Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union.
The call came after a period of deliberation as to the feasibility of the campaign and the competing demands of his domestic brief.
Tijani had thrown his hat into the ring as part of Nigeria’s drive to secure more seats at the global digital governance table. The ITU post is seen by many as a lever to influence the agenda of the international body on telecoms regulation, spectrum management and the orchestration of digital development strategies among member states.
Close confidants to the campaign expressed that the pull-out followed a careful calculation of the geopolitical landscape and the already stretched portfolio of the ministry.
Nigeria has long advocated for a more muscular African presence in multilateral technology forums, but the ITU race is a crowded and often fraught affair that plays host to intense regional tussles beyond any single aspirant’s control.
Inside the technology policy beat of Abuja, speculation immediately turned to what the pull-out meant for Nigeria’s prospects of pushing more of its officials into senior ITU posts. A few analysts noted that the experience of the campaign would serve as useful preparation for any future bids.
Tijani’s ministry has continued to focus on its domestic agenda of broadband expansion, digital skills development and the regulatory architecture for emerging technologies. The decision to concentrate on the here and now rather than a prolonged international campaign was seen by some as a pragmatic reallocation of resources.
Diplomatic sources well-versed in the ITU’s inner workings said that it was not uncommon for would-be candidates to withdraw their bids at the eleventh hour once the contours of regional backing had become clear.
For the Nigerian team that had been mobilising endorsements, the decision to exit the fray means that resources can be redirected to other strategic digital initiatives.
The episode also highlights the challenges African candidates often face in vying for the plum technical posts within the UN’s specialised agencies, where the ebb and flow of voting blocs are often beyond the control of individual aspirants.
Conversations amongst policy wonks continue to focus on how future candidacies can be mounted in a manner that enjoys broader continental backing.
In the meantime, the ministry under Tijani continues to advance its reform and infrastructure agenda without the distraction of an international campaign. For Nigeria, the digital turnaround efforts will continue to focus on the domestic agenda that has been put on the ministry’s table.
