The British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Mr Jonny
Baxter, says his first few weeks in Nigeria have revealed the people as
passionate, full of energy, and with entrepreneurial spirit
Baxter, who is new in office, said this in his maiden media
interview, with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, on Thursday.
“I have been here for three and a half weeks, so I’m still
very new. Nigeria has been an absolutely amazing place to be, and as you will
know, Nigeria, is well known to the UK.
“I was really looking forward to coming to Nigeria,
particularly to Lagos, to enjoy the vibrant culture, the vibrant food, all of
the things that Lagos produces and is well known for and I have been lucky
enough to come across all those things.
“Meeting Nigerians has been fantastic, and the welcome I
have had has been absolutely incredible. I love the fact that all the Nigerians
I have met have been passionate, have been full of energy for the things that
they are talking about and things they care about.
“I have really noticed the entrepreneurial spirit, and those
things are just brilliant to be around, as you can’t help but be uplifted by
it. And you know, I’ve been so lucky to meet an incredible group of people
already,” he said.
He said that in his short time in the country, he had been
able to visit the beach, amongst other exciting places.
“So I went out to a beach and I sat quietly for a while and
read Jagua Nana, which is quite an old book by Cyprian Ekwensi, and really
enjoyed doing that,” he said.
The envoy said that it was fantastic when after tweeting
about it afterwards, he got brilliant responses from Nigerians and suggestions
on other things he could do.
He said he had also enjoyed his visit to the Lufasi Nature
Park, where he got to see both the amazing work that had been done there and
also the children and the students who were enjoying the place of peace in the
city that is alive all the time.
“Suddenly, there is this green space where you can sit down
and enjoy the trees, hear the birds and that was a lovely, lovely trip, so I’ve
enjoyed all of that,” he said.
On Nigerian cuisine, he said, “Everyone has asked me about
Jollof rice, and I already had Jollof rice, and I really enjoyed it. That has
been fantastic.
“There are some things that I haven’t tasted, but I’m
looking forward to eating more Nigerian food and just experiencing what there
is.”
He reiterated his commitment to strengthening the bilateral
relations between both countries.
Baxter, before becoming the British Deputy High Commissioner
(DHC) in Lagos, served as His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of South
Sudan from January 2021 to July 2023.
He was Deputy Director, Finance and Performance Department
at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office – FCDO (then DFID) from 2018
to 2020.
He has held various senior positions in the Department of
International Development (DFID).
These include running the Human Development Department from
2017-2018, Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State from 2014-2016,
and head of the Higher Education Taskforce Secretariat from 2013 to 2014, all
at the DFID Headquarters, London.
Prior to these roles, he did postings in Sudan, Iraq, Guyana
and Tanzania.
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