President Ian Khama has appointed the former Commander of the Botswana Defense Force (BDF), Louis Matshwenyego Fisher, as the new High Commissioner to Nigeria.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Fisher confirmed his appointment with immediate effect on Monday and added that the date of starting the official duty in Nigeria is to be announced.
“I have so far been briefed by some of the departments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and I feel I have fair grasp of the issues and the working relations at the Mission. I am to meet external stakeholders and after that I am ready to start my work,” said Fisher.
He said as the High Commissioner designate, he will be based at the Botswana High Commission in Abuja, Nigeria, where he will take up his post.
Amongst his mission in Abuja is identifying areas of possible economic, social, political and cultural areas for cooperation, as well as to represent Botswana for the promotion of good relations between Nigeria and Botswana.
“I took the offer and I have been an independent consultant after I left the University of Botswana in January 2012 as a senior lecturer,” said Fisher.
Fisher replaces Clifford Maribe, who has been ambassador since 2009. Botswana and Nigeria have developed a strong relationship based on mutual respect, which has been manifested in cooperation over the years in many areas of the economy.
He assumed command of the BDF in 1998, succeeding President Ian Khama. Fisher retired from the army in 2006 and he was previously a senior lecturer at the University of Botswana (UB) in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies.
He was also previously a HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senior_lecturer” \o “Senior lecturer” \t “_blank” senior lecturer at Southern African Defence and Security Management Network’s Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies.
Fisher has also held positions at both Wits University and Stellenbosch University in South Africa and also lectured on the Masters in Strategic Studies at the University of Namibia after spending 28 years with BDF.
