Death of Nigeria's Ambassador to the United States Press Statement
Mark C. Toner
Washington, DC

August 28, 2015

    We were saddened to learn of the passing yesterday of Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, the Honorable Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye. Nigeria lost a distinguished ambassador who will be dearly missed. On behalf of the people of the United States and President Obama, we express our deepest condolences to his wife and his family. Over the past five years under Ambassador Adefuye’s leadership, we enjoyed a collaborative and open dialogue that yielded real results such as the U.S.-Nigeria Bi-National Commission, a strategic dialogue that succeeded in expanding mutual cooperation across a broad range of shared interests.  Ambassador Adefuye helped build the Commission into a collaborative forum that has resulted in progress on issues critical to Nigeria’s and the United States’ shared future. A former Fulbright scholar and participant of the International Visitor Exchange Program, Ambassador Adefuye had a keen understanding of the United States and developed strong relationships with his American colleagues.  His last major assignment as Ambassador was to receive President Muhammadu Buhari and his delegation during the president’s official visit to the United States in July, during which President Buhari met with President Obama and other senior U.S. officials.  The success of this visit speaks to Ambassador Adefuye’s skill as a diplomat. His tenure helped significantly strengthen the U.S.-Nigerian partnership. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/08/246433.htm
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The late diplomat, whose tenure ends on August 31, 2015 died after suffering from an heart attack in a Washington, DC hospital.

Adefuye was born in Ijebu-Igbo, in 1947. He received his First Degree in History at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1969. In 1973, he earned a Ph.D. in History, with a dissertation on “The Political History of the Palwo, 1400-1911.”

As a Fulbright scholar he studied at Columbia University, the University of North Florida and the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Adefuye started his academic career as a Lecturer at the University of Lagos, where he rose to the position of Professor, published books and articles, and served as Head of the History Department from 1985 to 1987.

He was one time ambassador to Jamaica, with concurrent accreditation to Haiti and Belize, a job he kept from 1987 to 1991. From 1991 to 1994, he served as Deputy High Commissioner at the Nigerian Embassy in London, U.K.,when he was hired by the Commonwealth (formerly the British Commonwealth of Nations) as Deputy Director of Strategic Planning.

After fourteen years with the Commonwealth, Adefuye took a job with the Economic Community of West African States, where he served as an Advisor for two years, from 2008 to 2010. He became the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States in 2010.