The Foreign Service Journal, December 2018

36 DECEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Nigeria ultimately held an election that was internation- ally acclaimed as free and fair, with opposition party leader Mohammadu Buhari elected as president. That the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, conceded defeat even before the election results were announced was irrefutable evidence of the transparent nature of the exercise. The success of that election came from the commitment of friends of Nigeria, including the United States, to ensuring a peaceful, transparent and demo- cratic electoral process. There were so many other things I witnessed as an FSN with- out my camera in hand. I witnessed efforts to support and uphold the principal pillars of democracy, the rule of law, youth empowerment, girl- child education, human rights protection and media engage- ment. I participated in programs to promote good governance, strengthen democratic institutions, support health care delivery and foster a robust partnership between the governments of Nigeria and the United States in the interest of peace and secu- rity. Supervisors come and go, but FSNs remain the core structure of U.S. embassies worldwide. These firsthand experiences were the reason I stayed with the State Department for so long. Foreign Service officers are in constant motion, never staying more than three years at any post. For an FSN, this means learn- ing, over and over again, the different leadership and manage- ment styles and traits of every new officer as they come from Washington, D.C. I went through this process many times with more than nine ambassadors, 12 different counselors for public affairs and 15 information officers. Supervisors come and go, but FSNs remain the core structure of U.S. embassies worldwide. Working for the U.S. government can earn one all sorts of derogatory names. I have been called a spy, a turncoat and a mole by friends and colleagues in the media who interpreted my work for the U.S. government as betraying the trust of my coun- try. Right frommy days in USIS, these mischief-makers refused to differentiate between international collaboration for develop- ment and spying. That was not much of a bother, however, since I knew the genuineness in my engagement with the U.S. mission in Nigeria. After 20 years of meritorious service to the State Department, in May 2015, my immediate family and I became legal resi- dents of the United States through the Special Immigrant Visa program. My three sons, my daughter, my wife and I now live in Maryland. n The author greets then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Lagos on Jan. 25, 2015. U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE/SEANMCINTOSH