Nigeria’s newly appointed High Commissioner to India, Ambassador Saidu Dahiru Muhammad, has arrived in New Delhi with his spouse, Rukayya SD Muhammad, marking the start of a diplomatic posting he described as a homecoming.
Muhammad was met at Indira Gandhi International Airport by officials from the Nigerian High Commission, representatives of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, members of the Nigerian Diaspora and several African envoys accredited to India.
He later held meetings with mission staff and leaders of the Nigerian community in the capital.
In remarks to staff and expatriates, Muhammad emphasized an inclusive approach to his assignment, promising broad consultation and engagement as he seeks to deepen ties between Nigeria and India.
“Nobody is going to be left out in terms of working relationship,” he said.
The envoy described the posting as a return to a country with which he has a long association.
He said this was his eighth visit to India, recalling his first trip 19 years ago as a young diplomat preparing for promotion exams.
Muhammad cited multiple subsequent visits for regional meetings and administrative exercises and described his arrival in New Delhi as the assumption of a substantive diplomatic role “by the special grace of Almighty Allah.”
The Nigerian envoy invoked a phrase associated with the late former president Muhammadu Buhari—“I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody”—to underline his pledge of neutrality and service to all Nigerians in India.
He also urged the community to cultivate confidence, quoting lines from the poem “The State of Mind” by the Iranian poet D.S. Sethi to encourage resilience and ambition.
Trade and investment figured prominently in his remarks.
Muhammad said Nigeria and India enjoy longstanding cordial relations and expressed determination to bolster bilateral commerce, aiming for an improved balance of trade and expanded investment opportunities.
Leaders of the Nigerian community welcomed the appointment.
Hilary Okeke, president of the All India Nigeria-India Students and Community Association, praised mission staff for consistent support to students and residents and expressed hope that the new high commissioner would provide wise leadership.
