Chiedu Osakwe

Chiedu Osakwe
Director-General of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations
In office 6 June 2017 – 22 September 2019
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Yonov Frederick Agah
Personal details
Born	1955
Died	(2019-09-22)22 September 2019 Geneva, Switzerland
Education	University of Ibadan
Occupation	Diplomat and trade negotiator

Chiedu Osakwe (1955 – 22 September 2019) was a Nigerian diplomat and trade negotiator. He was the first director-general of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN) and Nigeria's chief trade negotiator from 2017 until his death. Before taking the position, Osakwe worked in the Nigerian Foreign Service and at the World Trade Organization (WTO), where he headed several divisions.

From June 2017 to March 2018, Osakwe chaired the African Union's negotiating forum for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). During his chairmanship, the first phase of negotiations was concluded, preceding the signing of the agreement in March 2018.

Early life and education

Osakwe was born in 1955. He attended Dennis Memorial Grammar School in Onitsha and completed his advanced-level studies at Federal Government College, Odogbolu. He subsequently studied political science at the University of Ibadan.

Career

Nigerian Foreign Service

After completing the National Youth Service Corps, Osakwe joined Nigeria's Ministry of External Affairs as a third secretary on 23 July 1979. He remained in the foreign service until May 1998.

He served at Nigeria's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York during the 1980s. From 1984 to 1986, he chaired a United Nations subcommittee concerned with the legal aspects of the international campaign against apartheid.

Osakwe was posted to Nigeria's permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva in 1993. There, he represented Nigeria at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and, subsequently, the WTO. As a Nigerian delegate, he chaired the WTO Committee on Rules of Origin in 1995 and 1996 and the Committee on Pre-shipment Inspection in 1997 and 1998. He also coordinated the WTO's African Group in 1995.

World Trade Organization

Osakwe joined the WTO Secretariat in 1998. From 1999 to 2001, he was the organisation's special coordinator for least-developed countries and led the Secretariat Working Group on the Integrated Framework for Least-Developed Countries. In that capacity, he chaired the Inter-Agency Working Group for the Integrated Framework.

He subsequently served as director of the Technical Cooperation Division from 2001 to 2002, the Textiles Division from 2003 to 2005 and the Doha Development Agenda Special Duties Division from 2005 to 2008. He later became director of the Accessions Division and a member of the WTO's senior management.

As director of the Accessions Division, Osakwe worked on negotiations for countries seeking membership of the WTO. He retired from the WTO Secretariat on 8 September 2017, after working at the organisation for approximately 19 years.

Alongside his diplomatic work, Osakwe was an associate professor of international trade policy, diplomacy and negotiations at the International University in Geneva. He also wrote and edited publications concerning trade negotiations, WTO accessions and the multilateral trading system.

In 2015, he co-edited WTO Accessions and Trade Multilateralism: Case Studies and Lessons from the WTO at Twenty with Uri Dadush. He subsequently co-edited Trade Multilateralism in the Twenty-First Century: Building the Upper Floors of the Trading System Through WTO Accessions with Alexei Kireyev.

Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations

Osakwe was appointed the pioneer director-general of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations on 6 June 2017. He also became Nigeria's chief trade negotiator and served as trade adviser to the Nigerian Economic Management Team.

The office was established to coordinate Nigeria's positions and representation in bilateral, regional and multilateral trade negotiations. Osakwe was also a member of the Nigerian Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council, its Trade and Market Access Subcommittee and its Advisory Group on Technology and Creativity.

As chief trade negotiator, he represented Nigeria in negotiations concerning the AfCFTA and discussions about reforming the WTO.

African Continental Free Trade Area

Osakwe chaired the AfCFTA Negotiating Forum and meetings of senior trade officials from June 2017 to March 2018. During his chairmanship, the negotiating institutions completed the first phase of negotiations, covering trade in goods and services. This made it possible for African heads of state and government to sign the agreement in March 2018.

Following the conclusion of the negotiations, Osakwe advised the Nigerian government during its consideration of the agreement. Nigeria initially delayed signing the AfCFTA while the government consulted businesses and other domestic stakeholders. It eventually signed the agreement at an African Union summit in Niamey, Niger, in July 2019.

Death and legacy

Osakwe died on 22 September 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland, at the age of 64. He had travelled to Geneva for medical treatment following a brief illness.

In 2021, the WTO inaugurated a memorial lecture series in his name. The first Chiedu Osakwe Memorial Lecture was delivered by AfCFTA secretary-general Wamkele Mene and addressed the relationship between African economic integration and the multilateral trading system.

Selected works

• Dadush, Uri; Osakwe, Chiedu, eds. (2015). WTO Accessions and Trade Multilateralism: Case Studies and Lessons from the WTO at Twenty. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-09336-2.
• Kireyev, Alexei; Osakwe, Chiedu, eds. (2017). Trade Multilateralism in the Twenty-First Century: Building the Upper Floors of the Trading System Through WTO Accessions. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-17875-5.