Musa Sani Nuhu

Musa Sani Nuhu (born 26 November 1969) is a Nigerian career diplomat and ambassador who served as Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from 2020 to 2025. He is the only West African diplomat to have chaired both the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) and the Administration and Finance Committee (AFC): the two principal technical organs covering all aspects of the ECOWAS system.

Nuhu is known for his role in ECOWAS institutional reform, coordinating engagements between ECOWAS and the African Union during the period of political realignment in West Africa (2020–2024), and for multilateral institutional processes within ECOWAS during the Sahel political crisis.

Early life and education Musa Sani Nuhu was born on 26 November 1969 in Saulawa, Katsina, in what was then Kaduna State, Nigeria. He had his early education at Army Children School, Zaria, and also underwent Qur'anic instruction at home during his formative years. He attended Kayalwa Primary School in Katsina from 1975 to 1981, where he completed his primary education. He enrolled for his secondary education at Government Secondary School, Dutsin-Ma, between 1981 and 1986, earning the General Certificate of Education (GCE). He later attended the College of Advanced Studies (CAS), Zaria, from 1986 to 1987 for remedial studies. During this period, he was involved in processes relating to the implementation of regional counter-terrorism frameworks adopted following the 2019 ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit on Terrorism in Ouagadougou.

Permanent Representative to ECOWAS (2020–2025) Nuhu's tenure as Nigeria's Permanent Representative to ECOWAS overlapped with significant regional developments, including the political transitions in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

Sahel political crisis Between 2021 and 2024, ECOWAS was faced with military takeovers in the Sahel (Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger) ushering the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

AU–ECOWAS coordination In April 2024, Nuhu co-chaired the inaugural joint consultation between the African Union Peace and Security Council and the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council. Nuhu also undertook the procurement of a new chancery building for Nigeria's Permanent Mission to ECOWAS which was inaugurated in Asokoro, Abuja. He described the Mission as a strategic platform for articulating and advancing Nigeria's positions within ECOWAS institutions. The Nigerian Mission to ECOWAS, which was originally conceived as a "smart mission" with limited staffing, was repositioned under his administration into a fully structured multilateral mission. The restructuring introduced a thematic cluster system to monitor ECOWAS activities more closely and strengthen coordination with relevant Nigerian ministries, departments, and agencies on regional policy matters.

Regional initiatives and programme coordination During his tenure as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, Nuhu participated in a range of programme coordination and institutional oversight activities within the Community’s governance structures. These included contributions to strategic planning processes for ECOWAS Vision 2050 and the Regional Resilience Strategy (2024–2050), as well as involvement in monitoring and evaluation reforms to strengthen results-based management and programme reporting across ECOWAS institutions. He was also conferred with the Grand Legacy Laureate of Public Service (GLLPS) by the Institute for Historical Studies, Biographical Research, Documentation, and Legacy (IHS-BiRD & L). Analysts have noted that his tenure coincided with significant transitions within ECOWAS and efforts to strengthen coordination between regional and continental institutions.