The Federal Government has called for improved public enlightenment on Nigeria’s foreign policy initiatives as the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) disclosed that it has deployed over 10,000 Nigerian professionals to more than 40 countries.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, made the call on Sunday in Abuja during a meeting with the Director-General of NTAC, *Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub*, and the agency’s management team.
The Ministry’s Spokesperson, *Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, disclosed this in a statement.
Enikanolaiye said the Ministry was carrying out broad reforms to align Nigeria’s diplomacy with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the 4-D foreign policy doctrine — Demography, Democracy, Development and Diaspora.
He noted that while the Ministry and the Technical Aid Corps had recorded significant achievements, many Nigerians were unaware of their impact.
“Visibility must match performance,” the minister said, advocating a deliberate and well-funded communication strategy to better inform the public about Nigeria’s diplomatic engagements and development cooperation.
The Technical Aid Corps, established in 1987, deploys skilled Nigerian volunteers to provide assistance in education, health, agriculture and other sectors in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries under Nigeria’s South-South cooperation programme.
NTAC Director-General Yusuf Buba Yakub said the Corps, established in 1987, has become a major instrument of Nigeria’s soft power diplomacy through the deployment of skilled professionals to countries across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The Corps currently has 274 volunteers serving in 13 countries, including 69 volunteers in The Gambia, 34 in Zanzibar, 30 in Uganda, 28 in Rwanda, 26 in Liberia, 23 in Sierra Leone, 17 in Guinea-Bissau, 16 in St. Kitts and Nevis, 15 in Benin Republic, six in Jamaica, five in Seychelles, three in Grenada and two in Equatorial Guinea.
He explained that the volunteers are engaged in critical sectors such as education, health, engineering, agriculture, ICT and public administration, with assignments tailored to the developmental needs of host countries under bilateral agreements.
He said the programme has produced significant results, with some former volunteers rising to senior academic positions, including vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors in foreign universities, while an NTAC volunteer was appointed to lead Sierra Leone’s COVID-19 response.
He also disclosed that the agency was expanding its footprint, with agreements being pursued with Zambia, Ethiopia, Angola, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados, while Jamaica is considering the recruitment of a large number of Nigerian health professionals under a fully funded arrangement.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, proposed reforms such as digital volunteer management, virtual technical assistance, diaspora integration, youth-focused technical diplomacy and stronger monitoring mechanisms to improve the agency’s effectiveness.
