The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, has called for a stronger public diplomacy strategy to showcase the achievements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC), saying greater media visibility is essential to advancing Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives under the Federal Government’s 4-D Foreign Policy doctrine.
The Minister made the call during a courtesy visit by the Director-General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps, Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub, and members of the agency’s management team in Abuja.
Ambassador Enikanolaiye said that although both the Ministry and NTAC have continued to deliver on their mandates, many Nigerians remain unaware of their contributions to national development and international cooperation.
“We need to create more announcements for Nigerians to know what we are doing in the Ministry and NTAC. Nigerians have not been fully aware of the work of TAC and the Ministry. We must up our game in the media,” the Minister said, stressing that a deliberate and adequately funded communication strategy has become indispensable.
He described the relationship between the Ministry and NTAC as that of “father and son,” emphasizing the need for stronger institutional collaboration to support the Federal Government’s foreign policy agenda.
According to him, the Ministry is currently undergoing comprehensive reforms aimed at improving service delivery and repositioning Nigeria’s diplomacy in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the 4-D Foreign Policy doctrine of Democracy, Development, Demography and Diaspora.
The Minister commended the Director-General for sustaining the agency’s operations despite financial constraints, noting that NTAC has continued to achieve significant results with limited resources.
Earlier, the Director-General of NTAC, Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub, said the agency was established in 1987 as a strategic instrument of Nigeria’s soft power diplomacy to provide technical assistance and professional expertise to developing countries, particularly across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
He explained that NTAC promotes South-South Cooperation through the deployment of qualified Nigerian professionals to partner countries under bilateral agreements, with volunteers serving two-year assignments in critical sectors including education, healthcare, engineering, agriculture, information and communications technology, and public administration.
Yakub disclosed that since its establishment, NTAC has deployed more than 10,000 Nigerian professionals to over 40 countries, contributing significantly to capacity building and institutional development across beneficiary nations.
He cited several success stories, including the appointment of an NTAC volunteer by the Government of Sierra Leone to chair the country’s COVID-19 management programme, while many former volunteers have risen to leadership positions, including vice-chancellors and deputy vice-chancellors in foreign universities.
The Director-General also highlighted the agency’s recent expansion into the Caribbean following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s visit to St. Lucia, where a new Technical Aid agreement was signed. He added that Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis have joined the list of active partner countries, while previously inactive partnerships with Jamaica, Rwanda, Seychelles and Zanzibar have been revived.
According to him, 274 Nigerian volunteers are currently serving in 13 partner countries, providing professional services in medicine, nursing, education and other specialised fields.
Yakub further disclosed that NTAC is at an advanced stage of concluding new technical cooperation agreements with Zambia, Ethiopia, Angola, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, a move expected to further expand Nigeria’s diplomatic footprint.
He reaffirmed NTAC’s commitment to promoting Nigeria’s foreign policy through technical cooperation, sustainable development, capacity building and knowledge transfer, while strengthening bilateral relations with developing nations.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, advocated the adoption of digital innovations to strengthen NTAC’s operations. He recommended the creation of a digital database of Nigerian experts, virtual technical assistance, stronger diaspora engagement, results-based monitoring and evaluation, youth-focused technical diplomacy, joint innovation initiatives with host countries and expanded regional cooperation to enhance the agency’s effectiveness.
The meeting reaffirmed the Federal Government’s determination to strengthen Nigeria’s international influence through effective public diplomacy, strategic partnerships and the continued deployment of Nigerian expertise to support sustainable development across partner nations.
