By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Sola Enikanolaiye, has called for a deliberate media push to inform Nigerians about the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigeria Technical Aid Corps (NTAC), as part of a new grand strategy to reposition Nigeria’s foreign policy around the 4-Ds doctrine.
The call was made during a courtesy visit by the Director-General of NTAC, Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub, who led a delegation of the agency’s management to the Minister in Abuja, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday, 1 August, 2026.
Enikanolaiye opened the meeting by commending the DG for sustaining the agency despite funding challenges, describing the relationship between both organisations in familial terms.
“TAC and MFA is like son and father. We must see ourselves as partners and family. I appreciate the goodwill message from you personally on my appointment,” he said.
The minister stressed that visibility was now as important as delivery, insisting that a well-funded communications plan had become non-negotiable for the ministry.
“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 MFA. We must up our game in the media. I know it costs money but we must do it,” he said.
He commended the ministry’s spokesperson for ongoing efforts in publicising its activities, even as he insisted a deliberate, well-funded communications plan remained necessary going forward.
Enikanolaiye noted that under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the ministry was undertaking a grand strategic realignment around Nigerian national interest, with NTAC’s work centred on Demography, Democracy, Development and Diaspora.
He commended the DG for achieving much with little resources, adding that the ministry was undergoing comprehensive reforms to reposition it for more efficient service delivery in line with its constitutional mandate.
Earlier in his address, Yakub said NTAC was established in 1987 as an instrument of Nigeria’s soft power diplomacy, designed to provide technical assistance and professional expertise to developing nations, particularly within Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific regions (ACP).
According to him, the creation of NTAC reflected a deliberate shift from direct financial aid towards the deployment of human capital as a more sustainable form of development cooperation, underscoring Nigeria’s commitment to South-South Cooperation.
He explained that NTAC operates under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a mandate to deploy skilled Nigerian professionals as volunteers in partner countries for 24 months, guided by bilateral agreements that outline obligations, privileges, immunities and welfare arrangements.
He listed the scheme’s areas of intervention as education, health, engineering, agriculture, ICT and public administration, noting that volunteers must possess a minimum of three years of post-NYSC experience and are deployed strictly based on requests from recipient countries.
Speaking on achievements, Yakub disclosed that NTAC had deployed over 10,000 professionals to more than 40 countries since inception, notably Jamaica, The Gambia, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Grenada, Equatorial Guinea, St Kitts and Nevis, Zanzibar, Uganda, Seychelles, Guinea-Bissau and Benin Republic.
He said the scheme had strengthened local institutions in recipient countries, with some volunteers rising to vice chancellor and deputy vice chancellor positions abroad, while one was appointed by the Sierra Leonean government to chair its COVID-19 management, a feat he described as reflecting the scheme’s long-term credibility.
He further disclosed that the agency had expanded its Caribbean cooperation following President Tinubu’s visit to St Lucia, where an NTAC country agreement was signed, while Grenada and St Kitts and Nevis had been added to its list of active countries and previously moribund partnerships with Zanzibar, Rwanda, Jamaica and Seychelles had been resuscitated. He said Jamaica was in advanced talks to engage a large number of Nigerian health professionals to be fully funded by its government.
Yakub disclosed that 274 volunteers are currently serving in 13 ACP countries, comprising six nurses in Jamaica, 15 teachers in Benin Republic, 28 lecturers in Rwanda, two teachers in Equatorial Guinea, 34 medical professionals in Zanzibar, three medical doctors in Grenada, 69 nurses and lecturers in The Gambia, 26 lecturers and teachers in Liberia, 30 lecturers in Uganda, 23 nurses and medical doctors in Sierra Leone, 17 medical professionals in Guinea-Bissau, five medical professionals in Seychelles, and 16 medical professionals in St Kitts and Nevis.
He informed the minister that NTAC was pursuing agreements with Zambia, Ethiopia, Angola, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados, disclosing that the process had reached an advanced stage and was expected to be concluded soon, further expanding the agency’s operational footprint.
The DG reiterated NTAC’s commitment to advancing Nigeria’s foreign policy goals through technical cooperation, capacity building, knowledge transfer and institutional strengthening in beneficiary countries, stressing that deepening South-South Cooperation would sustain the long-lasting impact of Nigeria’s soft power diplomacy.
In his contribution, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Ambassador Dunoma Umar Ahmed, called for the adoption of Digital Volunteer Management, a digital database of Nigerian experts for international assignments, alongside virtual technical assistance, diaspora integration, results-based monitoring and evaluation, and youth-focused technical diplomacy, as part of measures to reposition the agency for more tangible and sustainable results.
