Dr Yusuf Yakub, Director-General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC), says plans are underway to commercialise the agency’s technical volunteers scheme to serve countries in need of professionals.
Yakub disclosed this on Friday in Abuja during the deployment of 20 Technical Aid Corps (TAC) volunteers, comprising doctors and nurses, to The Gambia.
He said the initiative would help curb unemployment in Nigeria by creating overseas opportunities for young professionals.
*“We have an abundance of unemployed youths in the country, a lot of experts who are not fully engaged, and the whole world is in need of experts to fill gaps.
“That informed the need to introduce this initiative. The corps has earned the confidence of other countries because Nigerians have served very well wherever they were deployed.
“Jamaica has already opened the way by requesting about 400 experts,”* he said.
Yakub urged the new volunteers to be worthy ambassadors of Nigeria, noting that the programme had become a vital tool of soft power diplomacy under President Bola Tinubu.
He added that the scheme would not only contribute to development in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, but also foster stronger partnerships, cultural exchange and South-South cooperation.
Ambassador Zakari Usman, NTAC’s Director of Programmes, said the selection process was rigorous, with only 20 candidates chosen from more than 10,000 applicants.
He charged the volunteers to project Nigeria positively in their host country.
Prof. Adanlawo Isaac, a surgeon and team lead, expressed gratitude for the opportunity, pledging that the team would uphold professionalism and Nigeria’s image abroad.
The 20 volunteers are medical doctors and nurses. They include: Awumtiya Nelson, Aishatu Umar, Folake Iyogun, Salim Jaafar, Oyindamola Oladunmiye, Tula Musa, Julmucit Gwapna, and Rakiya Maitama.
Others are Ndagi Yunusa, Gbadamosi Hakeem, Bala Godwin, Abba Gumsuri, Uthman Jelilat, Blessing Okure, Fatima Abdullahi, Vivian Nnemaka, Olayinka Rahman, Nwafor Precious, and Sule Abdulkarim.
(NAN)