The Federal Government is set to commercialise the technical volunteers scheme to provide professionals to other countries. The move is aimed at curbing unemployment in Nigeria.
Dr Yusuf Yakub, the director-general of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC), disclosed this on friday in Abuja during the deployment of 20 TAC volunteers, including doctors and nurses, to The Gambia.
According to Yakubu, the initiative was introduced because Nigeria has an abundance of unemployed youths and experts. He said that the corps has gained the confidence of other countries because Nigerian volunteers have served very well in the past. Yakubu noted that Jamaica had already requested about 400 experts.
He urged the volunteers to be worthy ambassadors of Nigeria, while applauding President Bola Tinubu for sustaining the deployment exercise which was a pulse to the soft power foreign diplomacy initiative.
The D-G said that the abundant human resource is to help impact in the
lives of our fellow blacks in the spirit of the South-South Corporation.
“By doing this we are contributing to the development of our sister countries and our blacks in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
“We are also creating partnership, culture and some numerous advantages that this programme will bring.
“Above all we are serving humanity, and to the glory of God this programme has been given every support by the Tinubu administration,” he said.
Ambassador Zakari Usman, the Director of Programmes, said that the selection process for the TAC volunteers was tedious, adding that 20 candidates were selected from over 10, 000 applications.
He urged the volunteers to be of good behaviour by projecting the country’s image in their host country.
Prof Adanlawo Isaac, A Surgeon and the team lead expressed gratitude for the opportunity to be a part of the team.
Isaac said that the team would endeavour to project Nigeria in a good light be worthy ambassadors of the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 20 volunteers are medical practitioners made up of doctors and nurses.
They are Awumtiya Nelson, Aishatu Umar, Folake Iyogun, Salim Jaafar, Oyindamola Oladunmiye, Tula Musa, Julmucit Gwapna, 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
