Dr Yusuf Yakub, the Director-General, Directorate of Technical Aid Corps (DTAC), has urged the Technical Aid Corps (TAC) volunteers, deployed to Sierra Leone to uphold discipline and behave as patriotic citizens.
Yakub stated this in Abuja on Saturday at a deployment exercise for 18 TAC volunteers to be sent to Sierra Leone.
He said the deployment was in line with the mandate of the directorate to bridge the educational gap in Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) countries.
The TAC helmsman lauded the volunteers for deciding to serve humanity and their country by volunteering to give their professional service to other African countries.
According to him, the volunteers are to serve humanity and their fellow African country that is in need of professionals to bridge the educational gap.
‘We also send volunteers to ACP countries to bridge the educational gaps in these countries as soft power diplomacy.
‘Nigeria has been deploying TAC volunteers for the past 37 years. So, as you go there, we expect you
to conduct yourselves and be good ambassadors of this great country Nigeria.
‘That is why you are wearing the Nigerian colours as a symbols of respect and honour. So, be of good behaviour, uphold our integrity by bringing us a good name to our country.
‘This is a very strong foreign policy of the Nigeria government which we use to deploy soft power diplomacy through technical aid to our brothers in the ACP countries.
‘So, Nigeria as one of the super powers among the community of nations has introduced this very important foreign policy for the past 37 years and has been sustaining it.
‘Through foreign policy instrument, we have developed friendship with so many countries of the world which is of great importance to our dear country Nigeria,” he said.
Some of the volunteers said the initiative of the Nigerian government to render soft power diplomacy to other African countries was a commendable one.
Mr Benham Batari, a Nurse, and Ukoma Nnoma, a Medical Doctor, expressed readiness to make Nigeria proud b
y being good ambassadors while rendering professional expertise in that country.
The TAC volunteers went through a selection process from over 10,000 entries made from various medical fields ranging from doctors, nurses and researchers, amongst others, to be volunteers.
After the exercise, 18 qualified TAC volunteers, who are professional practitioners, were selected to render their services to humanity to Sierra Leone.
Other previously sent were 11 to the Gambia, and 11 to Uganda from engineering and Academics fields.
Source: News Agency of Nigeria