FG, Yakubu Gowon varsity partner on diplomatic training

The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Yakubu Gowon University have agreed to partner on diplomatic training, policy research, and capacity building. This collaboration seeks to enhance Nigeria’s foreign service and ensure its foreign policy aligns with national development goals.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sola Enikanolaiye, announced the partnership during a meeting with the university's management in Abuja. He emphasized that Nigeria's foreign policy must be people-centered, supporting the administration's '4Ds' approach: Demography, Development, Democracy, and Diaspora. Enikanolaiye stressed that foreign policy should deliver tangible outcomes in prosperity, job creation, security, and overall well-being, with democracy and security serving as means to improve citizens' living standards.

The collaboration will concentrate on several areas, including training programs for mid-career professionals, revitalizing the Nigerian Foreign Service Academy, and conducting policy research to support evidence-based decision-making. Additionally, the partnership will promote managed migration and establish ECOWAS Clubs in tertiary institutions to boost students' awareness of the regional bloc. The ministry also plans to facilitate regular engagements between university representatives and ambassadors and high commissioners based in Nigeria.

Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi, Vice-Chancellor of Yakubu Gowon University, expressed the institution's readiness to support the ministry's objectives. He highlighted the university's position as the only federal conventional university in the FCT with a substantial student population, making it well-suited for such a collaboration. Key university departments involved include the Directorate of Foreign Studies and Foreign Languages and the Centre for Migration and Security Studies.

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Foreign policy must be centred on the Nigerian people and must deliver tangible outcomes in prosperity, job creation, security and overall well-being.