DTAC honours 18 volunteers for being good ambassadors
By Maureen Okon
The Directorate of Technical Aid Corps (DTAC) on Monday honoured 18 volunteers who served in Uganda and represented Nigeria excellently.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the technical aid corps volunteers returned to Nigeria on Sunday after two years service in Uganda.
The Director-General of DTAC, Dr Buba Yakub, applauded the volunteers for their service to Nigeria and their host community and in helping to bridge the educational gap where they served.
Yakub said that the volunteers willingness to serve was a testament that Nigeria was doing a great service to Africa and humanity.
“What you have done cannot be quantified. We thank you for the spirit of oneness that you have continued to invest in your service to Nigeria and ACP countries as a whole.
“We thank you on behalf of the people of Uganda and Africa as a whole, in the spirit of one Africa, in the spirit of the African solidarity.
“Also in the spirit of Nigeria playing the role of the big brother in Africa, for volunteering to make this dream come true,” he said.
According to him, the technical aid scheme was initiated by Nigeria 35 years ago as part of soft power diplomacy.
“As i speak to you, we have reached over 35 countries within these 35 years. We have impacted in the lives of thousands in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
“Wherever the black man is, we have sent out volunteers and we have impacted on their lives – not just the students you teach or the patients you treat in the hospitals – but the multiplier effect.
“At a time you train one student, you should be sure you are training thousands of others.
“When we went to Uganda, the present Minister of State Education said she was a student of TAC.
“She was a student of TAC, she was taught by some TAC volunteers years ago, and today she is a minister in that country, so you know what that means.
“So what we are doing as a country is something that no country in Africa, and I can boldly say no country in the world, is really doing,” he said.
The Director Administration, Amb. Mohammed Mohammed congratulated the volunteers for completing their tour of duty without any bad report.
Responding on behalf of the volunteers, Prof. Terhemen-Aboiyar Tehemen, said that the directorate made their stay comfortable in their host country.
He said though they initially faced the challenges of integration, “in the end our stay was worthwhile, fruitfully and beneficial both to those countries and also to us.
“Also we did well to represent Nigeria effectively in Uganda.
“All our colleagues here contributed immensely. Some of them shared here yesterday during our debriefing of their impact in the educational sector of that country.
“We do not want to blow our trumpet, but for all of us here who are seasoned academics and well-trained, we made diligent contributions in teaching, in research and community development.
“Many successfully supervised undergraduate and masters programmes, and even Phds to a certain extent, while they were there,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Maharazu Ahmed
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