South Sudan Seeks services of Nigerian Doctors, Teachers

Dr Pius

The Government of South Sudan has requested for technical assistance of Nigerian doctors and teachers to build its country’s institutions.

The Deputy Head of Mission for the Embassy of Sudan in Nigeria, David Choat, made the request on Tuesday in Abuja, when he paid an official visit to the Director General, Directorate of Technical Aid Corps (TAC), Dr Pius Osunyikanmi.

The Deputy Head of Mission said as a new country looking up to Nigeria as a big brother in Africa, South Sudan was in need of technical assistance of Nigerian professionals through TAC.

``We are in need of many things as a new country, be it in the health area which we are in need of doctors, in the area of education, we are also in need of professors, teachers so that they will help us build our institutions.
``We will be able to get assistance which Nigeria can offer. This is a long term relationship it does not really started with us in the Embassy in Nigeria.

``It has started way back.  Most of the leaders here in this country know about South Sudan and they have tried to assist us particularly for us to be at peace and for our people to live in peace.

``We have been in discussion with TAC for some of the assistance that we are requesting from them in the area of help, medical doctors, teachers and professors.

``This is because we are a new country and we wanted to interact and cooperate with our big brother in Africa to get any assistance that we can get from them,’’ he said

The ambassador further stressed that his request to TAC was in the interest of the Southern Sudanese who are currently in dire need of assistance in building their nation adding that the country would be grateful to the federal government if the assistance could be rendered.

He also noted that this would foster cooperation between both countries.

Osunyikanmi, who recently took over as the DG of TAC, assured the ambassador that the Federal Government would offer assistance to Southern Sudan in ways it can adding that the Directorate was in a good position to meet all required assistance.

``We are quite conscious of the fact that South Sudan has just emerged as an independent nation and quite naturally, that the country will be facing challenges about infrastructural development and human capacity building.

``Nigeria has also participated in the US donor conference on South Sudan and quite naturally within the framework of its transformation agenda has extended hands of cooperation to your country.

It is in this regard that your coming today is a welcome development.

``It is an opportunity for us to be able to explore in a broader terms those areas of cooperation between Nigeria and your country,’’ he said.

TAC is an agency under the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs established in 1987 to operate a viable volunteer programme across the ACP countries.

The Directorate operates technical assistance scheme to complement direct financial aid from Nigeria to ACP countries through skills exchange to strengthen international understanding and cooperation.

The scheme was specifically designed to provide manpower assistance in all fields of human endeavour and to represent a practical demonstration of South-South cooperation.

Osunyikanmi also noted that his organization would evaluate the requests and render the required assistance within available resources at the disposal of his Directorate.

He also disclosed that TAC had some numbers of requests for technical assistance from countries from Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) adding that beyond the three regions the Directorate statutorily covers, there were also requests from countries as Thailand, Vietnam. Myanmar.

``These are countries that are technically outside the technical framework of the Directorate of Technical Aid Corps.

``However, we are reworking the arrangements to be able to accommodate the numbers of these new countries making requests for technical assistance to the Directorate.

``The countries making the request consider Nigeria to be technically capable,’’ he said.