Nigeria will deploy a cadre of skilled professionals, including educators, medical practitioners, and agricultural experts, to Saint Lucia and other Caribbean nations under a freshly inked Technical Manpower Assistance (TMA) Agreement.
The accord, signed in Castries by Director‑General of the Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (TAC) Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub and Saint Lucia’s Acting Permanent Secretary Janelle Modeste‑Stephen, aims to bolster South‑South cooperation and reconnect Nigeria with its diaspora in the region.
Under the two‑year programme, volunteers will receive stipends and logistical support from the Nigerian government, while host countries will provide housing and local assistance. Yakub praised the agreement as “a great achievement,” crediting President Bola Tinubu’s directive to extend technical aid to Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) members.
The deployment forms a key element of President Tinubu’s “4D” foreign policy—Democracy, Development, Diaspora, and Demography—intended to elevate Nigeria’s diplomatic standing through strategic partnerships. Since assuming office in May 2023, Yakub revealed, TAC has placed over 300 professionals in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, reviving a programme that had largely lain dormant.
In the coming days, four nurses will head to Jamaica and six doctors to Grenada, with further discussions underway with Belize, the Dominican Republic, and the OECS Secretariat to create a regional framework for technical collaboration. Yakub noted that Jamaica has formally requested 400 experts and is prepared to cover their costs, preferring Nigerian talent over labor imports from Asia.
Beyond development aid, the TAC initiative has spurred cultural exchange: one volunteer in Jamaica popularised the Yoruba Adire textile, now locally produced as “Jadire” and exported to the United States. “We are exporting Nigeria’s human capital with dignity,” Yakub said, highlighting how such exchanges showcase Nigerian expertise and reinforce the country’s leadership in the Global South.
President Tinubu, on a state visit to Saint Lucia as part of his Caribbean‑South America tour, also unveiled a new scholarship programme for OECS students at Nigerian universities and proposed visa waivers for diplomatic and official passport holders. His efforts were recognised with the conferred title of Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Lucia (K.C.S.L.).
What You Should Know
- Nigeria signed a TMA Agreement with Saint Lucia on July 2, 2025, to deploy teachers, doctors, and agriculturists for two-year volunteer assignments.
- The initiative, part of Tinubu’s 4D policy, supports South-South cooperation, with Nigeria funding logistics and host nations providing accommodation.
- Over 300 Nigerian professionals have been deployed since May 2023, with Jamaica requesting 400 experts and adopting Nigerian cultural practices like Adire.
- Tinubu announced scholarships for OECS students and visa waivers during his Saint Lucia visit, earning a knighthood for fostering bilateral ties.
- Further deployments and regional cooperation talks with Belize, the Dominican Republic, and OECS are ongoing.
