Nigeria’s experts storm Caribbean: Historic Pact with Saint Lucia signed

In a significant step toward deepening South-South collaboration, Nigeria and Saint Lucia signed a Technical Manpower Assistance (TMA) agreement on Wednesday, in Castries, Saint Lucia, to deploy skilled Nigerian professionals to the Caribbean nation.

The agreement, formalized by Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub, Director-General of Nigeria’s Technical Aid Corps (TAC), and Janelle Modeste-Stephen, Acting Permanent Secretary of Saint Lucia’s Ministry of External Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation and Diaspora Affairs, aims to strengthen bilateral ties and reconnect with the African diaspora.

The TMA facilitates the deployment of Nigerian experts, including educators, medical professionals, and agricultural specialists, to serve two-year terms in Saint Lucia and other Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries.

Nigeria will cover the volunteers’ allowances and logistics, while host nations provide accommodation and local support.

This initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of fostering robust regional partnerships, as highlighted by Yakub during the signing ceremony.

The agreement builds on Tinubu’s directive to expand technical aid to the OECS, with Yakub noting its role in enabling cultural and educational exchanges that allow Caribbean students to reconnect with their African heritage.

Since May 2023, the TAC has deployed over 300 Nigerian professionals across Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Recent deployments include volunteers to Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Jamaica, with four nurses scheduled to depart for Jamaica on July 3 and six medical doctors set to arrive in Grenada on July 9.

The programme has also sparked cultural and economic impacts. In Jamaica, a Nigerian volunteer popularized Adire, a traditional Yoruba fabric, inspiring local production under the name “Jadire” and even exports to the United States.

Yakub emphasized the programme’s revival under Tinubu’s administration, noting its transformation into a revenue-generating platform.

Jamaica has requested 400 Nigerian experts, preferring them over Asian labor, signaling Nigeria’s growing influence in exporting skilled human capital.

The initiative supports Tinubu’s 4D foreign policy framework—Democracy, Development, Diaspora, and Demography—by promoting professional development, cultural exchange, and solidarity with historically connected nations.

Ongoing discussions with Belize, the Dominican Republic, and the OECS aim to establish a regional technical assistance framework, further solidifying Nigeria’s leadership in the Global South.