By David Lawani
The Nigerian Technical Aid Corps (NTAC) is quietly redefining Nigeria’s foreign policy engagement, not through military strength or economic coercion, but through what many observers consider the nation’s most enduring diplomatic currency, human capital.
At a time when nations increasingly compete for influence through culture, education, innovation and expertise rather than force, Nigeria’s technical aid programme has emerged as one of the country’s most potent instruments of soft power diplomacy.
Through the deployment of professionals to countries across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, the country is exporting not merely skills, but goodwill, partnerships and enduring relationships that strengthen its standing in the international community.
Leading this renewed diplomatic push is the Director-General of NTAC, Rt. Hon. Buba Yakub, whose stewardship of the agency has sought to align technical cooperation with the broader foreign policy priorities of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Under this vision, the TAC Scheme is increasingly being positioned as a strategic foreign policy tool capable of projecting Nigeria’s influence beyond its borders, contributing meaningfully to development in partner countries, and reinforcing the country’s status as a leader within the Global South.
According to Yakub, the philosophy behind the programme extends beyond development assistance and humanitarian cooperation.
It reflects Nigeria’s historic responsibility to the black world and its commitment to the ideals of pan-African solidarity and shared prosperity.
The NTAC boss describes the initiative as an expression of Nigeria’s “big brother role to all black people across the world” and evidence of the country’s desire to promote “a world where development and societal progress everywhere will be at par in the pan-African spirit of no-country-left-behind.”
The agency’s activities are closely tied to President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and what officials describe as the Tinubu Doctrine in foreign relations.
Yakub maintains that the President’s vision is for Nigeria to occupy a more influential position not only within Africa but also across the Caribbean, the Pacific and the wider international community.
“What His Excellency, Mr President, has handed to us to achieve remains the central mandate of our work here,” the Director-General said.
“He desires a Nigeria that plays a leadership role in Africa, in the Caribbean and the Pacific Regions; and, indeed, across the globe.”
The Director-General further stressed the importance of commitment and institutional alignment in achieving those objectives.
“We all must be prepared to swallow the mandate of Mr President here, hook, line and sinker. We must all remain committed to it and work as a team with purpose,” he stated.
That vision has found resonance among senior figures within Nigeria’s political and diplomatic establishment, many of whom see the TAC Scheme as one of the country’s most effective vehicles for international engagement.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Mr Tunde Rahman, was among those who acknowledged the agency’s growing relevance in advancing Nigeria’s international standing.
The veteran journalist observed that NTAC had once again “wormed its way into the hearts of the global community and several multilateral bodies” by helping Nigeria attain “greater influence, global visibility and respect across the world.”
According to him, the leadership currently in place at the agency has succeeded in revitalising the TAC Scheme and restoring its place as one of Nigeria’s foremost diplomatic assets in its engagement with developing countries.
Perhaps the strongest validation of the programme’s impact came from Nigeria’s High Commissioner-designate to The Gambia, Rt. Hon. Tasi’u Musa Maigari, who described the TAC Scheme as “a key driver of socio-economic development in The Gambia and a positive reflection of Nigeria’s image abroad.”
His assessment mirrors the experiences of many beneficiary countries where Nigerian doctors, teachers, engineers, academics and technical experts continue to support national development efforts while strengthening bilateral relations with host governments.
Maigari pledged continued support for deploying Nigerian professionals to The Gambia and assured TAC volunteers serving in the country of the cooperation and backing of the Nigerian High Commission in Banjul.
The envoy’s endorsement further reinforces the strategic importance of technical diplomacy as an instrument for deepening regional cooperation and strengthening people-to-people relations across Africa.
The importance attached to the TAC Scheme within Nigeria’s broader diplomatic architecture was equally reflected in engagements involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During consultations with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, discussions focused on Nigeria’s citizens’ diplomacy initiatives, the welfare of Nigerians abroad and the role of government institutions in protecting national interests beyond the country’s borders.
The Minister reaffirmed President Tinubu’s commitment to protecting Nigerians irrespective of where they reside, stressing the administration’s dedication to “the welfare and security of every Nigerian wherever they may be on the face of the earth.”
For Yakub, the issue of citizens’ diplomacy remains inseparable from Nigeria’s broader foreign policy objectives.
Commending the ministry’s interventions on behalf of Nigerians facing xenophobic threats in South Africa, the NTAC Director-General reiterated support for the administration’s resolve that no Nigerian willing to return home should be abandoned in moments of distress.
“The greatest demand of leadership was, besides security, the welfare of the citizenry,” he noted while praising efforts aimed at ensuring the safe return of affected Nigerians.
The NTAC Director-General also welcomed the appointment of Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and immediate past Presidential Adviser on Foreign Relations, as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Describing the appointment as “placing a square peg in a square hole,” Yakub expressed confidence that the seasoned diplomat’s wealth of experience would add immense value to the ministry and further strengthen Nigeria’s foreign policy implementation architecture.
The growing recognition accorded to the TAC Scheme reflects a broader shift in international relations, in which influence is increasingly earned through cooperation rather than coercion, and through partnerships rather than dominance.
Unlike conventional aid programmes measured primarily in financial commitments, Nigeria’s technical assistance model is built around the transfer of skills, knowledge and expertise.
Its greatest resource is not money but people.
Every Nigerian doctor serving in a rural hospital abroad, every lecturer teaching in a foreign university and every engineer supporting infrastructure development in a partner country contributes to a larger national objective — building goodwill for Nigeria and strengthening the country’s international reputation.
These professionals become unofficial ambassadors, often leaving behind impressions and relationships that outlive political administrations and diplomatic communiqués.
For a country seeking greater relevance on the global stage, that may prove to be one of its most valuable diplomatic assets.
By deploying skills rather than slogans and expertise rather than rhetoric, Nigeria is steadily building bridges across continents and reinforcing its image as a nation willing to share its human capital in pursuit of collective development and shared prosperity.
For NTAC, the mission remains clear: to ensure that wherever Nigerian professionals serve across Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, they leave behind not only stronger institutions but also a stronger, more respected image of Nigeria itself.
In an increasingly interconnected world where influence is often determined by the ability to inspire rather than compel, the TAC Scheme may well represent one of the finest expressions of Nigeria’s soft power diplomacy in the twenty-first century.
