•Yakubu Gowon University main gate
The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Yakubu Gowon University, formerly the University of Abuja, have agreed to deepen collaboration on diplomatic training, policy research, migration management and ECOWAS awareness as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s foreign policy and build a more professional Foreign Service.
The partnership was announced during a courtesy visit by the university’s management and the Directorate of the Centre for Foreign Studies and Languages to the ministry in Abuja, reports Daily Independent.
Receiving the delegation led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, said Nigeria’s foreign policy must align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s national development priorities under the 4Ds Foreign Policy Doctrine of Demography, Development, Democracy and Diaspora.
According to the Minister in a statement by the Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa,
Nigeria’s diplomacy should be people-centred and focused on delivering measurable benefits, including economic prosperity, job creation, improved security and enhanced living standards for citizens.
Enikanolaiye said the ministry was implementing reforms aimed at strengthening its institutional structures and human resource capacity, stressing that continuous training, retraining and research were essential to building a responsive and globally competitive Foreign Service.
He identified four key areas of collaboration with the university.
These include strengthening capacity-building and mid-career training programmes for ministry personnel, revitalising the Nigerian Foreign Service Academy, promoting policy research and data-driven analysis to support evidence-based foreign policy decisions, advancing cooperation on migration management, and establishing ECOWAS Clubs in tertiary institutions, beginning with Yakubu Gowon University, to improve students’ awareness of regional integration.
The minister also directed relevant directors in the ministry to work with the university on creating a platform for regular engagement between the institution and Ambassadors and High Commissioners accredited to Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of the university’s Governing Council, Senate, Management, staff and students, Vice Chancellor Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi thanked the Ministry for the warm reception and expressed the institution’s readiness to support Nigeria’s diplomatic objectives.
He noted that Yakubu Gowon University, with a student population of more than 40,000 as the Federal Capital Territory’s only conventional federal university, possesses the academic capacity to contribute meaningfully to diplomatic training and policy development.
Fawehinmi highlighted the university’s Directorate of Foreign Studies and Foreign Languages and the Centre for Migration and Security Studies as key platforms for collaboration in staff and student exchange programmes, educational and cultural initiatives, as well as postgraduate professional training for Foreign Affairs Ministry officials and members of the Diplomatic Corps.
He also requested the Ministry’s support in convening a forum that would bring together Ambassadors and High Commissioners to explore partnerships with the university.
Both parties agreed to establish a joint working team to develop the implementation framework for the agreed areas of cooperation.
The ministry said the collaboration forms part of its broader commitment to strengthening partnerships with academic institutions to enhance Nigeria’s foreign policy, improve diplomatic capacity and project a positive image of the country internationally.
