Nigeria has formalized a landmark Technical Manpower Assistance (TMA) agreement with the Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia, opening a new chapter in South-South cooperation and diaspora diplomacy. The agreement, signed on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, enables the deployment of skilled Nigerian professionals—ranging from teachers to doctors—to Saint Lucia and other member states of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
The pact was sealed in Castries, Saint Lucia’s capital, between Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub, Director-General of the Nigerian 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.
According to a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, the agreement is a direct result of Tinubu’s recent visit to Saint Lucia, where he called for a renewed partnership with the African diaspora.
“This is an outstanding achievement, just days after Mr. President’s directive to deploy technical aid to Saint Lucia and the wider OECS,” Yakub said.
Under the agreement, Nigeria will send professionals on two-year volunteer assignments in key sectors such as education, healthcare, agriculture, and public service. Nigeria will handle their allowances and travel costs, while the host countries will provide accommodation and other local support.
So far, over 300 Nigerian professionals have already been deployed to Africa, the Caribbean, and Pacific nations under the revived TAC scheme. Yakub confirmed that nurses and medical doctors are scheduled to depart for Jamaica and Grenada in the coming days.
“We are deploying volunteers to Jamaica—some are already there, while four nurses will fly out tomorrow. Six doctors will also leave for Grenada on July 9,” Yakub noted.
This initiative forms a critical part of President Tinubu’s 4D Foreign Policy Doctrine—focused on Democracy, Development, Diaspora, and Demography—which aims to boost Nigeria’s global image while creating value-driven opportunities for citizens abroad.
Beyond manpower assistance, the programme is poised to deepen cultural and historical ties between Nigeria and the African-descended populations of the Caribbean. Yakub referenced a Nigerian volunteer in Jamaica who introduced Adire, the Yoruba textile art, which has since evolved locally into “Jadire,” now being exported to the United States.
The Director-General emphasized the programme’s potential as a revenue-generating venture, disclosing that Jamaica has formally requested 400 Nigerian experts—a shift away from traditionally imported Asian labour.
“Instead of bringing in workers from Asia, Jamaica is opting for Nigerian professionals. We are exporting human capital with dignity,” Yakub stressed.
In addition to Saint Lucia, Nigeria is in talks with Belize, the Dominican Republic, and the OECS Commission to establish a regional framework for coordinated technical assistance across the Caribbean.
The TMA agreement aligns with Tinubu’s goal of positioning Nigeria as a leading voice in the Global South. It also revives and expands a previously dormant programme that had seen minimal activity until Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
“This is diplomacy with a human face,” Yakub said. “It’s about professional empowerment, cultural exchange, and strategic cooperation rooted in shared history and mutual growth.”
The Nigeria-Saint Lucia manpower assistance deal signals a renewed diplomatic era driven by skills exchange, cultural reconnection, and strategic south-south collaboration. As deployments intensify and more countries seek Nigerian expertise, the Tinubu administration’s foreign policy agenda is gaining traction—not just across Africa, but now across the Caribbean and beyond.