As newly appointed Nigerian envoys prepare to resume at their various foreign missions, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has urged the Nigeria’s representatives abroad to pursue the policies of inclusion of all citizens, investment drive and image building for the country.
NOA Director General, Dr. Garba Abari (in white) stated this when he received the newly appointed Nigerian Ambassador to Hungary, Dr. Eniola Ajayi saying the three I’s of Inclusion, Investment and Image Building were critical to the success of Nigeria’s foreign missions at this time, given the nation’s present realities.
Abari also commended the quality of persons recently appointed by government to head Nigeria’s foreign missions, saying they were painstakingly chosen. He said with national boundaries collapsing, relatively free movement of people across borders, security challenges and untapped economic potentials, the country must send its best diplomats to other nations; hence the postings were apt. He expressed optimism that the Ambassadors Designate would add value to Nigeria’s bilateral relations with other countries.
Earlier, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Hungary, Dr. Ajayi (in local fabric), who has concurrent accreditation to Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina, said her ambassadorship would rest on the tripod of Inclusion, Investment and Image Building. Under the three I’s, she said she would work to give every Nigerian in those countries a sense of belonging at the embassy in Budapest, attract foreign investments to Nigeria and project a healthy image of the country.
Similarly, the NOA Director General, while receiving the Nigerian envoy to Togo, Ambassador Joseph Ije, said the Agency has embarked on a strategic campaign to re-orient and mobilize Nigerians in the Diaspora to imbibe the nation’s core values. He said NOA was partnering with Nigeria’s diplomatic missions in the campaign to promote Nigeria’s core values among citizens abroad
Abari said “Nigeria is a country with great national core values of Discipline, Integrity, Dignity of Labour, Social Justice, Religious Tolerance, Self-reliance and Patriotism. These are values that Nigerians should imbibe anywhere, whether at home or abroad”. He said Nigerians in the Diaspora depend largely on the internet for information about Nigeria, but noted that the internet platform is not very reliable; hence, NOA strives through Nigeria’s embassies to provide reliable and factual information about Nigeria.
On his part, Ambassador Ije said Togo was a strategic partner of Nigeria with its location key to Nigeria’s economy and many Nigerians resident in the country; hence the need for closer bilateral ties and the mobilization of Nigerians in Togo for national development. He therefore urged the support of NOA through promotional materials on Nigeria, describing the Agency as a strategic partner that assists Nigeria’s diplomatic missions. He commended the Agency for working hard on fulfilling that mandate over the years.
The NOA boss presented both Ambassadors with standard Nigerian flags for outdoor, indoor ceremonial and official car use as well as copies of the original score of the National anthem and publications on Nigeria’s core values and tourism potentials.