Nigeria’s Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tanko Sununu says the Erasmus scholarships offered by the European Union to Nigerians to study abroad and return home, will play a pivotal role in bridging the brain drain gap in the nation.
Dr. Sununu stated this at the median edition of the Erasmus + National Information Day held in Abuja, Nigeria.
He said; ”the scholarship will be used as a source of replenishing brain drain in Nigeria as the country has become a melting point for the international community to come in and harness talent and move them to serve their people.
“Nigeria is one of the countries suffering from brain drain so we need this partnership to ensure that the source here in Nigeria is protected to continue to produce qualitative, highly skilled citizens who can remain in the country while others are being exported.”
According to him, the scholarship will be used to build capacity for the establishment of some specific courses, which are not available in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions due to the level of development or economic access.
“This scholarship will enable us to get students that will go there and specialize and also become experts. We may now use them in the future to develop our local and indigenous expertise that will service Nigeria.
“It is a welcome development because it’s akin to the 8-point development agenda of President Tinubu because taping from skills is a major part of it. So Erasmus Scholarship gives the opportunity to collaborate, partner, and tap skills,” said the Minister.
Enhance employment
Dr. Sununu explained that the scholarship would also be an opportunity to enhance the employability of Nigerian graduates as the participating students would have been equipped with skills from their various institutions upon graduation in their host countries.
He said; “Nigeria is no longer interested in graduating students with interest in white-collar jobs always looking out for government jobs.
“We want to have graduates who have skills, knowledge, and character that can think outside of the box and contribute to the development of the country and the global community. We hope that shortly they should be employers of labor.”
Transnational guideline
Dr. Sununu said Nigeria now has a transnational guideline which was recently approved by the Federal Executive Council. He urged all ambassadors to be guided by it and ensure that certification of graduates by their Universities coming into the country will not only be of benefit to Nigeria but the entire globe.
Erasmus Information Day
He said; “the Erasmus Information Day was designed to create awareness that there are huge packages and incentives for Nigerians who can gain access to the scholarship as they would have the opportunity to be groomed and have cross-fertilisation of ideas.”
The EU Deputy Head of Delegation and Information Section, Zissimos Vergos in a remark said that the Erasmus+ scholarship programme enables awardees to school and work in Europe and then return to their respective countries to impact what they have learned.
He said; “Nigeria is ranked highest in the number of awardees in Africa and fifth globally,” regretting that there was a decline in the number of awardees in 2023.
He said; “the scholarship demonstrates the commitment of the European Union to creating opportunities for Nigerian youths, offering regular migration opportunities for them to travel and study in Europe, work based on their merit, capacity, and abilities, and come back to their countries.”
The Erasmus scholarship programme is particular about education, training, and sports among others.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
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