The House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs has flayed the current state of utter neglect and dilapidated infrastructure at the Nigerian Institute for Foreign Affairs (NIIA), Kogi Abayomi Street, Lagos, declaring it unacceptable, regrettable, and reprehensible.
The committee, led by its chairman, Hon. Oluwole Oke, gave this stand while on an oversight visit to the Institute, expressing dismay with what they saw and heard regarding what used to be the premier foreign policy academy for Nigeria and Africa, and in fact, the African version of the London Chatham House.
During the visit, committee members were taken around the various facilities at the institute by the Director General, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae.
The facilities included the conference hall, observed to have recorded low patronage due to a lack of basic amenities, the printing press, senior staff quarters, and a huge library, all in a state of abandonment.
Speaking after the tour of the facilities, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Oke, noted that the place was certainly not what it used to be, saying that it was the resolve of members that the Institute demanded and deserved urgent attention for speedy recovery and rehabilitation to enable it to effectively discharge its core mandate.
“We must be deliberate in prioritising the legacy status of this monument as the cornerstone of not just Nigeria but as Africa’s foreign policy incubator, integrity, and sustainability,” the lawmaker said.
He, therefore, promised that they would rally all that was necessary and follow up on every step that is constitutional to help return life to the Institute’s critical infrastructure and its human resources, which had suffered depletion over the years.
Earlier, while conducting the members through the facilities, the Director General, Prof. Osaghae, thanked the visitors for what he described as their kind visit and deeply reflective engagements, saying that as the true representatives of the people and protectors of their institutions, the visit aligned with the popular saying, “Seeing is believing.”
Osaghae, while noting that the visit to them as the host was so strategic for life support, however, said there were rays of hope for the Institute under his leadership as, according to him, few donor projects are going on for future commissioning.
He, therefore, passionately pleaded with the lawmakers to help recover and return NIIA properties in Abuja, the Federal Capital, which he said were forcibly appropriated and kept by other agencies of the Federal Government.
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