US advisory council ends Nigeria visit, signs student exchange deal

Abuja, Nigeria — Members of a U.S. presidential advisory council have approved a student exchange deal between an American college and a Nigerian university as part of the council’s effort to strengthen collaboration on education, health, entrepreneurship and development between Africa and Africans living abroad.

The council also visited a health facility supported by the United States Agency for International Development in the capital.

Nigerian authorities and visitors chatter with members of the U.S President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement as they tour a healthcare facility in Karu, a suburb of Abuja, on the last day of the council’s three-day visit to Abuja and Lagos.

The facility is one of many supported by the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, to improve the management of childhood illnesses, family planning, immunization and delivery.

The tour was part of the council’s effort to promote African diaspora-led investments in technology entrepreneurship, education and healthcare delivery.

“They’re doing a phenomenal job there, it really gave us a sense of what the healthcare system is in Nigeria,” said Deniece Laurent-Mantey, executive director of the advisory council. “This is our first trip as a council to the continent and we chose Nigeria for a reason — the diaspora in Nigeria is very active, very influential, and they’re really a source of strength when it comes to our U.S.-Africa policy. And so for us coming to Nigeria was very intentional.”

The council was created by President Joe Biden in September to improve collaboration between Africa and its diaspora in terms of economic and social development.

Akila Usofi, manager of the Primary Healthcare Centre of Karu, said officials in Nigeria were pleased that the council members were able to visit. 

“We’re happy that they have seen what the money they have given to us to work with has been used to do, because they have been able to assist us in capacity-building, trainings, equipment supply and the makeover of the facility,” Usofi said.

Earlier, the council signed a deal for a student exchange program between Spelman College in the southern U.S. city of Atlanta and Nigeria’s University of Lagos.

Laurent-Mantey said education exchanges are one of the council’s top priorities.

“In Lagos, we had the president of Spelman College — she’s also a member of our council — she signed an agreement with the University of Lagos to further education exchange programs in STEM and creative industries between those two universities,” Laurent-Mantey said. “And I think for us it’s very important, because Spelman College is a historically Black university, and so here we are promoting the importance of collaboration between African Americans and Africans.”

In March, the advisory council adopted its first set of recommendations for the U.S. president, including the student exchange initiative, advocating for more U.S. government support for Africa, climate-focused initiatives, and improving U.S. visa access for Africans.

The council met with Nigerian health and foreign affairs officials during the visit before leaving the country on Wednesday.
…