The House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs has roundly condemned the current state of utter neglect and dilapidated infrastructures at the apex Nigerian Institute for Foreign Affairs (NIIA), declaring it as unacceptable, regrettable and reprehensible.
Led by the Committee Chairman, Wole Oke, the members who were on an oversight visit to the institute throughout Monday, July 15, were all struck with dismay at what they saw and heard about what used to be the premier foreign policy academy for Nigeria and Africa, in fact the African version of the London Chatham House.
The shocked committee members were unanimous that sadly, the place is now an obvious poor shell of its former stature, declaring that for a Think Tank of that pedigree to sink into such a dire shape, responsibilities and and laws must have been broken, and fidelity to its core mandate abandoned. They therefore agreed in unison that the place demands and deserves urgent intensive care attention for speedy recovery and rehabilitation.
“We must be deliberate in prioritising the legacy status of this monument as the cornerstone of not just Nigeria, but as Africa’s foreign policies incubator, integrity, and sustainability.”
He therefore promised that they would rally all that is necessary and follow up on every constitutional step to help return life to the Institute’s critical infrastructure and depleted human resource capital.
Earlier while conducting the members through what still count as facilities there, the Director General of the Institute, Professor Eghosa Osaghae, thanked the oversight visitors for their kind visit and deeply reflective engagements, saying as the true representatives of the people and protector of their institutions, seeing by them is believing, and to us so strategic for life support.
The committee saw the famous sought-after NIIA Conference Hall, now rejected by clients for dearth of basic amenities, a big archaic press that can serve their catchment community profitably if revamped, a dilapidated and unsafe senior staff quarters, and a huge library of great books with little patrons.
There were however rays of hope as donors’-endowed projects are going on for future commissioning, he revealed, while passionately pleading with the lawmakers to help recover and return its properties in Abuja forcibly appropriated and kept by other agencies of the Federal Government.
