The South Korean International Cooperation Association (SKICAN) alumni on Thursday pledged to replicate the value system they learnt from South Korea in Nigeria.
“SKICAN is here to make sure that as much as we can, we can replicate the value system of the Koreans and deploy that to our current situation in our country,” SKICAN president Joseph Oboh said at the alumni annual convention in Abuja,
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“The Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has trained over 1,600 Nigerians who have had the privilege of going to Korea for training. That’s a huge investment in the human capital development of Nigeria. I’m going to say that we are very grateful to the country director, to the government and people of Korea.”
Mr Oboh said the alumni had started putting the acquired values into practice through community development projects initiated this year.
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He said under the alumni projects, 75 secondary students across five schools and 90 university students from 12 tertiary institutions were trained digital literacy and content creation skills.
According to him, the beneficiary students are from Government Secondary Schools (GSS) in Tudunwada Zone 4, Wuse Zone 3, Mabushi, Garki and Jabi in Abuja and Bingham University in Nassarawa.
He said the training covered digital media skills, entrepreneurship, intellectual property, business, and human rights.
The KOICA is a Korean aid agency in Nigeria that partners with Nigeria’s Ministry of Budget and National Planning to identify and address the country’s developmental needs. The agency provides training and sponsorship in Korea for both civil servants across various agencies and private citizens.
SKICAN is the alumni association of all those trained by KOICA.
Mr Oboh expressed optimism that SKICAN would drive impact in Nigeria.
“South Korea used to receive aid, but now they give out aid. Nigeria is a rich country, but we still receive aid support from different countries across the world. Our vision is that one day Nigeria will support countries and make life more meaningful for them,” he said.
Muhammed Kwali, a Director at the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment and a beneficiary of the technological vocational training, listed their key lessons: work discipline, seamless integration of apprenticeships with factories, and the act of not just reacting to a changing world but envisioning it.
To implement these, Mr Kwali called for a stakeholder collaboration between the government, industry, and academia.
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Senior Country Director, KOICA, Ki-Hyun Baik, commended SKICAN for their initiatives and expressed optimism for more meaningful projects in the coming year. Mr Baik said, “We could actually boost some more meaningful activities next year and the years to come so that we can carry on with the good actions we are planning to deliver throughout Nigeria.”
He noted that KOICA was open to receiving suggestions for Nigeria’s development.
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