OWERRI—THE Embassy of United States of America (USA) has reassured the management and staff of Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, of its preparedness to increase its level of assistance to the institution.The Counsellor in the Public Affairs Department of the Embassy, Mrs. Claudia Anyaso, who gave the reassurance while commissioning the Polytechnic’s internet facility funded by the United States government, also urged the academic staff to take advantage of the several programmes established by public and goodspirited individuals in USA.
"The American government is happy to be associated with this institution. We are happy that we were able to assist the institution to get this internet facility. We are prepared to increase the level of American government’s assistance to this Polytechnic", Mrs. Anyaso said.
While hoping that the new facility will give the institution the much needed opportunity to tell the world what they are doing, the embassy official also appealed to the management and staff to use the facility to establish a quasi American corner in the school. "It is our sincere hope that this facility will give the school the opportunity to tell the world what you are doing, as well as get to know what your colleagues in diaspora are equally doing. We sincerely hope that the management and staff of the Polytechnic will use the internet facility to establish a quasi American corner in the institution," Anyaso pleaded.
Continuing, she revealed that the United States government had mapped out about $15 billion to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa next year, adding that the Polytechnic management should constantly take a look at the websites with a view to being abreast with all the programmes floated by the United States government and other non-governmental organizations. On the increasing activities of fraudsters, Anyaso was of the view that the Nigerian government has to do serious work on its image problem abroad.
"Nigerians have to work on their image problem abroad. Your embassies have to be used in this regard. You have to work on the bad eggs, these 419 guys in your midst. They are not doing any good to the image of Nigeria and Nigerians", she said. Earlier in his welcome address, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr. Onyekwere Nwankwo, said that the school was not under any illusion that acquisition of departmental and personal computers would transform the Polytechnic into a centre of technological excellence."We took steps to invest in human and material resources in this regard by establishing and fully equipping a Computer Science Department accordingly. Today this Department has been accredited at both the National and Higher National Diploma levels", Nwankwo explained.
He said that one of the major reasons they applied for the internet facility was their knowledge that theUnited States government encourages progressive vision backed by the determination to excel, stressing that they were confident that they would receive the grant going by the effort they had put in place.
