BlogIT-rrs 

Town Hall, Memorial, Farewell Lunch and International Meet and Greet 

Posted June 23, 2009 3:01 PM

June 23, 2009: Today was a mix of several emotions as I held my second community-wide town hall meeting, said farewell to a colleague, remembered the life of a fallen member of our local guard force, and sought to provide a friendly venue for members of the expatriate community to come together to have a non-policy night in order to get to know each other better.  As for the town hall meeting, it was an opportunity for me to thank the many staff members who are leaving this summer, welcome the newcomers, and highlight in broad terms the vision and focus of the U.S. Mission to Nigeria, and have my management, community liaison, and security officers brief the Mission community on efforts to improve customer service to residential homes, emphasize what is on tap for community activities for the summer, and reinforce the importance of personal security.  The latter point on personal security was particularly noteworthy as we would all move after the town hall session to the outside grassy knoll area of the U.S. Embassy Compound to hold a memorial service for a fallen member of our broader community – the guard force – who had been shot and killed on June 11, 2009, in the execution of his duties. ...(more)

US Mission Nigeria signs an MOU with Bank PHB for the renewal of support to the Fulbright Program
(Lagos, June 11, 2009)

Ambassador Robin Sanders and CEO/MD of Bank PHB, Mr. Francis Atuche shake hands after signing the MOU | Full size

The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria (PAS) records another public-private-partnership success story through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bank PHB on June 11th, 2009 at a dinner in Lagos hosted by the bank in honor of the US Ambassador Robin Sanders.  The MOU will jointly expand the access of Nigerian scholars to the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program. During the welcome remarks by the CEO of Bank PHB, Mr. Francis Atuche, and the subsequent response by Ambassador Sanders, it was noted that this was the first private organization to partner with the US Mission in Nigeria on the Fulbright program. In May 2007, Bank PHB dedicated $100,000 to be used over three years to support Nigerian Fulbright Visiting Scholars to conduct research in the United States. The scholars who benefitted came from three of the 19 institutions affiliated to PAS on the Fulbright program. In 07-08, the bank sponsored a Lecturer in Political Science from Lagos State University. He was at the University of California, Los Angeles conducting research on Youth Violence as Social Work in Nigeria which took a critical look at the issue in the Niger Delta. (more)

Nigeria Elevated to Tier 1 Status in U.S. Department of State’s 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report
(June 16, 2009)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today released the Department of State's ninth annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report in a public event in Washington, D.C. The 175-country report is the most comprehensive worldwide report on the efforts of governments to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons, a modern-day form of slavery. Its findings are intended to raise global awareness and spur countries to take effective actions to counter trafficking in persons. (more)

CPAO Atim George Holds a Welcome Home Session for Returning YES Students
(Abuja: Thursday, June 11, 2009)

Returning 2009 Youth Exchange and Study program students pose for a group photo. |FULL SIZE

The Counselor for Public Affairs, Atim Eneida George, on Wednesday June 10 held a welcome home session with 21 Nigerian students and a teacher who returned from the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program in the U.S. 

The YES Program is funded through the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  The program provides opportunities for high school students from countries with significant Muslim populations to live and study in the United States...more

POTICO II: Boosting the Nigerian Agricultural Sector through Financing, Processing, Capacity Building, Capital Equipment & Market Access - A Public Private Endeavor hosted by U.S. Ambassador Robin R. Sanders, Bank of Industry Managing Director Evelyn Oputu, First Bank GMD/CEO and Nigerian Bank Partners
June 9-10, 2009
Civic Center, Lagos. Nigeria

Presentations

DAY 1

• Ex-Im Bank: Trade Financing Solutions
• Export Credit Guarantee Program (GSM-102)
• Project Preparation Assistance: Planning for Agricultural Infrastructure Investment
• Leveraging OPIC Investment Finance and Insurance Products to help U.S. and Nigerian companies build their businesses
• Doing Business with the USA

(more presentations)

U.S. Mission Nigeria Donates Books to Asokoro School After a Reading Program
Abuja: June 9, 2009

CPAO Atim George poses with pupils and Head Teacher Rikiya Zubairu of Sunrise Int School.| FULL SIZE

The Counselor for Public Affairs, Atim Eneida George on Monday, June 8 visited the Sunrise International School, Asokoro, Abuja where she read to a combined class of pupils from primary 5 and 6.   The reading program for primary school pupils is one of the CPAO’s major engagements with youths, and is meant to inculcate reading habits in young school children. 

At Monday’s school reading, the Counselor for Public Affairs read excepts from the biography of one of United States’ most celebrated African Americans, Frederick Douglass.   She told the students that Douglass played an important role in the emancipation of the Africa American community from captivity through his work as an editor and abolitionist... more