The Nigeria Ambassador to the Kingdom of Jordan, Alhaji Taofeek Arapaja has called for full cooperation between Jordan and Nigeria in the area of technical and medical sciences education.

While on a visit to universities in Jordan, Arapaja called on Nigerians to take advantage of the sophisticated technical education available in Jordan, which according to him is comparable to any top flight institution anywhere in the world.

According to a statement made available to CEOAFRICA by Arapaja's Chief Media Officer, Kola Adegoke, in Ibadan on Monday, leveraging on Jordan’s sophisticated technical education would promote global competitiveness and technical competence of Nigerian students in aviation, technology and medical sciences.
He also stressed the need to ensure that Nigerian students were exposed to the best training facilities to boost their employability.

He noted that Jordan was rated the best in medical and health sciences in the Gulf Region and fifth in the world.

According to Ambassador Arapaja “Jordan is among the best in the world in the areas of aviation, technology and aeronautic engineering’’ saying that this was one of the reasons why most airlines in Nigeria and other countries of the world patronise Jordan for the maintenance and repair of their aircraft.

He identified Arik, Chachangi and Aero-contractor being some of the airlines that patronise Jordan.

Arapaja further said that Jordan trained pilots were recognised all over the world for effectiveness and efficiency, hence the need for Nigerians to consider Jordan while seeking the best training facilities in aviation technology, listing the Middle East Aviation Academy (MEA) and Ayla Aviation Academy as reputable institutions in Jordan offering world class training in aviation from which Nigerian youths could benefit.

The ambassador to the Kingdom of Jordan also disclosed that before he got to Jordan,  there were only 70 Nigerian students studying various courses in Jordan but today, he said, with doggedness and commitment the number had increased to 350 with great prospect for more Nigerians moving to
Jordan.
He also added that the direct flight he brokered between Nigeria and Jordan few months back was of tremendous assistance in this regard.

He however lauded the Federal Government and some state governors for availing their citizens the opportunity to benefit from the sophisticated technical education in Jordan.

He pointed out that early this year, the government of Kano State under Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso sponsored 150 to study various courses  in the Royal Jordanian Air Academy, Amman in addition to the reasonable number of students sponsored by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration
through its amnesty programme to study in the same Aviation Academy.
 He also said that Governor Ibrahim Sheu Shema administration in Katsina State also sponsored some students on scholarship in various Universities in Jordan.

 The former Deputy Governor of Oyo State therefore enjoined governments and well-meaning Nigerians to emulate this laudable gesture to assist the youths to be exposed to, and benefits from these sophisticated programmes and courses in Jordan in which the country has comparative advantage.

He finally stated that in this age of globalization, Nigerians should seek to maximize opportunities  offered by collaborative efforts between Nigeria and other countries, naming Jordan as one of those countries with huge prospects for maximum gains that Nigerians can derive from bilateral relations between the two countries.