The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has held a ceremony for 65 Nigerian students in China returning home after studying in the Asian country.
The students are beneficiaries of a programme initiated by the Muhammadu Buhari administration to enable young Nigerians to learn directly from the Chinese.
The programme started in 2018, and hundreds of young Nigerians have benefitted.
The then-minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, had said the move was necessary for Nigerians to acquire knowledge that the Chinese possess.
John Zhao, an official CCECC, shared photos of the students and their faculties in a group photo on his Twitter page.
He wrote:
”CCECC held a ceremony to celebrate 65 Nigerian students’ return. The collaboration between CCECC and the Nigerian government started in 2018, and we have sponsored 194 Nigerian students to study in China.
”They will contribute to Nigeria’s infrastructure development.”
According to sources, the students are usually in batches, and there are more to come in the technology transfer programme.
Among the returned 65 students are 49 undergraduates and 16 postgraduates, majoring in Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Road, Bridge, and River-crossing Engineering, among others.
Tosin Adeda, a social media commentator, said in reaction to the news:
”The great things that President Buhari’s government did will forever be impactful to Nigeria’s tomorrow.
”He literally laid a foundation for us to build on as best as he could. He wasn’t a perfect president, and he had his flaws too.”
