Akwa Ibom govt trains workforce on Chinese language

Apparently overwhelmed by the rising fortunes of China in the global market and the need for relevance in the emerging economic matrix, the Akwa Ibom State government has concluded plans to imbue its workforce with Chinese language culture.

Toward this end, the first batch of no fewer than 20 workers in the state government has commenced an intensive two months training at the Juuldaam Chinese Language Study Centre along Edet Akpan Avenue, Uyo, the state capital.

Inaugurating the Chinese Language Training programme for government employees, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Comrade Iniobong Ememobong, explained that government action in this direction became necessary “because Chinese companies are fast becoming a strong force to reckon with globally and their companies are currently undertaking highbrow businesses in Akwa Ibom State”.

According to him, “many Chinese companies have signed-on for massive erosion control and road construction works in the state, including CRBC, CCECC, Wizchino (WE) and MCC, among others and it has become expedient for the government to take more interest in learning the Chinese language to ease interpretation of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) and contract agreements between the state government and the Chinese firms”.

“To this end, the Chinese language training came to the fore and the Ministry of Information and Strategy being the custodian of Spokespersons for the government took the bull by the horns in putting up a screening committee to select Information Officers to be trained in the Chinese language for future service as interpreters for government in all business transactions involving Chinese companies,” he stressed.

The government spokesman added that “the safest people to interpret for government are the civil servants and the establishment in which such crop of workers are domiciled in the Ministry of Information.”

“Also, in considering the fact that the contractual documents may be written in a foreign language, there must be quality control in the translation in order to ensure that government interest is protected at all times, and that can only be guaranteed by a government employee.”

Commending the screening committee for a job well done, the Commissioner congratulated the first batch of Information Officers participating in the training exercise and urged them to wholeheartedly embrace the opportunity in order to justify the enormous investment made by the government in the Chinese language training.

However, the Regional Manager of Juuldaam Training Academy and lead training consultant, Dr Anthony Akadi, explained that the acquisition of foreign languages would enable learners to be more open-minded to the culture and values of the foreigners, which would, in turn, promote trust in business deals.

Dr Akadi said, with Akwa Ibom fast becoming a destination to investors, any deliberate attempt at investing in lingual training for government employees is a good strategy to eradicate communication barriers during international procurement, contract signing and project execution.

He assured that international best practices would be followed in the Chinese Language training programme and expressed the optimism that the trainees would draw value to the state government at the completion of the programme.

Also speaking, a Chinese language lead instructor, Dr Idongesit Etim, allayed fears about the complexity of acquiring the Chinese language amongst students, stating that, “like every other language, learning and understanding the Chinese language requires concentration, patience and a good mindset.

Earlier, the Coordinator of the training programme and Director of Public Relations in the Ministry, Mrs Grace Akpan, had said, the Chinese Language training is a major leap and the first of its kind programmes undertaken by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Comrade Ini Ememobong towards human capacity building and the development of Akwa Ibom State in general.

Mrs Akpan expressed deep gratitude to the Commissioner, for the numerous initiatives he has brought to the Ministry since his assumption of office, adding that, “the Information Commissioner has turned around the fortunes of the Ministry of Information and Strategy to an enviable height”.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy Comrade Ini Ememobong was accompanied to the inauguration ceremony by the Permanent Secretary, Akparawa James Edet and Directors in the Ministry including the Director of Administration, Mrs Tiuba Nduonofit, Director of Technical Services, Mr Joseph Etem, Director of Archives, Mr Edet Nsunwara, Director of Strategy, Mr Aniekan Ukpong, Director of Finance and Accounts, Mrs Stella Akpanekwere and Head of PRS, Mr Peter Antai.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents

In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…

Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train

The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report.…