Fulbright scholars have urged the Federal Government to invest more in international exchange programmes, describing them as powerful tools for national development, knowledge transfer, global cooperation and curbing brain drain popularly known as the Japa Syndrome.

The call was made at the 20th Annual Conference and 25th Anniversary celebration of the Fulbright Alumni Association of Nigeria (FAAN), held yesterday at Yakubu Gowon University (formerly University of Abuja), themed: “Nigeria-US Relations in Tertiary Education Development: History, Milestones and Possibilities.”

In his address, the FAAN President, Prof Francis Nwosu, who described the milestone as a celebration of progress and promise in Nigeria’s academic development, added that the Fulbright Programme has trained hundreds of Nigerian academics, “injecting excellence into tertiary institutions, patriotism into national life, and humanity into society.”

Describing the programme an antidote to the “Japa syndrome,” Nwosu urged government agencies, including the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and regional development bodies like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), to invest in Fulbright initiatives as part of a national capacity-building strategy.

He said: “The Fulbright Programme offers enormous, life-changing experiences. The most indelible marks on every Fulbrighter’s mind are those interactions with ‘ordinary people who do ordinary things that make everyday life livable’. These people do not just live the American Dream they are the American Dream.

He urged the government to leverage the Fulbright framework in national capacity building, emphasising that Fulbright’s model helps curb academic migration.

He said: “We recommend that the Nigerian Government invest more and build national capacity through the Fulbright Programme. TETFund, for instance, can diversify its Overseas Postdoctoral Programmes to sponsor Fulbright Scholars through a memorandum of understanding with the US Mission in Nigeria.