The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) reignited its annual open-day ceremony on 26 November 2022; it was last held in 2017. The ceremony commemorated the sending-off of the Director General of the Institute, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, who has been steering the leadership wheel of the Institute since 2011.

The event was attended by staff, their families, and dignitaries from all IITA hubs. The event featured long-term service awards and awards for excellence by the Board of Trustees, tree planting as part of the Reforest IITA project, a talent presentation by staff, a children’s presentation, a dancing competition, a raffle draw, and an exhibition.

DDG Corporate Services Hilde Koper, in her opening remarks, welcomed everybody, staff, and families and thanked all management staff for their contribution towards the success of the Institute. She added that the Director General is going but not going and will still be with us.

The Director General, Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, talked about his accomplishments over the years and appreciated IITA for honoring him as this would be his last speech in the institution. He encouraged the staff to continue doing good work and that they should continue to support the new DG for the Institute’s success.

The DG stated that IITA today is stronger than when he took it over and added that he is not going because Nigeria is home.

Head of Human Resource Services, Lilian Mendoza, stated that the open day was very fulfilling. It was good to see people very happy with their families because they had stopped open day for a few years, and now that it is back, she is happy too. She added that she is happy that there are a lot of volunteer workers and committee members putting more effort into the success of the open day.

Long-term service awards were given for 30, 20, and 10 years.

The winner of the Raffle draw, Aliyu Olusegun of the Fabrication unit, FMS, won a refrigerator. He thanked Dr. Sanginga for the opportunity he gave to his staff and thanked the committee members for the gift, praying that IITA would continue to grow higher.

Contributed by Victoria Adabale