Former Director of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Training School, National Theatre Annex, Iganmu-Lagos, Mrs. Bridgette Rupmicit Yerima, has taken over the baton of leadership as Director, Overseeing the Office of the Executive Secretary/CEO, NICO, Abuja, following the retirement of Mr. Louis Eriomala from service on Friday, 17th April, 2020 on attaining the mandatory retirement age. 
An e-mail made available to SONTA News with the caption: “Handover to the Most Senior Director in NICO”, dated 20th April, 2020 and signed by Akudo-Nwoso Nwosu, Deputy Director, OPS, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information & Culture, Deaconess Grace Isu Gekpe, directed Mr. Louis Eriomala, the immediate past Director Overseeing the Office of the Executive Secretary to handover the affairs of the Institute.
The email reads in part: “I am directed to request you to handover the affairs of the Agency as well as forward all relevant circulars urgently to the aforementioned director on receipt of this mail.”
Mrs. Yerima, who has since received Handover Notes from her predecessor, joined the Federal Civil Service in 1987 with the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Lagos, where she was posted to the Federal Department of Culture, as a Cultural Officer.
She was among the first set of officers to be deployed to the National Troupe of Nigeria when it was created, where she served in different capacities including officer overseeing the welfare of artists; Head of Admin; Public Relations Officer and Marketing Officer, until her transfer of service to the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) in 1997, as Assistant Chief Programmes Officer.
When NICO’s administrative head office was moved to Abuja, the Federal Capita Territory, and with the commencement of active training, Mrs. Yerima became the first Coordinator of the Training and Orientation Department of the Institute as well as the Liaison Officer in charge of Lagos in 2004.
She was the one who coordinated the training programme for first batch of cultural officers leading to the award of Post Graduate Diploma in Cultural Administration (PGDCA), under the guidance and leadership of Elder J. B. Yusuff, then Executive Secretary of the Institute.
With the creation of the NICO Training School as a full-fledged department in the Institute in 2010, by the then Executive Secretary/CEO, Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, Mrs. Yerima was redeployed to head the Lagos Liaison Office.
As a point of fact, several programmes of the Institute were initiated under her leadership as the Lagos Liaison Officer, which include: Annual Round Table for Cultural Orientation (ARTCO), Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme (NILP), Weekend Indigenous Language Programme, and the Children’s Annual Cultural Extravaganza, with components like debate in indigenous languages, cooking competition, hairdo completion, and dancing competition for secondary schools.
It was also during her tenure as Head, Lagos Liaison Office, that the Institute organised notable programmes like the workshop for traditional rulers in Lagos in conjunction with the Lagos State Government as well as the first ever cultural orientation programme for expatriate staff of LAFARGE Cement Company.
In 2013, as a result of another re-organisation by the ES/CEO, Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma, Mrs. Yerima was again posted to head the NICO Training School as Director, where she has successfully superintended the training of over six sets of cultural officers drawn from sister cultural Parastatals, cultural workers from different states of the Federation, and private candidates.
Under her headship, as Director of NICO Training School, the Institute, for the first time, trained and organised orientation programmes for the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), as well as training for other states of the Federation.
Born on Friday, 26th July, 1963, Mrs. Bridgette Rupmicit Yerima, who hails from Lantang North Local Government of Plateau State, attended St. Augustine’s Primary School, Pallam; Government Girl’s Secondary School, Shendam (1970-1975); and the University of Jos, Jps, Plateau State, where she studied Theatre Arts, graduating in 1985.
She thereafter obtained two Masters Degrees in Public Administration and Educational Administration and Planning from the University of Lagos, as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) from the same University. Presently, Mrs. Yerima is currently doing her PhD programme in Policy Implementation and Cultural Administration at the Redeemer’s University in Osun State.
It is worth noting that Mrs. Bridgette Yerima is the beloved wife of the award winning playwright and erudite theatre scholar, Professor Ahmed Yerima, former Artistic Director of National Troupe of Nigeria, General Manager of National Theatre, as well as Artistic Director of Abuja National Troupe, who is currently teaching at the Department of Theatre Arts, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State.
© SONTA News