As NiDCOM harps on the important role of 20m Nigerians in diaspora in nation-building, President Bola Tinubu has celebrated “the positive effects of global migration,” including huge remittances of funds to middle-income countries therefrom, with Nigeria receiving $21.9 billion in 2023 and a wholesome $100bn in five years.
Acknowledging what the president described as ‘the complexity and scale of Nigerian migration globally’, the president who spoke at the 2024 National Diaspora Day Celebrations and National Diaspora Merit Award in Abuja, yesterday (Thursday, July 25), cited the United Nations’ ranking of Nigeria as among the top 10 countries with the most international migrants, stating that such a situation could be beneficial to the country in terms of the collective growth it could engender.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, at the conference with the theme: “Japa Phenomena and its Implications for National Development,” President Tinubu shared personal experience, having lived in the United States before returning to Nigeria, urged citizens not to forget their homeland but to always endeavour to bring back their experiences to contribute to national development.
Quoting from available data, the president noted that 169 million international migrant workers left their countries of origin primarily to seek work, with Nigeria having a significant diaspora population, assuring that initiatives such as the Nigerian diaspora Commission and presidential town hall meetings with diaspora communities were aimed at engaging Nigerians in the diaspora in national development.
Encouraging Nigerians in the diaspora to continue contributing to critical sectors of the economy, Tinubu commended the Central Bank’s reforms, “which have increased Forex official channels and stabilised the naira”, emphasizing the importance of Nigerians, both at home and abroad, participating in the development of their country through participation in “programmes with tremendous impact.”
In his own remarks, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who acknowledged the deleterious effects of the phenomenon called ‘brain drain’, a situation whereby bright young people go abroad in search of better chances, highlighted the imperative of creating a conducive atmosphere for technological advancement to thrive in Nigeria, thereby drawing in highly qualified workers into the country, both from diaspora Nigerians and other nationalities.
“The government is committed to investing in education, healthcare, and infrastructure to retain skilled workers and attract those who have ventured abroad,” Senator Akpabio assured, adding that “the National Assembly stands ready to enact necessary laws to support the return of skilled professionals, contribute to the country’s growth, and implore those in the diaspora to remain committed to Nigeria’s progress and invest in local initiatives.”
In his contribution, Speaker, the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said the government recognises the substantial contributions made by Nigerians living abroad to the advancement of their nation, especially in fields like education, healthcare, ICT, transportation, and agriculture.
Represented by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, Abbas said that in recognition of their contribution to nation-building, the House planned to explore the possibility of granting Nigerians living abroad the ability to vote during elections.
“A constitutional amendment bill has been presented to the House of Representatives, and the government is committed to making progress on this issue,” the Speaker disclosed, adding that the government attached a lot of importance to collaboration between the government and the diaspora community to achieve greater results in national development.
“The diaspora community is in safe hands, and I encourage you to continue contributing to the country’s growth,” Abbas charged.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has emphasized the crucial role of the over 20 million-strong Nigerians in the diaspora in national development, drawing parallels with successful diaspora engagements in countries like India and Germany.
With approximately $100 billion in remittances from the Nigerian diaspora in the last five years, Dabiri-Erewa said Nigeria, like a lot other countries across continents, could benefit even more from accelerated national development spawned by its diaspora population, explaining that while the experiences of other countries with regard to the contributions of their diaspora are varied, the most impact from such diaspora populations is felt in the areas of capacity and infrastructural developments.
Said Dabiri-Erewa: “Let me also state that the contributions of the Diaspora community to national development cannot be over-emphasized.
“According to the World Bank statistics recently, the Nigerian Diaspora has remitted over 99 billion US dollars into the system in the last five years. This is huge and highly commendable.
She stressed that the Diaspora is one area that needs to pay more attention to, adding: “So, this is a sector that we need to pay more attention to. We haven’t paid attention to it, we need to do a lot more. So we have to tap into the enormous resources we have with the diaspora.
“We are still scratching the surface. And that’s what I will say.”
On the much-expected diaspora voting Bill, she said the Bill which is being sponsored by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has already scaled the first reading, describing it as a huge plus for the administration.
She said: “It is worthy of note that the long-awaited Diaspora Voting, which has been a consistent topic of discussion among the Diaspora community, has now passed the first reading in the Parliament, which is a huge plus for this administration.
“The Bill was sponsored by no other persons than Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Hon. Sadiq Ango Abdulahi from Kano state.”
The NiDCOM boss explained that the National Diaspora Day Celebrations prescribed by the National Diaspora Policy is set aside to recognize, acknowledge and celebrate the over 20 million Nigerians in the Diaspora (both the modern and historic Diaspora) who are contributing immensely to national development.
“Our Diaspora are known to be hard-working, highly productive, patriotic, and resilient. They are also pace setters in their different fields of endeavours. It therefore falls on us to celebrate our very best not minding that a few do fall below standard,” she stressed.
She highlighted NiDCOM’s achievements, including the National Diaspora Merit Award and the Diaspora Investment Trust Fund, aimed at fostering economic ties and investment opportunities for Nigerians abroad, adding that the event is also designed to celebrate the resilience and contributions of Nigerians in the diaspora towards socio-economic growth.
According to Dabiri-Erewa, no fewer than 1,000 participants were expected at the 2-day 2024 diaspora day celebrations.
