Dabiri-Erewa hails Nigerians in diaspora for remitting over $99bn in 5yrs

The Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa has disclosed that the World Bank’s statistic revealed that Nigerians living abroad remitted over 99 billion US dollar in five years.

Dabiri-Erewa who made this known while giving her opening remarks at the occasion of the National Diaspora Day (NDD) 2024 celebration said this is huge, highly commendable and stated that the contributions of the Diaspora community to national development cannot be over-emphasized.

According to her, “Many countries cutting across all the Continents of the world have evidence and testimonials of accelerated national development due to their Diaspora engagements.

“Countries like India, Israel, Germany, China, Italy and Ghana harnessed their Diaspora resources meticulously and judiciously, towards socio-economic growth and development and Nigeria cannot be an exception.

“Such efforts made impacts on capacity and infrastructural developments when properly deployed. Diaspora resources often create positive measurable ripple effects that could mitigate unemployment, leading to the improvement in the quality of life and reduction in poverty”, she added.

Speaking on the theme for this year’s NDD celebrations title: Japa Phenomena And Its Implications For National Development, the NIDCOM Boss said it is will proffer solutions to numerous issues arising from the trending Mass Exodus of Nigerians most especially the teaming youth seeking greener pasture in the Diaspora.
She added that the rich academic, professional, global exposure and various contemporary experiences have already placed Nigerian Diaspora at advantage to deliberate on the theme in a way that will impact tremendously for national growth.

Dabiri-Erewa expressed dissatisfaction toward the challenges the Commission is facing, saying the NIDCOM major mandate is to engage with the over 20 million Nigerians in the Diaspora to harness their potentials in the area of skills, talents, resources and global exposure for national development.

She voiced that the Commission’s engagement must be wide, impactful and consistent which she said the Commission have tried to do in the last five years through its several initiatives, and to encourage their participation in the socio-economic growth of the nation.
She urged the government to come to the Commission’s aid and improve on budgetary needs to do more by engaging on country by country basis with its Diaspora. “Lack of a befitting office space for five years is another challenge NiDCOM has been experiencing.

“Our staff are all over the place hanging around different facilities to discharge their official duties. It’s a huge bottleneck hindering our productivity, considering the fact that this is a new establishment.

“Setting up of NiDCOM Continental offices around the world as stipulated in the Law establishing the Commission yet to happen, these offices will not only bring govt close to her people but will also make engagements initiatives with Nigerian communities in different Continents easier and more effective”, she said.

On behalf of the Commission, Dabiri-Erewa thanked President Bola Tinubu for approving the Abuja gathering of African Descendants, scheduled to hold in October, 2024 organized by African Descendants in Diaspora Union (AFRIDU) in partnership with NiDCOM, aimed at strengthening ties between Nigeria and its Diaspora.