By Prudence Arobani
New York – Nigerians in the U.S. on Saturday in New York tasked Nigerian leaders to place the interest of the country first above any personal or sectional interests.
They gathered under the auspices of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDOA) USA, at a nationwide Town Hall, to discuss the Diaspora Commission Act.
The meeting was also aimed at engaging the Nigerian community in the U.S. towards channelling their enormous talents and resources for the overall development of Nigeria.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that speakers at the meeting expressed dissatisfaction with the level of social, economic and political development of the country.
According to them there is, therefore, the need for all Nigerians to unite and collectively work towards realising the enviable potential of the country as the ‘giant of Africa’.
Mrs Patience Key, Chairperson, Board of Directors of NIDO USA, said the Diasporas could never forget Nigeria and were ever ready to contribute to the building of their home country.
Key said: “Nigerians are very talented people and we are represented in every professional field imaginable” echoing recent reports in the U.S. media that Nigerians were at the top list of the “most educated” immigrants.
“In addition, the World Bank projected Nigerian diasporas remittances to Nigeria as 22 billion dollars, making us a valued stakeholder in nation building.
“We contribute a lot to America but we shall never forget our beautiful country – Nigeria – that gave us the solid foundation that has helped shaped the goodwill ambassadors that we are today.
“We have renowned physicians, legal practitioners, pharmacists, nurses, engineers, public health professionals, IT professionals, and so on. The idea is to tap from these various specialties for national development.
“We cannot have these enormous resources and still lag behind other countries that we started off together.
“Countries that we supported in fighting their wars and countries that we gave our resources have now made fortunes and turned their economies to enviable ones”.
Chairman, NIDOA Board of Trustees, Mr Obed Monago urged the Federal Government to provide the enabling environment that would allow Nigerians at home to prosper.
Monago said: “Nigerians are great achievers but more so in the Diaspora”.
Mrs Bukola Shonuga, Member, NIDOA Board of Trustees, said most Nigerians in the Diaspora were very interested in investing back home but regretted that they always faced challenges.
She said, however, NIDO was now making progress and was connecting with people at the grassroots in Nigeria to begin work on long-term projects that would create sustainable employment.
Shonuga said a Diaspora Fund had been created to procure funding for small-to-medium size businesses and some capital projects in sub-Saharan Africa.
“With a record of 22 billion dollars in annual remittance, Nigerians in Diaspora hold the golden key to the future of Nigeria.
“Redirecting just 10 per cent of our remittance into investment will set Nigeria on the path of prosperity for everyone,” she said.
Mr Akin Afowolaju, a Nigerian community leader in the U.S., urged Nigerians to start making little changes individually before they could change the country as a whole.
Afowolaju said: “If we want change in Nigeria, let that change begin with us.
“We can’t go back and change the beginning but we can start from where we are now and change the future for the sake of our children”.
NAN reports that the meeting was attended by Nigerians representing various professional, religious, ethnic and cultural groups, who expressed interests in contributing to the development of Nigeria.
While regretting the challenges they faced in their efforts to personally invest or attract investments into their homeland, they, however, pledged to continue pressing forward rather than continue complaining about Nigeria.