COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE NATIONAL DIASPORA DAY CELEBRATION 2020 WEBINAR WITH THE THEME “LEVERAGING DIASPORA RESOURCES FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A COVID-19 ERA” ON 25TH JULY, 2020.

INTRODUCTION

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) successfully hosted the Annual National Diaspora Day celebrations on the 25th of July, 2020. It was the 15^th Edition and the 2^nd to be held by NiDCOM with the theme, “Leveraging Diaspora Resources for National Development in a Covid-19 Era”. The event this year was held online via webinar by “Zoom” application due to the physical constraints of social gathering and movement as a result of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. However, for effective coordination, a select few comprising the Special invitees, essential staff and Management of NiDCOM were in attendance at Fraser Suites, Abuja, Nigeria, which was the management center for the event.

The purpose of the National Diaspora Day event is to set aside a day to specially celebrate the achievements of Nigerians in Diaspora as well as discuss various issues affecting our Diaspora community and most importantly, ways to engage with them towards the economic and socio-political development of the nation.

In virtual attendance were 2,030 registered participants that logged in and another further over seven thousand (7,000) participants that logged in via other various social media platforms, which included Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in her opening address, welcomed all participants and urged the Diaspora community to keep working together to deploy their resources, talents and skills for the development of Nigeria especially in the Covid-19 pandemic era.

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, E. Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, in his speech at the occasion, commended the Nigerian Diaspora community for supporting the government and especially for the Diaspora home remittances of over US$25 Billion, which ranked Nigeria first in Sub-Saharan Africa and sincerely hoped they would be active in the post Covid-19 recovery efforts.

The event featured Goodwill Messages by the special invitees including the Hon. Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, as Special Guest of Honour, Guests of Honour in the persons of Hon. Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, Chairman House Committee on Diaspora and Sen. Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Oloriegbe, Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs, who all identified the need to harness the Diaspora for nation building at these auspicious times.

The Keynote speech by Masai Ujiri, President of Basketball Operations for the 2019 American National Basketball Association (NBA) Champions, the Toronto Raptors, highlighted his passion for the use of basketball as a tool to inspire and develop the Nigerian youth as a way of giving back, which accomplished members of the Diaspora were also encouraged to do. He also took part in the first Panel Discussion on “Excelling in the Diaspora” with Fatima Dauda, Dr. Yetunde Omede and Mr. Imran Umar Yaro, moderated by Mrs. Marie David, sharing their experiences in the course of representing Nigerian culture in the Diaspora and youth participation.

Further Goodwill Messages were also received from International Agencies including the United Nations (UN), the World Bank, International Office for Migration (IOM), and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).

A second Discussion Panel on the topic “Leveraging Diaspora for National Development” featured Musa Dangiwa, (Managing Director of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN) Victor Edozien and Dr. Jonathan Obaje and was moderated by Hon. John Abraham Godson.

Goodwill Messages were also received from Aminu Gwadabe, President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Prof. Emeritus Austin Esogbue (the first African employee of NASA) and Prof. Rotimi Jaiyesimi on COVID-19 survival protocols, as well as a Motivational Speech by Alex Ihama from Canada.

A musical performance by Timi Dakolo, singing “Great Nation” as well as presentations by the Artistes, Banky W. Wellington and Tuface Idibia were taken. A Cake cutting ceremony in celebration of the Diaspora Day was also held at the Nigerian High Commission London and formed part of the activities of the Day.

OBSERVATIONS

At the end of the webinar deliberations and Panel discussions the following were highlighted:

The National Diaspora Day has been running for 15 years, with the 2020 Celebration being the second organized under the auspices of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) and the first ever virtual (webinar) celebration of the Diaspora Day, as a result of the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Attendance of the event was very encouraging despite the different time zones in the various locations where the Diasporans participated from.

The COVID-19 Diaspora Support Group was commended by the Federal Government on its astounding efforts to supply Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including facemasks, hand sanitizers and other equipment in a bid to play its part in the response to COVID-19 in Nigeria.

So far a total of 27 states out of the 36 States of the Federation have State Focal Officers on Diaspora matters with about 25 State Diaspora Focal Point Officers in participation at this event, the largest concentration since the inaugural State Diaspora Focal Point Summit.

A total of over 500 Nigerian women had sent distress calls trying and hoping to be rescued from places like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Bahrain, Lebanon, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, with a lot of abuse and dehumanization experienced by some of these women.

Through the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and NiDCOM with the supervision of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Seventeen Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty-Eight (17,338) Nigerians stranded worldwide as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have been returned to Nigeria. There are from the United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Ghana, Senegal, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, France, Turkey, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, and China. It was noted that MFA and NiDCOM, along with other key stakeholders were still making arrangements to repatriate more stranded Nigerians home.

Through efforts and collaborations with relevant stakeholders, NiDCOM has assisted in locating and bringing back about 260 girls who were victims of trafficking from Lebanon. To add to this, the Commission has also assisted in the return of Nigerians from South Africa and Saudi Arabia convicted for crimes that they did not commit.

Collating relevant data of all Nigerians in Diaspora is very important and critical for proper Diaspora engagement process. Thus NiDCOM continues to collaborate with National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to identify and register Nigerians in the Diaspora.

Work was ongoing by the National Assembly Committees on Diaspora in conjunction with all other stakeholders, including NiDCOM, on laws that would enable Nigerians in Diaspora vote during elections. This has passed the first reading and it was anticipated would scale the second reading when the National Assembly resumes.

The Nigerian Diaspora has supported the efforts towards the fight against the pandemic both as constructive critics and as development partners. It was noted that the pandemic had laid bare risks which have been known for decades, some of which include; inadequate health facilities; gaps in social protection; structural inequalities; environmental degradation; and climate crisis. With one in five Nigerians in Diaspora working in the health sector, which was critical in the face of the ravaging pandemic, having a good health sector has been seen to be very pivotal to national development.

The working collaboration between NiDCOM and other international stakeholders such as the World Bank, International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), International Labor Organization (ILO), African Union (AU), among others, to realize its aims and objectives, was noted and commended.

NiDCOM is continuing its worthy collaboration with the Lagos State Government to host its annual Badagry Door of Return Festival, which will take place at a date to be communicated.

NiDCOM is engaged with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) on the Diaspora Mortgage Scheme to aid willing Nigerians in Diaspora access to Houses through the FMBN Diaspora Housing Scheme.

NiDCOM and the Nigerians in the Diaspora groups have established the Nigeria Diaspora Summit Initiative (NDSI) which has been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as a vehicle for promoting diaspora investment into Nigeria. A Nigeria Diaspora Trust Fund (NDTF) is also being established by NiDCOM and the NDSI group.

Nigerians in the Diaspora remitted over Twenty Five Billion Dollars (US$25B) last year as home remittances through official and non official channels. This is about 6% of annual GDP and upwards of 80% of annual budget. The impact of the remittances from Diaspora ranks Nigeria high on the global Diaspora spectrum with Nigeria rated as number one in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of remittances of Diaspora. NIDCOM is working with the relevant bodies such as the Association of Bureau de Exchange Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) to enhance Diaspora home Remittance and its contributions to development in Nigeria. It was however estimated that Diaspora remittances for the year 2020 would be likely impacted negatively by the global pandemic by about 20%.

The Inaugural Diaspora Merit Award to be bestowed on Diaspora Nigerians in recognition of their achievements and contributions to the growth and development of Nigeria was postponed to next year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

RESOLUTIONS

Nigerians in the Diaspora play an important role in the process of recovery and reconstruction of the nation and so should constantly be mindful of E. President Muhammadu Buhari’s 3-point agenda to the Diaspora, which remains always:

You are our Ambassadors-at-large by your behavior and character in your host countries.
Whatever legitimate endeavour you choose, you must excel and be the best.

Do not forget home, Nigeria, by giving back and engaging in its development.

Engagement of the Diaspora should not be a one way consideration and should be a process rather than an outcome; focusing not just on what the government/country can do for the Diaspora but also what the Diaspora can do for the country/government.

The issue of Human Trafficking is of serious consideration; hence a call to the Federal Government to provide funding to the Nigerian Missions to further assist Nigerians in Diaspora to engage Nigerian lawyers domiciled in the Diaspora. It is also important to make sure that there are channels for safe and regular forms of migration. National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons’ (NAPTIP) efforts at arresting defaulters is very important and Labor Migration laws also need to be stringent.

COVID-19 having highlighted the need for alternative means to be explored in getting things done, efforts should be intensified to actualize electronic voting, and essentially Diaspora Voting rights.

The NiDCOM Act should be reviewed and necessary amendments made for it to be more effective in the delivery of its mandate. It was hoped that appropriate legislation for the sustainable funding for the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission would soon be enacted.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted gaps in the healthcare facilities in Nigeria and thus was an opportunity for Nigerians in the Diaspora to step in and give back to Nigeria especially those in the health sector.

NiDCOM should continue to work in collaboration with its many partners, including with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources to enact the Executive Order against Open Defecation, and subsequently engage Nigerians in the Diaspora to back this movement by challenging them to build a toilet in every community.

With over 17 million Nigerians living in the Diaspora who sent an estimated US$25 billion home to Nigeria in 2019, which is almost more than 40% of oil export, more should be done to encourage Nigerians in the Diaspora to increase their remittances as well as investments in projects in Nigeria, as there were over 3.6 million young Nigerians who stand to benefit from this annually.

In view of the high inflow of remittances to the country, it is important that the Federal Government strives to reduce the costs incurred in sending these remittances home, which has been identified as the highest so far in sub Saharan Africa and well above the global average cost.

The narrative of Nigerians in the Diaspora should evolve besides talking about how we are one of the highest remitting countries in the world. We should also celebrate Nigerians excelling in their different ventures as they not only represent the social capital readily available to Nigeria, but they also have their role to play in the nation’s economic development.

CONCLUSION

It was evident that the Diaspora Day achieved all that it set out to do and more. The different interactive Panels acknowledged that there were opportunities to be taken advantage of, despite the setback of COVID-19. Though a human tragedy, COVID-19 is also a generational opportunity to build a more equitable and sustainable world. There is therefore an opportunity for Nigerians in the Diaspora to rewrite the narrative and see that we come out on the other side of COVID-19 better. In the words of Masai Ujiri, “bring Diaspora experience and excellence home to improve processes on the home turf.” Nigerians in the Diaspora should continue to invest not just their financial capital, but their human resources as well. The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) on behalf of the Commission has pledged to work together with Nigerians in Diaspora towards nation building and encourages the Diaspora to play their part.

Made and adopted this 25^th day of August, 2020

Engr. Dr. Sule Yakubu Bassi FNSE Dr. Abdullahi Dauda

Chairman LOC Co-Chairman LOC

Secretary, NiDCOM, Abuja.