Remittance

REMITTANCE OF NIGERIANS IN DIASPORA FOR THE PERIOD OF 2000 TO 2021

Nigeria is in the top five world remittances countries. The remittance inflows to Nigeria in 2000 amounted to $1,392billion, according to World Bank. In 2001, Nigerians in the Diaspora remitted $1,167billion. Nigerians in the Diaspora remitted a total of $1,209billion into the country in 2002, World Bank estimates.

Remittance inflows in Nigeria are $1,063billion, according to the World Bank (2003). While remittance inflows to Nigeria in 2004 amounted to $1,063billion. In 2005, Nigerians in the Diaspora remitted a total of $14,640billion into the country which is more than the entire previous remittances in to the country. In 2006, is $16,932billion remitted into the country. World Bank estimates are more modest but still show significant jumps in the size and share of remittances in overall flows. In 2007 and 2008 respectively, Nigerians sent home $18,014billion and $19,200billion, higher than the $14,640billion from 2006. Nigerians in the Diaspora remitted a total of $18,371billion, $19,745, $20,617, $20,543, $20,797, and $20,999 in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 respectively, World Bank estimates.

According to Central Bank of Nigeria, Diaspora remittances, in 2015 was $21.2 billion that was officially sent home by Nigerians overseas, which surpassed the $19.6 billion proceeds from oil exports.

In 2016 and 2017 respectively, Nigerians sent home $19.7 billion and $22 billion, higher than the $10.4 billion and $13.4 billion from oil exports in the same period. The CBN annual economic report shows the total oil revenue of $18 billion in 2018 while Nigerians overseas sent home $25.1 billion in four years.

Today’s export of human capital growth determines how much money Nigerians in the Diaspora can send back home.

The $7.2bn 2018 Nigerian Remittance in the United States of America is more than the entire $6.7bn allocated for 2019 capital spending. In Africa, to achieve a thriving diversified, sustainable economy and prosperous nation; Nigeria has the largest stocks of human resources for health, public service, educational technology, administration, and development.

The report issued in November 2019 on Migration and Remittances by the World Bank indicated that there were about 17 million Nigerians in Diaspora (Documented) all over the world. Nigeria’s remittances from the Diaspora exceeded $25.368 billion in 2019, an improvement from the $24,311 billion it sent in 2018. Remittances were worth 5.6 per cent of GDP in 2017, exceeding Nigeria’s oil revenues of $20 billion.

In 2018, Nigeria’s annual revenue was $18.2 billion, while Diaspora remittances to the nation amounted to $24.311 billion in the same year. The World Bank’s “Migration and Development Brief” for 2018, ranked Nigeria as the highest beneficiary of Diaspora remittances, again highlighted the ability of Nigeria to become a human capital country in sub-Saharan Africa (which stood at $24.311 billion) compared to actual export income from oil and gas operations.

Nigerians in the Diaspora remitted a total of $17,208billion into the country in 2020 due to COVID-19 Pandemic. In April, the World Bank warned in its prediction that due to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown, global remittances will decline dramatically by around 20 percent in 2020. The predicted decrease, “which will be the sharpest fall in modern years, is primarily attributed to a drop in the salaries and jobs of migrant workers who, during the economic downturn in the host country, appear to be more vulnerable to loss of employment and wages.”

Several Nigerians have told THISDAY in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany that because of fear of work loss, job instability and depreciated wages, they have been forced to reduce the sums of money they send home to their dependents. All of them are being asked to work fewer hours and many more have been laid off as a result of the pandemic, according to one of them, who lives in Manchester, England and who wished to stay anonymous. Even those with stable jobs, such as those in the healthcare industry, have been pressured to cut the amount of money they take off, because tomorrow no one knows.

Nigeria is in the top 10 most populous nations competing for abundance yet with limited global resources. In 2017, immigrants sent a total of $625 billion to their home countries, according to Pew Research Centre. For this amount, the top 10 most populous countries gained $245 billion, about 40% of the figure.