President Bola Tinubu announced on Thursday that Nigeria has been ranked among the top 10 countries globally with the most international migrants, citing figures from the United Nations (UN).
This revelation came during the opening of the 2024 National Diaspora Day Celebrations in Abuja, where the theme centered on the “Japa Phenomena and its Implications for National Development.”
ADULAWO reports that in what is now commonly known as the ‘Japa Syndrome’ in Nigeria, skilled Nigerians were leaving the country for Europe and other developed countries in search of greener pastures.
Speaking through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, President Tinubu acknowledged the complexity and scale of migration among Nigerians.
He highlighted that out of 169 million international migrant workers who have left their countries of origin primarily seeking work, Nigeria contributes a significant portion to this global diaspora population.
The President emphasised the substantial impact of Nigerian citizens living abroad on the country’s development.
Drawing from his personal experience of living in the United States before returning to Nigeria, Tinubu encouraged expatriate Nigerians to bring their experiences back home to contribute to national growth.
In tandem with this migration trend, chairman and CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, revealed that Nigerian diaspora remittances have reached an impressive $100 billion over the past five years. For 2023 alone, Nigeria received $21.9 billion in remittances, underlining the economic significance of its global citizens.
The government’s recognition of the diaspora’s importance was further emphasised by initiatives aimed at engaging overseas Nigerians in national development.
These include the establishment of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission and presidential town hall meetings with diaspora communities.
No fewer than 1,000 participants are expected at the 2-day 2024 diaspora day celebrations.
Dabiri-Erewa said: “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, Nigerian Diaspora has remitted over 99 billion US dollars into the system in the last five years. This is huge and highly commendable.”
Dabiri-Erewa stressed that Diaspora is one area that needed to be paid more attention.
She said, “So, this is a sector that we need to pay more attention we haven’t pay 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, Dr. Tajudeen Abbas, has already scaled the first reading stage in the House of Representatives.
She said it was a huge plus for the Tinubu 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 Abdullahi from Kaduna state.”