Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has Organised a Sensitization and advocacy program for promoting Diaspora investment potentials in North East
stating that there are millions of Nigerians across the world who are doing excellently well in their various fields of endeavors and needed to be encouraged to come back home to invest.
This was as the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdukadir Mohammed directed the Diaspora Focal Point Officer (DFPO) of the State to ensure that a strong partnership was established with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) with a view to leveraging on the willingness to support states to tap from the huge Diaspora Investment potentials which have remained yet untapped.
Chairperson/CEO of NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa who stated this
yesterday at the opening of the occasion of Sensitization and Advocacy Workshop on the promotion of Diaspora Investment Potentials in North – East subregion of Nigeria said that, “You cannot talk about people in the diaspora without reminding them that they did not just find themselves in the diaspora by accident” .
According to her, “They have a root, they have a country of origin, and they are there as a country of destination. You will never be a first-class citizen in your country of destination even if you stay there for a hundred years” .
Represented by Engr Dr. Sule Yakubu Bassi, Secretary to the Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa stated that “It is here that they are first-class citizens. So we have to tell them this message, that home is home. And to develop Nigeria, we need both those at home and those in the diaspora,” She stressed.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa further stated that, “Those in the diaspora have five things that we need to catalyze our development in Nigeria. First, they have resources. Don’t kid yourself, one US Dollar is equivalent to N1,700 and by the time you have $500, if you come back here, you are already earning a million. So we need their resources.”
She assured that,”They have talent, they have skills, they have global exposure, and they also have global networks. We need to assimilate these two, those at home, those in the diaspora, in order to catalyze our development.”
The NIDCOM CEO added that, “First of all, we need to sensitize those at home not to give up on their brothers and sisters. But we need to also sensitize those out there, by saying this, that home is home. It’s here that there are first-class citizens.”
According to her, “Over here, there are second-class citizens. And I can’t do this. When you are with President Trump, you better be careful. Because you could be on the next plane to Lagos or Abuja. So we need to remind them. We need to tell them that home is home. So please, relax, speak, and pass the message. ”
“This particular sensitization, especially for the North, is critical. Notice the treasure of human resources, material resources, mineral resources, agricultural resources, and every other type of resources that you can imagine, that you can manage for development,” She stressed.
She added that,”And very soon, you will hear about it when we take the presentations. Over the past five years, let me remind you that materials in the diaspora have brought home over $90 billion dollars of diaspora home resources.”
“They’ve brought this in cash. They’ve brought this into intellectual property. They’ve brought this in goods and services. And they are still bringing in more. We need to sensitize them. We need to encourage them. And we need to assimilate the two,” She added.
The NIDCOM CEO also stated that, “Nigerians at home, Nigerians in the diaspora, to catalyze development in Nigeria. This workshop will be disseminated globally. It will be on our diaspora TV, which shows four times on NTA. It is also shown on Ben TV, London, and also on WAP TV. It will also be on YouTube for the next one year. So this is a very serious business. I therefore welcome you to this particular sensitization workshop. I wish all of us the best.”
According to her, “The outcomes of this particular sensitization workshop will surely be of immense help to mobilizing Nigerians in the diaspora to invest in the northeast of Nigeria. Let me give you a small example before I take my speech.”
In his remarks,Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdukadir Mohammed directed the Diaspora Focal Point Officer (DFPO) of the State to ensure that a strong partnership was established with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) with a view to leveraging on the willingness to support states to tap from the huge Diaspora Investment potentials which have remained yet untapped.
Represented by the Commissioner for Budget, Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination, Amina Mohammed Katagum, the Governor stated that, “I am indeed pleased that this event is holding in Bauchi. This is because, apart from the fact that Bauchi State is particularly committed to ensuring that our State is open to Investors & Investments, Nigerians in the diaspora constitute a major source of potential Investment to us and of course a source of knowledge, ideas, experiences and expertise that, has all it takes to turn around our fortunes, while providing us with necessary opportunities for engaging our unemployed youth and women.”
According to him,”Despite its abundant human and material resources, the North East as a region in Nigeria, is characterized by dependence on statutory Allocations from the Federation Account (FAAC) and Statutory share of Value Added Tax (VAT). A decade and half activities of Boko Haram had weakened the fabric of farming which is the regions single most important source of livelihood.”
Bala Mohammed added that,”These and many other variables have resulted to the region’s slow response rate to poverty reduction interventions. Clear evidences have therefore continued to point that, if the North East does not prioritize revenue generation through appropriate exploitation of our potentials, the future of the economy of the region is not likely to be bright. This is most especially as we approach a new tax regime in the Nigerian Tax system which seems to favor States with higher GDPs.”
The Governor added that,”The timing of this workshop is quite apt and commendable. I therefore congratulate the North Eastern states for this opportunity and I urge you all to leverage on this golden opportunity to understand and utilize the 2 days of the workshop in knowing what clearly matters (i.e. the how, the when, the where and the what) in attracting diaspora investments to our individual states.”
“Prior to 2019 when I assumed office as the Executive Governor, Bauchi State was highly vulnerable to financial shocks, with the exposure so visible. Steady payment of salaries was indeed difficult talk less of having excess funding for the provision of infrastructural facilities as enablers of growth and development,” he added.
He further stated that,”Our strategic vision to address these and other development challenges had led to the development of a five (5) year vision document, “My Bauchi Project” 1.0. The Plan had aimed at creating the critical enabling environment for enhanced revenue generation and MSMEs growth and development through good governance, transparency and accountability initiatives.”
According to him,”Tax holidays were provided as incentives to new businesses, One Stop Shop was established to support and facilitate speedy response to the needs of new investors in the State, among many initiatives introduced.These have culminated in the improvement in the State’s Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) ranking.”
He stressed that,”So, having provided the necessary enabling environment for enhanced revenue generation, on our re-election in 2023, we set in motion a machinery for the” Bauchi Project Development 2.0″ of “”My Bauchi Plan 1.0″ to consolidate on the achievements.”
“My Bauchi Project” 2.0 had given rise to the development of a Ten-year perspective Plan, a robust strategic document that had produced strategia for the development of all sectors along the SDG lines including opening up Bauchi State to investors and Investments from across the globe, including Nigerians in the Diaspora,” he added.
According to him, “Our decision to appoint a Diaspora Focal Point Officer was not only a response to the NiDCOM’s request to that effect, but, it was equally meant to respond to our increasing needs for investments towards the growth and sustainable development of Bauchi State. As a government, we acknowledge the importance of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, as a gateway to Diaspora ideas, knowledge, experience and expertise. ”
The Governor concluded stating,”Let me once again congratulate both the organizers and the participating States on this golden opportunity for improvement in our standard of living and by extension the growth and sustainable development of the north eastern region of Nigeria.” END