The Federal Government on Tuesday validated the draft National Diaspora Policy aimed at driving the country’s engagement with Nigerians in the Diaspora.
The mission of the policy is also to empower Nigerians in the Diaspora as change agents for the development of Nigeria through promoting a framework for them to maximize their potentials in capital , knowledge, and networks.
Speaking while presenting the validated draft in Abuja on Tuesday, the Executive Chairman, Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said the goal of the policy was to have a means of constructive engagement with Nigerians in the Diaspora for sustainable national development.
“What the Diasporans send to Nigeria every year is more than what we get from oil. So our biggest asset is our human export. Now we are talking about brain drain, brain gain, now we are talking about brain circulation. So it’s about circulating this brain, this noble talent that we have abroad for the good and development of our great nation, Nigeria,” she said.
“We are a people very blessed of God. Brilliant, energetic, resourceful but beyond all, most importantly, we stand out with the energy we see as Nigerian. So it is about working with Nigerians abroad and Nigerians at home to build the country of our dreams,” she said, we are taking the first important step and by the grace of God when we gather again we will be talking about success story of the implementation of the short-term, medium-term and-long term policy.”
She therefore posited that “it has become necessary to articulate a clear roadmap for the engagement of Diaspora in national development through the adoption of a national policy to capture government’s commitments and strategies.
She commended European Union and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for their role in the draft policy.
In acknowledgement of the importance of the Diasporans, the government has for long adopted multifaceted approach, which includes the establishment of the Nigerian National Volunteer Service (NNVS) and a National Diaspora Day and only recently, establishment of Nigeria Diaspora Commission.
