The Sokoto State government, in consultation and conjunction with its citizens in the diaspora, is considering opening a Diaspora Office to cater for the liaison of the activities of its citizens residing in various countries of the world.
The Sokoto State governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, disclosed this in response to a request for such an office by a philanthropist, Said Alhassan, a citizen of the state resident in Germany, who procured 12 commuter buses for subsidized transportation of the students and staff of the Sokoto State University.
Tambuwal, who recalled his instituting a Committee on Diaspora in the House of Representatives when he was the Speaker, said his administration would look at the request and, in the process, seek ideas of the state’s indigenes living abroad on to how to establish the state Diaspora Office.
He noted that he is conversant with the significance of harnessing the potentials of Nigerians in the diaspora, a reason why he put Abike Dabiri-Erewa in charge of the Diaspora Committee at its inception during his Speakership in the lower legislative chamber.
He said although Dabiri-Erewa sought a different forte, the foresight of his administration paid off and has taken her to a higher pedestal on the same terrain at the national level.
He explained that the role that the establishment of such an office could play in the life of a community, state and country cannot be over-emphasized. He said it would not only strengthen diplomatic ties but also help in improving the economy of Nigeria.
On the metro school bus service in the state, Gov. Tambuwal applauded the gesture of the donor, saying the state government in conjunction with its transport authority and investment company is discussing with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to come up with a state-wide private sector-driven commuter bus service with a view to easing transportation in the state.
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In the education sector, the governor said Sokoto is one of the few states in the country that has sustained scholarship awards and payment of tuition fees to its indigenes studying at home and abroad.
The governor added that the gesture is to encourage the teeming youths who are indigent in the state not only to enrol in universities but also to attain the minimum of a bachelor’s degree with the support of the state government.
Describing Alhassan as somebody “who knows his onions” to have succeeded in a globally competitive environment like the “rugged Germany”, whose citizens are highly regarded as achievers even in Europe, Tambuwal commended the donor and others like him for being worthy ambassadors of the state in the world.
The governor also thanked Alhassan for kick-starting the bus service which will have a direct bearing on the students, stating that the state government needs such programmes overtime for the students to have ease of life by commuting between their respective homes, villages, towns and the institution.
In his address, Dr Alhassan, who is the Managing Director of Dan Masanin Wurno Global Investment Limited, said he procured the buses for the use of students and other people in the university community.
He said the gesture is to contribute his own quota to the development of education and infrastructure in Sokoto State.
He thanked the state government for creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the state.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry in the state, Bashir Gidado, thanked the proprietor of the programme, saying that it was the kind of entrepreneurship being encouraged by the state.
Gidado appealed to wealthy individuals and the business community to emulate Dr Alhassan by building factories and industries in order to provide jobs for the teeming youths and improve the economic activities of the state.
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