NIGERIANS IN DIASPORA AND NATION-BUILDING

Canvasses the need for government to put structures in place to facilitate a closer relationship between NIDs and the country

We are all probably familiar with the saying ‘there’s no place like home’. This is true. After a long day’s work, most of us look forward to the prospect of returning to our homes. In fact, it is said that ‘the English man’s home is his FDVWOH· 7KHUH LV QR IHHOLQJ DV DZIXO DV ÀQGLQJ the prospect of returning home after work, daunting. Yet this is the reality of many men and women, who have serious challenges in their homes and other nexus of relationships.

Sadly, this analogy epitomises the situation that many distinguished Nigerians scattered DFURVV WKH JOREH ÀQG WKHPVHOYHV 7KH\ ÀQG the prospect of returning to their homeland daunting because of the political, economic, and social malaise in the country. The society is ridden with corruption at the highest levels and criminal activity is rife. The political climate is very unstable and tribal and religious FRQÁLFWV DUH DOZD\V ORRPLQJ RQ WKH KRUL]RQ The infrastructure is very poor or in some cases non-existent. The safety of life and/or property is never guaranteed, even though the country is endowed with so much in terms of natural and human resources. Besides, it is the largest producer of oil in Africa.

:KLOVW WKLV DUWLFOH H[SORUHV WKH EHQHÀWV RI building a new Nigeria that will bring back most Nigerians in diaspora (NIDs), it is not possible to present what this ‘new Nigeria’ ZRXOG ORRN OLNH DQG DOO WKH SRWHQWLDO EHQHÀWV that would accrue to Nigeria when most NIDs return to the country. Nevertheless, it presents some of the most cogent reasons why an extra-ordinary number of Nigerians are in diaspora and how their return to the country will bring about noticeable positive change and economic and social development in the country.

Are Nigerians in diaspora out of the country by choice or by default? There are not many NIDs, who do not love their country. It is usually the case that during festive seasons LW LV VRPHWLPHV GL΀FXOW WR ÀQG VHDWV RQ SODQHV scheduled for Nigeria. Although the political, economic, and social environment of Nigeria prevent many Nigerians in diaspora from PDNLQJ WKH ÀQDO UHWXUQ EDFN WR WKH FRXQWU\ many still like to visit home. Even whilst in diaspora, many Nigerians have close family, friends as well as investments and other developmental projects in Nigeria. In 2012, Nigerians in the Diaspora contributed more to Nigeria’s economy than 34 of the 36 states, having remitted the sum of $12 billion. Only Lagos and Rivers States had higher GDP’s[1].

1LJHULD KDV VR PXFK WR RͿHU LQ WHUPV RI natural and human resources. It is endowed with every type of resource that most countries only dream about. Even the weather is favourable for all types of agricultural and socio-economic development. Yet, despite these natural endowments, many 1LJHULDQV ÀQG WKH SURVSHFW RI UHWXUQLQJ WR their homeland daunting. Majority would like to return to their country to contribute to its economic and social development if the environment was conducive and enabling.

Most NIDs who left the country to study did so not with the intention of staying away LQGHÀQLWHO\ EXW UDWKHU WR DFTXLUH WKH QHFHVVDU\ knowledge and skills, including the expertise in their various disciplines to enable them to return and contribute to the development of their country. Some of these people were EHQHÀFLDULHV RI VFKRODUVKLSV IURP HLWKHU WKH federal government of Nigeria, when the HFRQRP\ ZDV EXR\DQW RU EHQHÀFLDULHV RI other scholarship schemes, including those of the Commonwealth. These scholarships were awarded to scholars and academics, who had distinguished themselves in their academic disciplines, to enable them to study abroad and return to Nigeria and contribute to its growth and development.

In the days when the country’s environment was stable, conducive, and enabling, some of these scholars after successfully completing their studies did not stay back, not even to attend the graduation ceremonies of the institutions they attended. They were keen and enthusiastic to return home to the task of nation-building. But not so now! With an environment that is mostly unstable, bedevilled with all sorts of vices, including the insecurity of life and property, many have been forced to stay back against their will.

Some were forced to leave the country in search of green pastures under the various military dictatorships, as living in the country became unbearable for them. Since attaining independence in 1960, Nigeria has grappled with the problems and crisis deeply rooted in religious, tribalism and other ethnic tensions. These tensions led to successive military coups, including tribal and religious unrests. In addition, the country has had a long history of gross mismanagement of the economy, with endemic corruption at all levels of government. Hence, despite the country’s potential for wealth, the country was ranked 152nd in the Human Capital Development Index in 2014, and 161 out 189 countries in 2019, and thus one of the poorest countries in the world. In 1997, the ranking was 141st. This is despite the fact that the country is Africa’s largest producer of oil and boasts of the richest man and the richest woman in Africa.

Besides political instability in the country, and endemic corruption, there is also the problem of the lack of integrity in leadership, leading to the lack of transparency, poor accountability, and governance in the management of the nation’s economic UHVRXUFHV 7KH FRQVHTXHQFH RI WKLV VLWXDWLRQ is the inability of the government to provide essential services to aid the economic and social development of the country. The wealth of the nation has for long been in the hands of a few elites, leaving majority of Nigerians in DEMHFW SRYHUW\ /DFN RI DGHTXDWH LQIUDVWUXFWXUH

SRRU DQG RU LQDGHTXDWH VXSSO\ RI HQHUJ\ housing and transportation challenges, a declining educational system, poor medical facilities, little or no opportunities for growth and personal development across all levels of society, the lack of discipline amongst most Nigerians, little or no regard for the rule of law and order, an unreliable judicial system, resulting in weak or non-existent law enforcement and the insecurity of life and property are some of the conditions making LW GL΀FXOW IRU PDQ\ 1LJHULDQV LQ GLDVSRUD WR return to their homeland to contribute to the task of rebuilding the nation.

This situation is the reason for the massive ‘brain drain’ from Nigeria[2], and most of these brains have gone ahead and GLVWLQJXLVKHG WKHPVHOYHV LQ DOO ÀHOGV RI human endeavour across the globe. Many of them have become the best medical doctors, lawyers, accountants, pharmacists, professors, HQJLQHHUV DQG VR RQ LQ GLͿHUHQW FRXQWULHV around the world, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, France, to mention just a few. The list of such Nigerians is endless. In the USA, Nigerians are the most educated ethnic group, at 60 percent, beating the national average of most Americans, which is 30 percent. In most of the Ivy League schools in the US, Nigerians are leading the rest in educational attainments. ,Q WKH 8. WKH ,PDÀGRQ IDPLO\ KDV EHHQ named the smartest in the whole country.

Whilst not every Nigerian in diaspora can return home, the onus lies with the Nigerian JRYHUQPHQW WR ÀQG WKH EHVW SRVVLEOH ZD\ to tap into the resourcefulness of these Nigerians so that they can make meaningful contributions to the development of the nation. There are currently many strategy toolkits that set out practical advice for governments, foundations, corporations and individuals who wish to engage and harness the power of their diaspora. The Nigerian government can take advantage of these toolkits to identify how best to engage meaningfully with NIDs and harness their wealth of experience and expertise.

NIDs have a lot to contribute to nationbuilding and would love to return to their homeland to help lift the country out of the conundrum in which it has found itself over the years. As a matter of fact, Okoli (2015) notes that time is of the essence in getting Nigerian professionals in diaspora back to aid the country’s development because, according to him ‘Nigerian professionals in Diaspora who would play an active role in the rebuilding process only have a few years of usefulness left in them’.