Buhari Urges Diaspora Nigerians To Support Post-COVID-19 Recovery Efforts

– Praises Yearly Remittance of $25bn

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday called on Nigerians in The Diaspora to support the country’s post-COVID-19 economic recovery efforts by actively participating in all recovery plans.

Diaspora Nigerians have remit an an estimated $25billion back home yearly to support development in Nigeria.

The President, who spoke at the 2020 National Diaspora Day Celebration, commended them for the remittances, but sought for more support to enable the country to navigate through the raging COVID -19 pandemic and the aftermath.

The event was organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM).

It had the theme, “Leveraging Diaspora Resources for National Development in a COVID-19 Era.”

Buhari spoke further on the remittances, “This is about 6.0 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product and upwards of 80 per cent of our annual budget.  This has impacted on the livelihoods of Nigerians in terms of education, health, housing and estate development, industry, trade and investments, agriculture and technology/skills transfer. 

“In terms of Diaspora home remittances, Nigeria is rated as number one in Sub-Saharan Africa, and this is still growing especially with the advocacy and mobilisation programmes of the newly established NIDCOM.

“The Nigerian Diaspora are also known to be engaged in skill transfer in Information Communication Technology and industry. They are also active in our universities as lecturers and in carrying out medical missions.

“It is therefore my sincere hope that even with the depressed economy of the 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nigerians in the Diaspora will rise up to the occasion of not abandoning their country of origin, Nigeria, but be active in our Post COVID-19 economic recovery efforts.”

The President also urged them to be good ambassadors of Nigeria in their host countries by not engaging in acts that would denigrate Nigeria.

Speaking earlier NIDCOM’s Chairman, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed that Saturday’s was the 15th Diaspora Day and the 2nd organised by NIDCOM.

She told the session that the commission had lined up many programmes to engage Nigerians in the Diaspora on how they would continue to help in building the country in many areas beyond the COVID -19 era.

“We hope that at the end of the day, we would have motivated the Nigerians in the Diaspora on deployment of Diaspora investments and entrepreneurship to assist with the post-COVID-19 recovery process, especially as Diaspora home remittances which sustain livelihoods are impacted negatively by the pandemic.

“That Diaspora groups and individuals who are yet to join the train would have realised the need to be part of the opportunities that abound for economic investments or charitable missions in Nigeria”, Dabiri-Erewa added.