FG To Capture Identity, Location Of 17m Nigerians In Diaspora – NIDCOM

… New Diaspora Policy Woos Nigerians Abroad With Political Appointments, Others

The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has disclosed that the federal government wants to capture the identity (name, face, location…) of about seventeen million Nigerians residing abroad with a view of integrating them toward the development of the nation.

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This was disclosed in a paper presented by NIDCOM’s Head, Technology Transfer and Innovation, Abdulrahman Terab, titled “Development and Synchronization of Diaspora Database at the Sub-National Levels with NIDCOM for Effective Mobilization and Integration of Nigerians in the Diaspora for National Development” and obtained by our correspondent from NIDCOM’s website.

The paper was presented at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja on Thursday.

Terab said the newly launched Diaspora Policy has a lot to offer to Nigerians in Diaspora.

“In this regard, there is the need to build a realistic profile of the approximately 17 million Nigerians who are in the Diaspora. We all hear that we have about 17 million Nigerians out there. But how can we be able to identify them and engage with them effectively, if we can’t know their names, their faces, their locations, their professions and their identities.

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“It is imperative for us to match every figure of these 17 million Nigerians who are in the Diaspora with a face, a name, and an identity. Thus, the need to develop a credible and a reliable yet effective database cannot be overemphasised,especially as we are about to commence the effective implementation of the brand-new Nigeria Diaspora Policy,” he said.

He added that among other things, the policy will benefit Nigerians in diaspora in the following ways

  • Diaspora voting which may soon be achieved.
  • Diaspora Mortgages for Housing which is currently with the FMBN
  • Incentives for investments such as the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Trust
    Fund and The Diaspora Bonds.
  • Land and Property allocations.
  • Political and community appointments and recognitions like 600 diaspora
    magazines.
  • Interventions and Credit loans for Agriculture and Solid Minerals Development through the CBN and BOI initiative etc.

Meanwhile, Terab noted that Nigerians were already doubting the confidentiality of their data with government, adding that it was left with the government to redeem its image.

“Furthermore, obtaining data from Nigerians especially, also has its own additional challenges. These include trust of the Nigerians in the Diaspora in the purpose, usage and safety of their Data when provided.

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“Such concerns are not only very obvious due to the negative image of the country being peddled out there, but also as a result of some poor experiences of some of us who have suffered from each other as a people.

“In view of this, It is equally important to buttress that for those who are skeptical of Nigeria’s capacity to develop and manage data effectively, we have encouraging examples from the development and management of the Bank Verification Number (otherwise known as the BVN) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Identity Number by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC),” he said.

The National Diaspora Policy was launched on Thursday.

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