Nigerians in Diaspora Commission and Nation-building: Leveraging Diaspora Resources for National Development

by Bola A. Akinterinwa

Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) is the newest foreign policy instrument that was given birth to in 2019 by the Federal Government of Nigeria. The genesis of the NiDCOM is traceable to a bill initiated by Honourable Abike Oluwatoyin Dabiri-Erewa, former representative of the Ikorodu federal constituency in Lagos State. The NiDCOM Bill was not only passed in 2017 and activities began in 2019 with the appointment of Honourable Dabiri-Erewa as the Chief Executive of the Commission, she also took advantage of her appointment to begin to lay exemplary foundations for nation-building and sustainable development.

In this regard, the NiDCOM organised its inaugural Summit of State Diaspora Focal Point Officers on Tuesday, February 4, 2020, which was held at the Global Distance Learning Institute’s auditorium at the Central Business District, Abuja. The theme of the summit was ‘Leveraging Diaspora Resources for National Development.’ The theme, as given, is quite challenging intellectually.

First, it assumes that Diaspora resources can be leveraged. I do agree that they can be leveraged, but to what extent can the leverage be? What are the environmental conditionings of the leverage? Besides, how do we leverage? What is the mania of the leverage? How do we apply or encourage the use of the Diaspora resources, not only in national development efforts, but also in nation-building?

A second set of intellectual challenges is comprised of issues involved. Some of them are noteworthy: advocacy and mobilisation of Nigerians in Diaspora, Diaspora mapping, Diaspora home remittances, Diaspora programmes, Diaspora medical missions and Diaspora investment summit initiative. These were some of the issues also addressed at the inaugural Summit of State Diaspora Focal Point Officers on Tuesday, February 4, 2020.

The structure of the summit was interesting: it was divided into three days. The first day is for arrival of invited participants. This is quite normal, as participants coming from long distances are always expected to settle down and refresh in preparation for the main meeting. In fact, this is always the day that papers for discussion are circulated for reading, well in advance. Additionally, it is the day a cocktail reception or dinner is generally organised for all the participants for purposes of acquaintance and exchange of complimentary cards.

The second day, which was February 4, can be described as the D-Day, the day of the main meeting during which brainstorming sessions on the topics slated for the summit take place. The third day is the day of departure. Our interest here is in the D-Day. What is the interest of the NiDCOM in organising the summit? What was really discussed? What really can it be said to have been the achievement of the summit? There were many paper presentations on the issues already raised above. Particular attention will paid to some papers in which critical issues bordering on the future of Nigerians in Diaspora.

Unprecedented Summit and Diaspora Gains
The meeting was organised into four sessions: opening ceremony, Diaspora engagement, interactive session and the communication session. At the opening ceremony, goodwill messages were received from the representatives of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), European Union (EU) and the Chairman of Senate Committee on Diaspora, Dr. Ajibola Bashiru. In all of the good will messages, it was kudos galore, commendation unlimited for Honourable Dabiri-Erewa for her efforts, leadership and team spirit. Professor Manny A. Aniebonam, the President/CEO of AfriHUB Nigeria Limited, the owner of the venue of the summit and an active member of the Nigerians in Diaspora, was singled out by Honourable Dabiri-Erewa, in her own opening address, for special commendation, for his pioneering development efforts amongst other Nigerians in Diaspora.

The second session witnessed explications on the rationale for the Diaspora Initiative and its dynamics. Dr. Sule Yakubu Bassi, the Secretary to the NiDCOM, in his paper entitled “Advocacy and Mobilisation of Nigerians in Diaspora,” not only gave his definition of a Nigerian in Diaspora, but also drew attention to how to strategise in securing their commitment, as well as how to engage them. Dr. Bassi has it that a Nigerian in Diaspora must have lived continuously for one year or more abroad. Such residence outside of Nigeria must not only be characterised by legality and legitimacy, the livelihood must also be sustainable and identifiable with a residential address.

Another definition he gave, which is less complex, is that the notion of a Nigerian in Diaspora refers to those who went by boat and those who went by aeroplane abroad. The criteria of boat and aeroplane, otherwise the use of method of transportation to define a member of a Diaspora, are quite interesting because the only two known ways of travelling overseas from Africa are either by sea or by air. This is why the definitions are quite thought-provoking.

In spite of the criteria for definition, they are still tenable in light of the fact that there are many generations of African Diaspora, including that of Nigeria. In the eyes of Yakubu Bassi, the Nigerian in Diaspora has peculiar attributes: he is well-educated and resource endowed. He is much exposed to development and global best practices. He is patriotic and attached to his country in terms of sentiments. And more important, he is boisterous, very full life and energy.

As much as we want to share these attributes, it is useful to note that there are several scientific ways of defining the Diaspora. However, one critical determinant of anyone in the Diaspora is the fact of mania of immigration abroad, not in terms of mode of transportation; the duration of stay outside the country of their origin; and also the mania of relationship with the original home country. For instance, the first generation of African Diaspora are essentially the enslaved Africans and their descendants. They were forcefully exported as commodities and exploited as slave workers. They were brutally maltreated.

Consequently, if we are looking at the definitional determinants of people in the Diaspora, we must looking at the causal factors, those enslaved, factors of exploitation, survival factors in spite of the inhuman treatment meted out by the slave masters, etc. Again, if someone living abroad for decades is not patriotic, that still does not make him or her less a Nigerian in Diaspora. Even if he is not well educated and exposed to development and global best practices, he or she still remains a member of the Diaspora. Living illegally does not mean that one cannot still qualify to be a member of the Diaspora.

The differentiation in the determinants of how to define who is a Nigerian in Diaspora is still simply to showcase the beauty of the Nigerians in Diaspora by the way Dr. Bassi attempted to define it. His attributes of a Nigerian in Diaspora are not really an attempt to engage in conceptualisation, but simply to show that Nigerians in Diaspora are well educated, patriotic and committed to national development. In fact, harnessing their resources may not, and should not be limited to purposes of national development, but to also include nation-building, with emphasis on national unity, functional cooperation and integration of national cultures.

Without scintilla of doubt, the contributions of Nigerians in Diaspora to national development are considerable. In 2019 alone, NiDCOM has it that they contributed over US $25 billion as home remittances to Nigeria. This amount represented about 83% of the national budget and about 6.1% of the GDP. It is therefore not surprising to have Nigeria’s president consider them as ‘ambassadors-at-large by their actions, comportment and character.’

Explicated differently, when the Nigerians in Diaspora are considered as ambassadors-at-large, it simply means that there are now three categories of ambassadors in Nigeria’s diplomatic lexicon: the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassadors, the ambassadors with small letter ‘a’, that is, [a]mbassador, and the ambassadors-at-large. The plenipotentiaries are the officially accredited representatives who have letters of agrément as defined by the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The ambassadors with small letter ‘a’, the definitional origin of which is traceable to the lecture delivered by Ambassador Wadibia Anyanwu at a training programme for Technical Aid Corps members, applies to the members of the Technical Aid Corps deployed to some foreign countries to assist in the development of their host country. Ambassadors-at-large refer to the Nigerians in Diaspora.

Should every or any member of the Diaspora be considered as an ambassador-at-large? The definition of Nigerians in Diaspora can again be revisited in light of the attributes observed by Dr. Bassi. To qualify to be called an ambassador-at-large, some of the attributes observed by Dr. Bassi should be considered. But more notably, there must be evidence of application of the knowledge acquired in the tertiary institutions into the development of Nigeria.

Interest in the Nigerians in Diaspora is largely driven by the quest for national development, national unity, the need for all hands to be on deck, the need to remind all Nigerians at home and abroad, regardless of their religious beliefs and ethnic backgrounds, of the need to come together, to collectively build a new Nigeria that will be completely free from self-destruction, political recklessness and chicanery. Rather than seek to promote policies that can engender disintegration, efforts should be made to seek to build a nation where no one is discriminated against and oppressed.

Put differently, the NiDCOM was given birth to in order to provide for a platform for engagement of all Nigerians in Diaspora in the development of Nigeria, and particularly ‘for the purpose of utilising the human capital and material resources of Nigerians in Diaspora towards the overall socio-economic, cultural and political development of Nigeria.’ If the Nigerians in Diaspora are to be able to contribute to the development of Nigeria, then there must be an instrument for engagement. This largely explains, not only the rationale behind the establishment of the NiDCOM, but particularly also its importance as an instrument of Nigeria’s foreign policy making and implementation.

In this regard, with the widening scope of activities of the NiDCOM, it has become the home-based diplomatic mission of Nigeria, to which Nigerians in distress abroad freely seek protection and government’s attention, as distinct from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The NiDCOM is now the middle institution between the government and people in Nigeria, on the one hand, and Nigerians in Diaspora. The question as to why such distressed Nigerians or Nigerians in Diaspora prefer to call on the NiDCOM can be legitimately raised, but the answer may not be easy to quickly provide. What can be easily offered as explanation is that Nigerians in distress prefer to deal with the NiDCOM as a first port of call, because of the easy access to it, than trying to go through the protocolar processes of Nigeria’s accredited missions abroad.

Another rationale might be the quick attention often given to complaints. There is no disputing the fact that the NiDCOM always expedites action on public complaints immediately they are made known. It quickly links up with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies of government for prompt action. In fact, many cases point to this observation. For instance, there was the recent case of a 23-year old Omolola Ajayi, a native of Osun State, who was trafficked to Lebanon.

On January 8, 2020 Honourable Dabiri-Erewa was tagged in a Twitter post about the complaint. Mrs Omotola Ajayi explained that she was introduced to a Lebanese who promised to employ her to teach his children English language at home, but ‘it turned to be a lie.’ In the words of Omolola Ajayi, ‘they collected my passport and kept it. I asked why they did that. I was told I had been sold as a slave.’ But what does enslavement mean for her? No medical care when she was sick, but simply given analgesics; death for some others similarly put under enslavement; no room to sleep in; sleeping on the floor under very cold weather; and for that matter, without coverlet; etc.

When the NiDCOM got wind of the situation on January 8, 2020 the NiDCOM boss took the matter up with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), in the strong belief that it is more of its responsibility to handle the matter. In a nutshell, on January 10, 2020 the fresh report was that ‘the alleged trafficker had been arrested and will be handed over to the NAPTIP. The family of the lady has been traced and the Kwara governor is personally on the matter. All hands are on deck to ensure the trafficked lady returns.’ On January 13, 2020, Honourable Dabiri-Erewa broke the news of the safe return of Mrs. Omolara Ajayi.

The case of the Nigerian evacuees from South Africa is also quite interesting. It should be recalled that the first batch of returnees, thanks to the Air Peace aircraft provided by its owner, Allen Ifechukwu Onyema, arrived in Lagos on Wednesday, September 11, 2019 at 9.35 pm, while the second batch, thanks again to Allen Onyema, arrived on Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 7.35 pm. What is noteworthy about the arrivals is that food packs were given to the returnees on arrival. While the MTN gave each returnee fifteen thousand naira, Sim cards loaded with N160,400 and 9gb of data to last for two months, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) gave them N10,000 each. The Lagos State Government also gave each of the returnees in the second batch N20,000. And more interestingly, the NiDCOM gave counselling on the need for skills acquisition.

Apart from the grant of N100,000 loan offered by the Bank of Industry and the pledge by the Multichoice Nigeria Limited to assist in the settlement of the returnees, it is the role of the NiDCOM that has been particularly very patriotic and this can be clearly gleaned from the statement of the NiDCOM in its official report. According to the report, ‘the NiDCOM did not get any funds for the evacuation exercise, but mobilised staff and other relevant organisations exclusively to ensure a warm reception for the returnees.’
The total number of returnees was 485. Imo State had the highest number of them, with 131, while Ogun, Anambra and Enugu States occupied the second, third and fourth positions with 62, 46 and 45. Kogi and Benue had the lowest number with only one returnee each. The important point to note is not the state of origin of the returnees but the simple fact that efforts were made to complement those of Allen Onyema to give the returnees a befitting reception and support.

With the foregoing, there is no disputing the fact that the NiDCOM is not only seeking the deployment of Diaspora resources to grow and develop Nigeria, but is also engaging in citizen diplomacy as an instrument and coming into the defence of Nigerians in distress abroad as an instrument of national security. In fact, without jot of doubt, efforts are being made to sustain the NiDCOM as a platform for the promotion of Nigerians in Diaspora. The commitment of Honourable Dabiri-Erewa is now to the extent that, even though she was born in Jos on October 10, 1962, and therefore not yet sixty years of age, she has been given the people’s title of ‘Mama Diaspora,’ that is, ‘Mother of the Diaspora.’ The nickname is in recognition of her personal engagement and not necessarily that she has become a ‘mama’ in the context of Yoruba meaning. And true enough, Abike Dabiri has impacted well.

For instance, the NiDCOM has a Diaspora Quarterly, in which desperate efforts are being made to bring Nigerians to Nigeria, take Nigeria to Nigerians and showing Nigeria to the rest of the world. And more importantly, the NiDCOM has been holding investment forums (two so far) during which the extent of conduciveness of Nigeria as an investment destination was made known. The investment summit holds in November of every year.

There is also the Nigeria-Saudi Arabia Investment summit which is held in December of every year. The Diaspora Day celebrations hold every July 25 while the Badagry ‘Door of Return Festival’ for the Historic African Diaspora is held in October of every year. And perhaps more significantly, there is the interesting Diaspora Continental Quarterly Town Hall Meetings and the Diaspora Quarterly Lecture Series that are currently in the making.

In light of the foregoing, the activities of the NiDCOM are therefore quite inspiring. The NiDCOM, with assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice ensured the release of Zainab Aliyu who was put on death row by the Government of Saudi Arabia for alleged drug-related offences. The NiDCOM also intervened in other similar cases in Singapore, Morocco, Qatar, China, Malaysia, India, UAE, Ethiopia and Brazil. What is particularly noteworthy about the activities of the NiDCOM is the fact that it is encouraging the inflow of investment resources. For instance, the Nigerian Association of Young Adults (NAYA), Canada, is on record to have donated hospital equipment, worth N540 million, on January 27, 2019, to the Madonna Catholic hospital, Umuahia, Abia State. The same NAYA, on November 16, 2019 also donated medical equipment and supplies worth N784 million to the Federal Medical Centre in Bida Niger State.

Grosso modo, contrary to some misconceptions that there is rivalry between the NiDCOM and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), or duplication of functions between the two government agencies, the truth is simply that the MFA and the NiDCOM are both implementation agencies of foreign policy: while the functional responsibility of the MFA, has been, largely focusing on inter-state questions, the NiDCOM has been largely engaged in issues directly affecting Nigerians in distress in foreign countries, a situation that falls under diplomatic protection of private citizens in private international law, as distinct from diplomatic protection of Foreign Service Officers under the 1961 diplomatic convention. The MFA is more engaged in theoretical foreign policy analysis while the NiDCOM is largely engaged in empirical exegesis. The theoretical analysis and empirical exegesis are complementary. For the coordination of the various empirical efforts, therefore, there is the urgent need for the establishment of a Diaspora Village, a sort of NiDCOM Village, which can serve as a scientific and industrial, and knowledge-driven centre for national research on how to grow industrial development in Nigeria.