The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) says it has engaged over 17 million Nigerians living globally, in various programmes since its inception in 2019.
The Chairman of NiDCOM, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, announced this at the ongoing Global African Diaspora Symposium (GADS) which opened on Thursday in Abuja.
Dabiri-Erewa also said the commission had seen the benefits of engagements of Nigerians in the Diaspora on the nation’s economy.
“Since its establishment in 2019, NiDCOM has engaged with over 17 million Nigerians in the Diaspora through different national programmes.
“Some of the programmes include Presidential Town Hall meetings, annual National Diaspora Day Celebrations and National Diaspora Investment Summit.
“Others are Diaspora Mortgage and Housing Programme and regular interventions for Nigerians abroad.
“We have seen the benefits of these engagements in various sectors of our economy,” she said.
The benefits, she said, had impacted agriculture, education, health, science and technology, information communication technology, real estate, tourism and culture among others.
The symposium was organised by NiDCOM, African Diaspora Alliance, the Organisation of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA).
Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also part of the organisers of the second GADS.
The theme of the symposium is “Building Stronger Connections between Africa and the Global Diaspora”.
Dabiri-Erewa, however, prayed that the symposium, designed to proffer solutions to Africa’s issues, should hold every two years.
She said this would spur the necessary support and attention of the African Diaspora in the accelerating development of the Continent.
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The symposium is also expected to offer concrete strategies and the needed incorporation between major Diaspora leaders in government, business, the private sector and the professions, with leaders on the African continent.
In his remarks, Amb. Zubairu Dada, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said the symposium focused on discussing global diaspora challenges and exploring opportunities offered by the African diaspora.
Dada said there is an estimated 250 million international migrants, with more than 40 million of them being African origin.
“African migration has been on steady upward trajectory for past two decades, and with continuing push, that trend will continue.
“We expect human mobility to increase.
“And the World Bank estimates that by 2050 there will be more than 400 million international migrants.
“Africa will share a large proportion of this number.
“We will no longer think about our economy, societies, innovation and scientific breakthrough without thinking about the African diaspora.
“Therefore, migration is innovative,” Dada said.
The minister also pointed out that it was also necessary for the government to handle migration issues well.
According to him, Africa requires to transform its potential and abundant human resources.
“More so, the continent is witnessing migration trends of young qualified people due to push and pull factors.”
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