Adetunji Omotola: 21st century, Africa and role of Nigerians in diaspora

The millennium saw the emergence of Africans in diaspora as a force with which to be reckoned. Some serve in the highest levels of government and many return to Africa, particularly in Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria.

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organisation; Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank; Wally Adeyemo, US Deputy Treasury Secretary, and Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyeama are some who have made it to cabinet level in Nigeria and beyond.

Nigeria leads sub-Saharan Africa in terms of diaspora remittances, with $23billion in 2019, followed by Ghana ($3billion), Kenya ($2.8billion) and South Sudan ($1.3billion). On the global remittances index Nigeria is in sixth place, with India in the lead ($79billion), China in second place ($67billion), Mexico third ($36billion), Philippines fourth ($34billion) and Egypt fifth ($29billion).

Despite these positive contributions, there is a sense that citizens abroad feel extremely marginalized. Nigerian diasporans not having a vote is a grave injustice, when countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, Rwanda and 17 other African nations practice diaspora as a matter of course.

Diaspora remittances still do not guarantee any inclusion into the Nigerian landscape. It also seems clear that despite having a newly formed diaspora commission, there is no determination on embarking on a census on the numbers of Nigerians abroad.

Research shows that the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and Canada have the largest numbers of Nigerians, followed by South Africa, France, Ireland, China and the Netherlands.

These are the top ten countries with Nigerian populations. The USA (380,785), UK (190,000), Germany (56,000), Italy (71,000), Canada (51,800), France (30,000), South Africa (30,000), Ireland (17,542), China (10,000) and the Netherlands (9,453). Great difficulty exists in determining the numbers in African countries, due to a lack of data.

According to statistics, as of 2015 in South Africa, there were 10,334 Nigerians who had temporary residence permits, 25% of which had visitor’s visas and 355 had permanent residency permits. Despite the success of Nigerians in foreign lands, there is still disconnectedness on many levels. Disheartening. There is no national policy to absorb diasporans into the broader national landscape beyond settlements and investments.

There ought to be a shift in the current haphazard methods in place for diaspora inclusion. It is a travesty that many Nigerians are ignored in a manner that creates deep concern. There also exists a bias by those in authority towards Nigerians in the U.S., Canada and Europe. The issue of not being able to vote from abroad is one of the most notable examples of the failure to absorb citizens in diaspora into the nation’s political and economic development.

So many flimsy excuses are given by the members of the National Assembly and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding a lack of data and costs and also who will vote and which countries will be involved. This lack of political will is like a knee on the necks of Nigerians in diaspora, who observe voting by diasporans in Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana, Kenya and others.

Nigerians are the most educated migrants in the U.S. Most African doctors in South Africa are Nigerians, and there is even a Nigerian Doctors Forum in that country. A Nigerian holds the world boxing heavyweight crown and there is the NBA most valuable player, Gianni’s Antetoukoumpo. Ngozi Chimamanda-Adichie is a superstar and there are a slew of Hollywood actors, such as Chiwetel Ejiofor. There is Asa and John Boyega and Bayo Ogunlesi who owns Gatwick airport and was Trump’s adviser for some time.

Nigerians in diaspora will provide Africa’s upward trajectory. What is missing at this stage is the ability of planners and the continent’s leaders to work with various diaspora groupings to access bodies like the African Union (AU) the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Pan African Parliament and others to build capacity and leverage the professionalism and skillsets of citizens abroad.

Recently, Lt. Victor Agunbiade was given an award for his extraordinary accountability. He received the Navy and Marine Corp Development medal for successfully managing $68million, representing 70% of overseas disbursing volume. Agunbiade served as disbursing officer, comptroller department, Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti (Horn of Africa) from October 2019 to July 2020 and achieved 100% accountability in six rigorous inspections and independent audits.

Also, Dr Bennet Omalu was the first person to discover and publish on chronic traumatic encephalopathy in American footballers (Will Smith plays him in the 2015 film Concussion). In the legal space, ImeIme A. Umana is the first black woman to be elected President of the Harvard Law Review in its 131 year history.

Pearlana Igbokwe is the President of Universal Television and the first woman of African descent to head a major US studio. Dr Jacqueline Nwando Olayiwola is an Associate Professor at the University of California and the author of “Papaya Head” which speaks to first generation African Americans. Her siblings are Okey Onyejekwe, a medical doctor; Meka Don, a lawyer turned rapper, and Sylvia Onyejekwe, a lawyer. Jacqueline and Okey undertake two mission trips to Nigeria every year.

In the Netherlands, there is circular migration between Nigerians in the country and the U.K. Most are employees of Royal Dutch Shell and some work for ABN Amro, Nike, Celtel, IBM and CMG. There are about 500 Nigerians with Dutch passports. In Russia there are 2,100 Nigerians on Facebook. The Nigerian diaspora population is the biggest from Africa, with the exception of French speaking nations.

Nigerians’ remittance figure of $23billion is almost the same size as the GDP of Africa’s bottom ten countries, Togo, Burundi, Eswatini, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Lesotho, South Sudan, Djibouti, CAR, and Gambia. Is it not ironic that these countries have presidents, budgets and military and all have a say in continental affairs?

For example, each country sends five members of its national parliament to the Pan African Parliament in Midland, none of whom are diasporans, yet they contribute significantly to these countries. South Sudan’s diaspora remittances are 36% of its GDP, while Nigeria’s are 8%.

The failure of the Nigerian government to deepen its relations with its diasporan and include them in politics and business and other sectors of the economy is probably the biggest oversight in the last three decades. The current model of meeting a few diasporans, who are handpicked by diplomats abroad, has not yielded any meaningful result in the past two decades.

With rampant corruption, it may be wise to draft diasporans who are used to living according to their means and are not desperate to buy land in Ikoyi or Maitama within months. There is the Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) and also committees in both houses of the National Assembly. Yet, the NiDCOM Board is yet to be constituted, while lawmakers in the committees are not known to diaspora stakeholders; their impact has not been felt in any significant manner.

Diasporans are not given the seriousness that they deserve. Until major steps are taken, Nigeria will not grow into the true economic and political giant it can and should be. One can go as far as to suggest that the diasporan ought to have slots at the National Assembly and each state House of Assembly in the same manner that women participation is desired.

The following recommendations may be considered. First, all Nigerians in the diaspora who are aged 18 and over should be allowed to vote. Second, they should have a database at every high commission; the missions should see the registration as their most sacred duty. Third, Nigerians abroad doing business and in professions should be encouraged to join chambers of commerce between the host countries and Nigeria.

A country with 200 million people must also brand itself. The embassies can work with the community and the media. South Africa, United Arab Emirates, U.S. and the U.K. have had their fair share of Nigerian scams and fraudulent activities so it is wise to promote those doing very well in those countries. No nation will reach its full potential while it ignores its most productive population.

Barrister Omotola is the founder of the Guild of Nigerian Professionals – South Africa, 12 Disciples Leaders, and Afrospace. The Henley Business School alumnus is a Bloomberg-certified financial consultant.
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