The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Diaspora

  • Abia in Diaspora urged to respond to challenges at home

    Abia in Diaspora urged to respond to challenges at home

    The Rector, Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Sir Allwell Onukaogu has urged indigenous people of Abia State resident in the United States of America and other countries to join forces design a blueprint that will address what he called “the dangers at home”.
    Onukaogu delivered a lecture at the 2014 Biennial Convention of Ohuhu Progressive Union in Houston, United States of America, noting that youth restiveness, thuggish behaviour, armed robbery, religious extremism and other social vices prevalent among youths in the country could be drastically minimised only if indigenous Abia people and other Igbo citizens would come home and invest meaningfully.

    “You people should come home and invest to ensure the rapid transformation and development of your fatherland. Your investment at home could serve as a tool to take thousands of jobless youths off the streets, thereby helping in not only to solve some of the current security and social challenges facing the country, but also bringing to an end the exodus of our youths from Nigeria to other countries in the erroneous belief that they are seeking for greener pastures.”
    He said Abia is now a safe haven for business and other economic activities, adding, “I know Ohuhu people are great academicians and bureaucrats. Very few are gifted in business endeavors that can compare with what the people of Nnewi can do, but it is no excuse. We can attract genuine foreign investors into our land. You can join forces within yourselves and cooperate with others to attract industries to our land. Our home is peaceful; more peaceful and safer than Onitsha commercial areas where expatriates are being convinced to invest. You are more knowledgeable than those of us at home in international Politics and Economics. You must use these meetings of yours to fashion out economic plans and strategies to redress the dangers at home by establishing industries that will endure,” the guest speaker noted.

    Lamenting on the economic loss and the damage the ugly trend of “medical tourism” has done to Nigeria’s economy and health sector, Onukaogu in his paper called for the establishment of state the art hospitals across the country to carter for any medical case(s) that would warrant Nigerians seeking for medical assistance abroad as he noted that such medical cases and stress inherent with such medical trip can be reduced and treated in the country with less cost if facilities for treating such ailment could be accessed in Nigeria.
    “You can invest in hospitals like the Indians. Our people who travel to India stay in hotels, sometimes for over a month and pay bills to obtain quality health care. They can be willing to pay far less if such facilities are to be established at home. I know we have great medical doctors with the zeal to serve, but who are unduly manacled and encumbered by lack of state of the art facilities.
    “You don’t need to be a medical doctor before you can setup a good hospital. What you need is to mobilize funds, equip the hospital with state of the art facilities with well trained medical staff. “I believe that with time such hospital will grow not just like the famous Indian Hospital, but will go a long way to save Nigerians the billions of money they spend annually on visa and other expenses going abroad for medical treatment. I have continually read about, sometimes even a group of our Nigerian brothers and sisters from the Diaspora come home with a team of doctors to perform surgeries for our people. I have been in receipt of containers of books shipped from abroad by Nigerians, including you people as contribution towards the development of institutions. All of these are good; very good and must be commended, but you could do more,” Onukaogu stated
    Abia Poly rector who is also a Knight and lay President Methodist Church Nigeria, Umuahia East Diocese further called on Ndi-Igbo in Diaspora to imbibe the spirit of Jewish-Americans noted that such relationship with their host country and community could attract development in Igbo land and foster a strong tie between Nigeria and Americans as is the case between Israel and America today.

    In his remarks the President Ohuhu Development Union International, Mr. Ginikanwa Okedi thanked the Sir Onukaogu for honouring their invitation and for inspiring the audience with his lecture, assuring him that Ndi-Igbo and Ohuhu indigenes in Diaspora would work assiduously to improve and better the lots of their people at home.
    Okedi while assuring that they would work to create and maintain good relation with their host country, expressed their willingness to invest in their home state (Abia) and to key into the overall transformation agenda of the Abia State government led by Sir Theodore Ahamefule Orji.

  • Engaging the Diaspora for inclusive development

    The World Bank had just released its latest Report on “Migration and Development” in Washington DC at its 2014 Spring meeting.  In the Report, the Bank predicts a 7.8% growth in remittances to Developing Economies in 2014, with Nigeria as the largest recipient of same in sub-Saharan Africa at US$21 billion in 2013.  Even more significant is that the expected increase in such flows to developing countries this year would be maintained in the next few years.  There is no single accepted definition of the term “Diaspora”, neither is there a legal recognition of the term which consequently has given rise to many different meanings and interpretations. Some of my brothers and sisters abroad with whom I have interacted in the past refused to be referred to as Nigerian Diaspora.

    The Diaspora is a “scattered population” with a common origin in a foreign geographic area. Diaspora can also refer to the movement of the population from its original homeland. Diaspora has come to refer particularly to historical mass dispersions of an involuntary nature, such as the expulsion of Jews from Europe, the African Trans-Atlantic slave trade, the southern Chinese during the Coolie slave trade, or the century-long exile of the Messenians under Spartan rule.

    Recently, scholars have distinguished between different kinds of Diaspora, based on their causes such as imperialism, trade, or labour migrations, or by the kind of social coherence within the Diaspora community and its ties to the ancestral lands. There are European Diasporas, Asian Diaspora, Internal Diasporas, as we have African Diaspora.

    Most African Diaspora left Africa physically but not emotionally, which prompted them to maintain links with their respective countries of origin. This emotional attachment is what each African government should take serious advantage of. Some are refusing to be tagged African Diaspora as they believe they have a home to return to regardless of where they presently reside. Perhaps the common element is the need to encourage all peoples of African descent in the Diaspora to give back to the continent some of their financial resources as well as skills and experiences to help improve the lots of Africa in their respective areas of expertise. In other words, there is a real need to strategize on how best to tap the skills of African Diaspora to help their respective countries in nation-building for inclusive development in Africa.

    We should recognise that Diasporas represent one of the contemporary global forces shaping the directions and trends of this century, which makes it very important to partner and join forces with the Diaspora in the development efforts in their respective countries. Advantage should be taken of the huge presence of African Diaspora resides in such powerful political centres such as London, Paris, New York, and Washington DC, and some other major cities across the world where global policy decisions are made.

    In this regard, the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA) should work for the removal of the major obstacles that hinder the full engagement in development. African governments must, as a matter of urgency, address the issue of poor infrastructure that would challenge the Africa Diaspora’s readiness to contribute to the Africa development. Some other considerations would be the transfer costs, bureaucratic burden, procedures, dual citizenship, investment projects, security for business transactions, and portability of rights, such as voting rights for them. Partnership with Africa Diaspora should include private sector, civil society, academia, public enterprises and other development stakeholders, in promoting institutional change.

    Additional strategies should include efforts by various African governments to assess the Diaspora’s development potential, collecting data on Diasporas, overcoming competition among Diaspora groups both socially and professionally, and building partnerships with host countries. There should also be strong and effective communication among various government agencies, community representatives and corporate actors.

    On their part, the African Diaspora should be prepared to make necessary sacrifices.  While recognizing that some may be willing to return to the continent, some others may find it hard to abandon their investments in their residing countries, and some others may never think of returning. In effect, the DTCA should encourage African governments to aggressively and creatively push for the African Diaspora to make their contributions in whatever form to Africa’s development. In this regard, the intention of the Nigerian authorities to plan a Diaspora Bond aimed at mobilising savings and thus boost financing for development would be a positive step.

    The creation or establishment of African Diaspora associations, through their various social or professional associations, could form a hub for African professionals, where various African governments could recruit experts. Not all Africans in the Diaspora have to be in the government to contribute to the growth of their respective countries. And not everybody can work for the government, or establish businesses.

    Meanwhile, there is no doubt that Africans are making tremendous contributions to the development of their host countries in their respective specialities. They compete favourably in areas such as management, medicine, technology, and even politics. Unfortunately, there has been no corresponding impact of their roles in influencing some policies that affect them as a group in their home countries. One of the reasons for this might have been lack of practical approach from their countries of origin to harness their involvement at home.  Another reason could be the little or no involvement in their respective communities at home, and lack of cohesive responsiveness in same. Fortunately, some Diaspora communities are maintaining or developing strong political ties with their homeland.

    With specific regard to the Nigerian in the Diaspora, who are making remarkable and positive contributions to the development in their host countries, particular reference should be made to Kase Lawal, in Houston, USA, who was once named as one of the top three billionaires in Ebony’s list of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans. In addition, some work at CNN, NASA, Federal, State, County, and City Governments, in some very sensitive areas.  These are models, and the challenge for the Diasporans is to ensure that the activities of the few criminals in their midst does not becloud the contributions and achievements of these flag bearers.

    In terms of financial contributions to their respective countries of origin, it was reported in 2012 that an estimated 30 million migrants sent cross-border remittances worth $60 billion to recipients in Africa, benefiting an estimated 120 million residents. According to Soheyla Mahmoudi, the Task Team Leader of African Institute of Remittances (AIR), (with the four member-states of Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya and Mauritius) and Senior Operations Officer in the World Bank’s Africa Region Finance and Private Sector Development, “If the banks that pay out the remittances month after month were to offer the beneficiary families an array of basic financial services such as savings accounts, payment facilities and small loans for micro-enterprise, it is likely that the portion of remittances saved and invested would grow from current levels”.

    I conclude this piece with following quote from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: “If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them.  But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.  And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”  Africans in the Diaspora are not evil; on the contrary, and with few exceptions, they constitute a powerful force for good in their host countries.  They are also part of our heart in the African continent.  The African Union declared in 2005 that the Diaspora is the sixth region of the continent.  Perhaps Nigeria’s Diaspora of over 25 million can be considered her 37th state. They would remain a powerful social-cultural force, as well as an economic and political enclave in this century.

    • Excerpts of a paper delivered by Professor Gambari, CFR, OCORT at a Seminar organised by Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA), Abuja

  • Global Diaspora : Africa’s goldmine and bridge to prosperity

    Global Diaspora : Africa’s goldmine and bridge to prosperity

    Zimbabwean born Martin Ganda says the future of Africa depends on the synergy between the business and government leaders in the  continent  and those that have gained a global perspective by working across the world.

     

    Africa is a continent filled with opportunities, from mining to real estate to agriculture. However, the potential for projects in these areas is stunted by the limited accessibility to capital.

    I see the current generation of young people who have left Africa as its next generation of builders. Armed with access to global networks and pools of capital, our generation can help contribute to the economic boom of Africa. Whereas our parents and grandparents fought imperialism, our generation must strive to create its own legacy of economic victory, improving the quality of life for even the most unfortunate communities in Africa.

    I believe it is our generation’s obligation to work with investors so we can take advantage of the resources that we have in Africa. Whilst we understand the history between colonial masters and our ancestors, we are free to look forward to the future and realize that this is a new era. We are at a great advantage because of our background growing up in Africa; we understand the culture and have strong ties to our community as well as close connections to the decision makers, some of whom are family members or friends.

    We have an edge as we have also spent years abroad building new relationships with influential global players in America, Europe, and Asia. We have experience working in the developed world in sophisticated institutions and have become familiar with world financiers.

    I believe it is our time to play a pivotal role in Africa’s development by participating in business in Africa. We can utilize our connections abroad to finance ventures in Africa. We are very fortunate to have had the chance to grow up in Africa. Africa is a continent that thrives on relationships, and our childhood there gave us the skills to develop deeper relationships abroad.These relationships, combined with our business skills, put the youth of Africa in a position to make major contributions to the long-term business growth of our great continent.

    We are the architects of Africa’s growth and we owe it to those we have left at home to contribute to and develop our villages, towns, and communities. Despite our booming economy, Africa is lagging in internal development when compared to the rest of the world. We must strive to improve ourselves, working toward an Africa with highways andsophisticated transport systems, world class telecommunications, impressive standards of living for the bulk of the population, human rights that are actually respected, and freedom and societal support for the weaker and poorer members of our society. We are uniquely poised to contribute to development because of our exposure to the rest of the world, our experiences in career and education, and the worldwide business networks we have cultivated.

    It will not be easy. Investing in Africa and learning to work with people from another culture can be very difficult. We have different standards of efficiency, and the business environment can be hard to understand when one party is across the world. However, by working together and leveraging those Africans already in places of power and financial influence in America, Asia, and Europe, we can broker the new business relationships that are vital for Africa’s growth.

    The future of Africa hinges on the synergy between the business and government leaders in our mother countries, and those of us that have gained a global perspective by working across the world.  Many African professionals are familiar with the economies of our home countries, but can also bring global insights back to our government and businesses.The African businesses and governments need young people to act as bridges to the global markets and to leverage our global relationships. We are in a unique position to act as trusted advisors to businesses looking to venture into African markets, and our language skills will help us to broker deals in both the private and public sectors. These different perspectives will bring rich and diverse ideas to African leadership.

     

    As our African governments and businesses deal with international firms, it is worthwhile to engage the diverse talent pool as some of them already know or have worked with international firms, and can be the bridge between the international firm and the local African governments and businesses. Most of the time, important deals between African governments and African businesses are negotiated by people who might not have experience in the nuances of that deal, resulting in an unfair position as our African governments and businesses end up with the shorter length of the stick.For instance, several mining deals between African governments and mining companies end up benefiting the miners at the expense of the government. Typically, deals are skewed in favor of the international mining firms who are able to hire the best talent in the world to out negotiate our African governments and business counterparts, most of whom have no prior experience in deals of this magnitude.

    In South Africa, the Bafokeng tribe in the platinum-rich Bafokeng region managed to hire global mining lawyers and experts to negotiate on their behalf with the global platinum mining giants, and today the Bafokeng tribe is the richest in their region. James Sutherland, lawyer to the Bafokeng from themid-1990s, asserts that ‘the playing fields are skewed.’ The owners of the mining resources, usually African communities, are not able to match the high-powered mining experts that the big companies employ, and are not knowledgeable enough to analyze or evaluate the potential of their mines. According to Sutherland, he was told that the African owners would have to ‘listen toa litany of lies as the mining representatives told the owner what the deal was about’(MBENGA). Yes, we have talent locally, but most of the globally competitive African talent is in the diaspora;we must tap into this talent to negotiate deals on behalf of African governments and businesses.

    Thus, the rest of the world holds the key to furthering Africa’s business prosperity and bright future. With the world getting smaller, and the increasing need for idea and resource collaboration, now is the moment to take advantage of win-win partnerships with local and global companies and leaders, tapping into our experiences and talents.

     

    Zimbabwean born Martin Ganda is interested in economic development of Africa. He is a member of The Milken Institute Young Leaders Circle. He can be contacted at martinganda@gmail.com

  • Ndigbo in Diaspora urged to invest in homeland

    The President General of Igbo World Union (IWU), Chief Dr. Mishak Nnanta has called on indigenous Igbo people living overseas to come back to Nigeria and invest in their homeland.

    Nnanta, speaking to journalists in Aba, said his group is ready to partner with any organisation which shares its major objective of the development and unity of Ndigbo.

    “We are appealing to well-meaning Igbo sons and daughters to return home and help develop Igbo land. IWU is poised to stop the brain drain among our people. Only the Ndigbo can develop Igbo land; not the Hausa, Yoruba or Ijaw people. Igbos are hardworking people and should use our God given resources to our advantage. Igbo World Union is about culture, tradition, development and bringing Ndigbo to the realities of the present day in Nigeria.

    “We are a new generation, a new generation in thinking, in strategy, in bringing glory and honour to our country, Nigeria.”

    Nnanta said that he will soon start campaigning abroad to sensitise Ndigbo on the need to return and invest at home.

    “In February 2014, I will be away to Germany, Russia, England, USA and other countries to sensitise Ndigbo to remember their roots. We need more development in Igbo land. What sets apart from other groups is that the unity of Ndigbo and development of our land is of utmost concern to us.

    We are set to build a new Igbo.”

    He further commended the recent visit of the leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to President Goodluck Jonathan stressing that such visits should be on regular basis and extended to other ethnic groups to build bridges of understanding in Nigeria.

    The President General also dismissed reports in a national daily alleging that leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo fought over a gift given to them by Jonathan.

    “Such reports are not true. We have credible people in Ohanaeze Ndigbo like Prof. Anya O. Anya; Chairman of the Abia state Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Eberechi Dick; Chairman of South East Council of Traditional Rulers; Eze Cletus Ilomuanya, among others eminent personalities who are high respected. I have no doubt they will effectively represent our people anywhere and anytime. We can’t join issues with the people spreading such false stories but I can assure you that we are proud of leaders of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.”

     

  • Jonathan begins diaspora export programme

    President Goodluck Jonathan has begun the implementation of the Diaspora Export Programme (DEP), designed to improve trade between Nigeria and other countries.

    The President said during a meeting with the Nigerian community in Nairobi, Kenya that the programme, laid down by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, would encourage the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), owned by Nigerians at home and abroad.

    He said this as the two countries began mechanisms to double their trade within two years with the establishment of the Nigeria-Kenya Trade and Investment Council.

    Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has approved five to 10 years visas to genuine Nigerian businessmen without restriction.

    He announced the approval when closing the Nigeria-Kenya Business at the weekend.

    Said he: “One of my highest priorities as President of Kenya is to break barriers on investment and trade among African nations. There is no reason why Africa should submit to poverty amid many opportunities. “People to people contact will solidify and encourage businesses, especially between our countries. To allow this happen and ensure that people travel with ease, without restriction, I have instructed my cabinet secretary on Interior to give five to 10 years visas to Nigerian businessmen without any restriction.”

    Jonathan enjoined Nigerians in Kenya to key into the DEP as a veritable means of ensuring that trade between countries improved in favour of Nigeria, saying Nigerian women in Kenya, who had complained of not being able to start businesses, should liaise with MITI on the steps to follow.

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said the objective of the Diaspora Export Programme was to leverage on the presence of Nigerians living abroad, using their individual and collective advantage in these countries to advance the promotion of Nigeria’s non-oil export.

    According to him, the programme allows Nigerians in the diaspora to organise themselves into groups or business associations, take advantage of trade and investment opportunities at home and export made-in-Nigeria products to their countries of residence.

    This, he noted, would provide a platform to enable the quick and easy penetration of products and services of Nigerian origin into the global market, while also making Nigerians resident abroad to have additional sources of income and become relevant in their host and home countries.

    The private sectors in Nigeria and Kenya have mapped out strategies and put mechanisms in place to leverage on the competitive and comparative advantage of their countries for win-win trade and investment relationships.

    Following the roundtable discussions between the private sectors of the two countries, the Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who led the Nigerian businessmen, announced an investment of $400 million by the Dangote Group in the cement sector in Kenya.

    He said the two countries would collaborate in tourism, agriculture and agro-processing, oil and gas, entertainment and manufacturing, among others.

  • Why Nigeria didn’t appeal ICJ ruling on Bakassi-Jonathan

    Why Nigeria didn’t appeal ICJ ruling on Bakassi-Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan has given reasons why Nigeria did not appeal the ruling of the International Court of Justice, which awarded the oil-rich territory of Bakassi to Cameroon in 2002.

    Speaking during an interactive session with Nigerian community in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Sunday night, Jonathan said that Nigeria did not appeal in order to ensure the protection of Nigerians living in Cameroon.

    According to him, when two countries are friendly, the people of the two countries also tend to be friendly, but when the two countries disagree, their citizens tend to disagree also.

    He also explained that Nigeria had no new evidence within the period of time that was given that will make a difference in the judgement.

    Jonathan is in Cameroon for the summit of Heads of States and Governments of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC), which started yesterday and focusing on maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea.

    While the area had been heavily guarded by Cameroonian soldiers since their country took control of the territory from Nigeria on August 14, 2008, there is a deadline for Nigerians there to decide to become Cameroonian latest by August 2012 or leave the territory.

    He said: “You all know what happened in Bakassi, there is no need to go back on why we couldn’t appeal. We had no new evidence within the period of time that was given that will make a difference in the judgement.

    “Our people should live a good and decent life in Cameroon. The forces of animosity are gradually dying down and the relationship is improving”. He added

    Jonathan assured the citizens that his government was totally committed to their welfare and that their concerns on high cost of residence permits, high cost of tuition fees for students among others would be tabled before his host, President Paul Biya in order to find amicable solution to them.

    Commending the good reports on Nigerians in Cameroon, he assured that the various concerns raised on security, power, infrastructural deficits back home in Nigeria are all being tackled.

    He maintained that two years of his administration has recorded significant progress in key sectors.

    Urging Nigerians in diaspora to ignore negative reports that exaggerate the problems back home, he said that they should take time out to look at the parameters, GDP growth, foreign direct investments, which, he said, showed that “the economy is strong.”

    Stressing that investors do not take money to countries where nothing is happening, the President claimed that out of every $10 that comes to the continent, $4 comes into Nigeria.

    Speaking on agriculture and cement, he noted that non-importation of rice has impacted on the country’s revenue, saying, “We cannot be a giant of Africa when we keep importing rice, we must put a stop to that. The way we are going we will soon be exporting rice in few years. We are now exporting cement about 20 million tonnes”.

    Admitting that Nigeria has health challenges, Jonathan said: “I can assure you we are on course, I will make you happy. We will exploit the opportunity”.

    He also expressed unhappiness that Nigeria is among the four countries in the world with cases of polio.

    “I’m uncomfortable with the figure, why should Nigeria be among the four countries in the world with polio? We are committed to eradicating polio and we will eradicate it”. He assured

    On the power sector, he said that his administration was almost done with the privatisation exercise and when completed, the sector “will take a life of its own.”

    He said that work has been going on on road infrastructure after the flood experienced in the country last year.

    President Jonathan also disclosed that he personally advocated voting by Nigerians in diaspora, but that he cannot use executive fiat to veto it.

    Stating that the process is on course, he urged them to be patient until the constitution is finally amended.

    He however advised those passionate about the issue to write a petition to the National Assembly in order to push for the amendment.

    He said: “On diaspora votes, I advocated for it but before we can have it the constitution will have to be amended. I cannot use executive fiat to do it, we have to follow the constitution. We have a very vibrant diaspora and should be heard. You should send your petition to National Assembly so that they will know is not only Mr. President that is interested in it”.

    Promising that he will not allow them to be victimized or maltreated, Jonathan dispelled fears that the Federal Government has abandoned Nigerians who remained in the peninsula after its transfer to Cameroon.

    Nigeria High Commissioner to Cameroon, Hadiza Mustapha, in her opening remarks said the Nigerian community “is the best community any ambassador could ask for. They are hardworking, patrotic, law-abiding and have good working relations with the Mission”.

    She said the good working relationship existing between Nigeria and Cameroon has brought about reduction in harassment of citizens living in the host country.

    She said the complains of Nigerian citizens have been tabled before the Cameroonian authorities and “so far we have no reason to doubt the commitment of our host government to address the issues”.

    The President of the Nigerian Union, Center Region, Ebere Valentine, assured the President that Nigerians in Cameroon will continue to become good ambassadors and “project the image of our country well”.

    He appealed for more government involvement in the welfare of Nigerians in Cameroon as regards the cost of residence permit, saying 50 per cent reduction will be a welcome development”.

    Olukorede Adenowo, Managing Director, Standard Chartered Bank, West and Central Africa, who is the representative of Nigerians in the Corporate Sector in Cameroon, said that there were opportunities that exist in the Cameroons and advised Nigerian businessmen to take advantage of the geographical proximity and the comparatively high prices.

    He noted that Nigerian businesses were active in aviation, general commerce, downstream oil and gas and banking in the Cameroon.

    He said other areas Nigerians can assist in terms of foreign direct investment and simultaneously make decent returns in Cameroon are in oil and gas exploration and production, commercial and residential real estates, entertainments, shopping malls.

    “We have been instrumental in working with our High Commission in bringing in several Nigerian businesses and helping them find their feet in Cameroon. We Nigerian professionals are ready and available to do more”, he said.

    Representative from the Bakassi Peninsular, Chief Etim Effiong, commended President Jonathan for not abandoning those of them that choose to remain in the Cameroon as Nigerians.

    According to him, they couldn’t bare to abandon the land that belonged to their fore-fathers for years and expressed happiness that the Nigerian government was working with the Cameroonian government to make them safe and at home in their community.

     

  • Labour slams govt over Diaspora housing scheme

    The organised labour has condemned the Federal Government’s initiative to assist Nigerians in the Diaspora to own houses at home.

    The Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria Mr Ya’u Kumo said in Washington, United States, that about 17 million Nigerians, living outside the country, desire to own houses at home, but had challenges, and that the government would help them achieve their dream.

    But the Acting General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Emma Ugboaja, said though the plan is good, the housing problems of Nigerians at home should be addressed first.

    Ugboaja said: “Ya’u Kumo said about 17 million Nigerians, living outside the country, had the desire to own houses at home but had challenges.

    “It is a vision that should be executed when the government completes housing projects for those living in the country.’’

    He said it would be right for the government to satisfy the housing needs of Nigerians living at home first, since they were the primary contributors to the National Housing Scheme (NHS).

    He also said the mortgage bank was collaborating with the NLC in building houses for workers in Abuja.

    He noted that lack of sufficient accommodation had never stopped Nigerians living abroad from returning home.

    The President, Food, Beverage and Tobacco Senior Staff Association, Mr Tunde Abdulrahman,   said the plan was good. He advised that Nigerians abroad should contribute to the NHS.

    He regretted that many civil servants had contributed to the housing scheme for many years without being able to access loans to construct houses of their own.

    He urged the Federal Government to monitor such a scheme to ensure its effective implementation.

    The General Secretary, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Mr Alade Lawal, said it was worrisome that up to 17 million Nigerians abroad needed houses.

    He advised the government to meet the housing needs of Nigerians at home.

    Lawal urged the government to verify the figure before building houses for those abroad.

  • Poor returns may mar $100m Diaspora bond, say experts

    Poor returns may mar $100m Diaspora bond, say experts

    The proposed $100million Diaspora bond by the Federal Government may be marred by poor returns, experts at FBN Capital have said.

    Billed as part of an ambitious plan to get the Nigerian Diaspora to invest in the country’s infrastructure, the measure is aimed at tapping into the healthy remittance market. There are about two million Nigerians in the United Kingdom (UK) and remittances from the Diaspora worldwide are thought to make up about three per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    Finance Minster and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had told reporters at the recently concluded World Bank/ International Monetary Fund (IMF) Meetings in Washington D.C, United States, that the Diaspora bond will be concluded in December.

    But FBN Capital – a research and investment firm it latest report entitled: Untapped potential of remittances, noted that the main challenge to the Diaspora bond would be poor returns on such investment.

    “The FGN plans to follow its forthcoming US$1billion Eurobond with an issue for the Nigerian Diaspora. It has a modest US$100million in mind and argues that it does not have the track record in this field of, say, Israel or India.

    “In our view the main challenge will be not the unfamiliarity of the product but the poor return: the first Eurobond yields just above four per cent and the shrewd investor will do better in other asset classes.

    “The FGN and also the state governments could tap the Diaspora more often and more substantially for their financing needs,” the report said.

    Latest official data by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that 91-day Nigerian Treasury Bills carry a yield of 10.35 per cent while three-month tenor deposit rate of banks stand at 7.99 per cent. Average inter-bank call rate stands at 10.68 per cent.

    The Nation’s market intelligence shows that bonds have coupons of between four per cent and 16 per cent, indicating the yield spread within the fixed-income segment.With inflation rate at 8.6 per cent, the low coupons indicate marginal adjusted returns on fixed-income securities.

    The average year-to-date return of 25.04 per cent for the equity market underlines the low return in the fixed-income market.

    The thinking of the government is that the huge savings kept by Nigerians resident abroad could be invested in the country through bonds for infrastructural development. According to the FBN Capital report, remittances to Nigeria were the second largest foreign exchange inflow last year after crude petroleum.

    A recent World Bank report had stated that Nigerians and other residents in the country received a total of N33.6bilion or $21billion last year in remittances from their relatives, friends and business associates abroad.

    The report noted that Nigeria accounted for 67 per cent of the $31billion total inflows to Sub-Saharan Africa last year, followed by Senegal and Kenya.

    Noting that remittance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa have been recovering from the contraction associated with the global financial crisis, the report said growth has been modest.

    The World Bank said: “In 2012, the region is estimated to have received about $31 billion in remittances, only about one per cent increase over 2011. Nigeria is by far the largest recipient of remittances in the region, accounting for about 67 percent of the inflows to the region in 2012, followed by Senegal and Kenya. Zero growth in flows to Nigeria in 2012 is partly attributable to the feeble labour market recovery of its major remittance source countries in Europe, the UK in particular. Remittance flows to Nigeria and the rest of the region are expected to grow significantly in the coming years to reach about $39 billion in 2015.”

    The report put stated that officially recorded remittance flows to developing countries grew by 5.3 per cent to reach an estimated $401 billion in 2012. It added that remittances to developing countries are expected to grow by an annual average of 8.8 per cent for the next three years and are forecast to reach $515 billion in 2015.

     

  • ‘Nigeria should target Diaspora investors’

    ‘Nigeria should target Diaspora investors’

    THE government has done enough in its effort to woo investors from the Diaspora to invest in the local economy, Director, Nigeria Development and Finance Forum (NDFF), Jide Akintunde, has said.

    Speaking ahead of the NDFF Conference in Washington DC, United States from June 4 to 5, he regretted that there is no policy known to exist to encourage Nigerians living abroad to invest in the country except ‘wooing’ them through road shows.

    He noted that there are barriers to investing in the country which especially affect the participation of Nigerians living abroad, compared to global or emerging market investors looking to invest in Nigeria.

    He said Diaspora Nigerians have more psychological closeness to the country, and so they have more awareness of the high level corruption dynamic in getting a deal done where government officials are involved in the process.

    He said the event is aimed at drawing these investors into investing in the country. “However, a global investor with experience in the emerging markets knows how to deal with the rough terrain of business in Nigeria. Indeed, his behaviour is constrained by legislations in his home country which prohibit payment of bribes while doing business abroad. But this is not necessarily the case for a Nigerian abroad who has no emerging market exposure or experience,” he said.

     

     

     

     

     

    He said the programme of privatization of the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) could have been used to stimulate Diaspora investment.

    Akintunde however insisted that to be able to do that requires more transparency in the programme than we have. We also need innovative policies to make it happen. “When we look at the financial outlay for the purchase of government assets, they are very high; perhaps too high beyond what a unit of business controlled by an individual could muster. That might explain why the multinationals and investment vehicles promoted by foreign governments are the more visible foreign businesses in the country. However, the planned floatation of Diaspora bonds by Nigeria and a few other African governments can help address this barrier,” he said.

    He said that with the Diaspora bond, Nigerians abroad could now invest in the Nigerian infrastructure sector with their pooled financial resource. This, he said, mitigates the risk of an individual or few individuals taking on both management responsibilities and operating risks of investing in Nigeria.

    “Some years ago, the federal government had mooted the idea of creating a technology parks with the involvement of Nigerians abroad, to incubate IT businesses in the country. But the commitment to push the policy to fruition has been lacking. Thus one of the proposed locations for the project, the former Federal Secretariat complex in Ikoyi, Lagos, has remained unoccupied for years,” he said.

    He said that the engagement of Nigerians abroad should not be merely for political posturing. “We must fashion a policy that will facilitate technology transfer by creating opportunities for Diaspora Nigerians to come and invest in the country. This is a more realistic process to bridge the technology gap as opposed to the expectation that some foreign entities will come and transfer their know-how to us,” he said.

     

  • Low impact of Diaspora dollars

    Low impact of Diaspora dollars

     The recorded remittance flow to developing countries was estimated at $406bn in 2012 with Nigeria topping the list of recipients in Africa with $21bn (N3.28tn). Remittances from Nigerians in the Diaspora have, in the last decade, become a huge foreign exchange earner for the country with its concomitant positive effects on the economy not fully tapped yet, reports Bukola Afolabi

     

    Despite record-breaking increases in remittances coming into Nigerian and many other African countries in recent years, local enomonies are yet to feel the impact of the surge.

    The recorded remittance flow to developing countries is estimated to reach $406bn in 2012 with Nigeria topping the list of recipients in Africa with $21bn (N3.28tn). Another report prepared by the Migration and Remittances Unit of the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group stated that Nigeria would top the list of recipients of officially-recorded remittances for 2012 with a likely $21bn, a 91 per cent increase over the $11bn remitted to the country last year.

    The bank said remittances to developing countries were projected to grow by 7.9 per cent in 2013, 10.1 per cent in 2014, and 10.7 per cent in 2015 and to reach $534bn in 2016.The World Bank pointed out that it had revised its methodology to estimate remittances for Kenya and Nigeria. It said, “in the past, data on Kenya’s remittances reported in the IMF Balance of Payment’s (BoP) statistics were significantly smaller than data cited by government officials. By contrast, in the past, Nigeria’s data reported in the IMF BoP showed a significant upward revision, raising questions as to the definition used to maintain consistency with the previous data series. We estimated remittances to Nigeria by applying the growth rate of the new data series to the old data series.”

    According to Ayo Teriba, an Economist, Nigeria has a strong and growing Diaspora community, especially in the US, Europe and Asia, many of whom are responsible for this remittance flows.

    Quoting the recently updated World Bank brief on global migration and remittances.

    “The top recipients of officially recorded remittances, estimated for 2011, are India ($58 billion), China ($57 billion), Mexico ($24 billion), and the Philippines ($23 billion). Other large recipients include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Vietnam, Egypt and Lebanon.”

    Teriba added that the negative aspect of it is that Nigerian youths, after receiving training in Nigeria and use their skills to develop the country, resort to travelling abroad to work. Diaspora bonds can be a powerful financial instrument for mobilising Diaspora savings to finance specific public and private sector projects, as well as to help improve the debt profile of the destination country.

    As for Indians, they get their remittances through the Diaspora Fund. Nigerian government should capitalise on their citizens who are based abroad, because this figure is for private individuals, but government should provide saving instrument for them so that the government can benefit from Nigerians in the Diaspora, said Teriba.

    The World Bank report indicates that in 2012 Nigerians living abroad remitted home £13.3 billion, ranking first in Africa and fifth in the world, behind India and China, with each receiving more than £38 billion, Philippines (£15 billion), and Mexico (£15 billion).

    The updated data showed that in 2010 it was estimated that remittances flow into Nigeria from its people abroad would be $9.9B, when the actual figures came in, it was over $10B, at exactly $10.045B.

    In terms of the share of GDP of the remittances flow into Nigeria, while it was estimated at 4.1% last year, it was actually 4.5% in real terms afterwards.

    Other top recipients of remittances among developing countries are India ($70bn), China ($66bn), the Philippines ($24bn) and Mexico ($24bn). “Our estimate of remittance flows for the current year is based on available monthly and quarterly data released by central banks and the International Monetary Fund’s balance of payments. We estimated growth for the remaining period of 2012 based on the year-to-date growth rate in 2012,” the report stated.

    The size of remittance flows to developing countries is now more than three times that of official development assistance. For Nigeria, the size of its 2012 remittance inflow amounts to about 7.7 percent of 2012 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and nearly 50 percent of CBN foreign exchange reserves. The cost of sending remittance is a key driver of remittance flows, World Bank research shows. Consequently, reducing remittance cost has been identified as a key policy objective to facilitate these flows.

    The global average remittance price has declined over the same period from 9.81 percent in 2008 to 8.96 percent in the third quarter of 2012. Sub-Saharan Africa is the most expensive region to send remittance to, with a transfer costing (in third quarter of 2012) about 12.4 percent of the amount transferred. This is almost twice the corresponding figure of 6.5 percent for South Asia.

    Mobile phones have also been used to facilitate international remittances. Services such as mobile cash-out allow households to receive money in accounts linked to their mobile phones (mobile wallet) and subsequently use it to conduct mobile transactions or cash-out the money at an agent. Mobile cash-in services allow migrants to send money from their mobile wallet. Other branchless cash-out services allow migrants to send money to a cash card held by recipients, who can then withdraw funds at ATMs or make purchases with the card.

    As at early-2012, only 20 percent of 130 mobile banking operators worldwide offered international remittance services. Traditional money transfer operators, such as Western Union and Moneygram, have also partnered with some of these providers to offer international remittance services via mobile phones.

    Sadly, Nigeria is not a major player in this category. Cross-border mobile remittances have not taken off due to a variety of regulatory and operational challenges. Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT) and “know-your-client” requirements also exacerbate the regulatory hurdle for mobile money operators that raise cost and operational burden.

    Mobile remittances fall in the regulatory void between financial and telecom regulations, a reality which creates regulatory uncertainty for potential market entrants. Many central banks do not allow non-bank entities to conduct cash-in and cash-out services. Mobile remittances will not take off until central banks and telecom authorities come together to craft rules that facilitate branchless banking.

    According to Femi Olumide, an analyst, “Non-monetary forms may include clothing, medicine, gifts, dowries, tools and equipment. In recent years, remittance flows rank behind foreign direct investment (FDI) as a source of external funding for developing countries. Global flows of migrant worker remittances were estimated at US$182 billion in 2004, up 5.7 percent from their level in 2003 and 34.5 per cent compared to 2001 (World Bank, 2004).”

    The forty-two-year-old man adds: “It is estimated that migrant remittance flows to developing countries now surpass official development aid receipts in many developing countries. Migrants’ remittances are currently ranked as the second largest source of external inflows to developing countries after foreign direct investment. Over the last decade, Nigeria has been the single largest recipient of remittance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria receives between 30 percent and 60 percent of remittances to the region.’’

    He continued: “Remittances from Nigerians in various parts of the world was USD 2.8 billion in 2004 (International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2004), ranking second only to oil exports as a source of foreign exchange earnings. Nigeria was among the top 20 developing countries recipients of remittance in 2003. Commercial bank executives report that in 2006 the recorded flows were estimated at US$4.2 billion dollars, representing 700,000 transactions and a 30 percent increase from 2005. In 2009, Nigeria received $10 billion in remittances from citizens living in the Diaspora and she is currently ranked first among the top 10 remittance recipients in 2010 in sub Saharan Africa.”

    The large bulk of remittances in Nigeria are person-to-person flows mainly from the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and other Western European countries. Most transfers are through Money Transfer Organisations (MTO’s). Informal sources include relatives and town unions and individuals entering Nigeria from their domicile foreign countries among others. Estimate of internal remittance is not known.

    Despite the ever-increasing size of remittances, both internal and international, there has been little effort to analyse its effect on economic development, especially on poverty in Nigeria. As a result, policy measures that will enhance putting remittances to their best uses do not exist. The situation persists in spite of the recognised fact that a well-articulated remittance management regime can aid growth and development by providing much needed foreign exchange, and serve as a palliative for its balance. “There are, however, some serious downside risks to the bank’s outlook for international remittance and migration flows. Persistent unemployment in Europe and the U.S. is affecting employment prospects of existing migrants and hardening political attitudes toward new immigration. Volatile exchange rates and uncertainty about the “direction of oil prices also present further risks to the outlook for remittances.

    “The bank has established a ‘Task Force on the Implementation of Diaspora Bonds to facilitate the provision of technical assistance to developing country governments.’ The bank now houses considerable expertise in this area and we look forward to working with client governments in developing alternative sources of financing for development projects,” said Ratha.”

    The Director of the Centre for Demographic and Allied Research (CDAR) of the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka, Professor Cletus Agu, claims that Nigeria accounts for about 60 per cent of all remittance inflows to sub-Saharan Africa.

    He stated this in Abuja recently at the research dissemination workshop on ‘International Remittances, Poverty and Inequality: The West African Case (IRPI-TWAC)’, where stakeholders deliberated on the preliminary findings on the study supported by International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

    Agu, who is also the head, Department of Economics of the nation’s first indigenous University, affirmed the World Bank’s report.

    Stakeholders at the workshop also agreed with the study, which provides answers to these core questions using three West African countries, namely Nigeria (the most populated nation in West Africa), Ghana (with rich migration data-base) and Cote d’Ivoire (a Francophone African country). These issues are studied based on conceptual frameworks drawn from economics, demography, sociology and anthropology, history and geography.

    The World Bank report also indicates that as a share of GDP, the largest recipients in Africa are Lesotho (28.5 percent), Togo (10.7 percent), Cape Verde (9.4 percent), Senegal (9.3 percent), and The Gambia (8.2 percent).

    While the report deals with formal remittances, it is believed that a huge chunk of money are also being informally remitted to Nigeria and other countries.

    Nonetheless, the report observed that “formal channels for remittances from outside Africa and within the region are heavily dominated by money transfer companies, particularly Western Union.”

    For the Sub-Saharan African countries, according to the report, only about 2 percent of households receiving remittances from outside Africa use banks; “the share is slightly higher in Uganda (12.5 percent), Kenya (16.2 percent) and Nigeria (22.3 percent).”

    Also, Biodun Ogunyemi, a banker observed that “the role of other intermediaries including post offices, microfinance institutions, savings and credit cooperatives, and new technologies such as Internet transfers and mobile money transfers are even more limited for remittances from outside Africa,” from where it is believed most of the remittances flow to countries like Nigeria are coming.”

    Recorded remittance flows to the African continent are similar in size to official aid flows, according to the report. For instance, they are several times larger than official aid to North Africa (3.3 percent of GDP versus 0.6 percent of GDP) and two-thirds the size of official aid flows to Sub-Saharan Africa (2.2 percent of GDP versus 3.7 percent of GDP).

    Equally, remittance flows in many African countries, it was further disclosed, “are larger than private capital flows, such as FDI and portfolio debt and equity flows.”

    It was also noted that while evidence on the implications of remittances for inequality is less clear, “households that receive remittances, especially from outside Africa, may have been richer to begin with (allowing a family member to migrate in the first place); they may also have higher incomes because of migration and the receipt of remittances.”

    The report said by discouraging exclusive partnerships—for example, between

    banks and international money transfer agencies—remittance costs would reduce, “benefiting both migrants and remittance recipients.”

    It stated that this discouragement of exclusive partnerships, has already led to policy changes in some African countries and has been implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Rwandan authorities.

    Indeed, remittance costs have fallen steadily from 8.8 percent in 2008 to 7.3 percent in the third quarter of 2011 due to increasing competition in large volume remittance corridors such as UK-Nigeria and UAE-India. However, remittance costs continue to remain high, especially in Africa and in small nations where remittances provide a life line to the poor.

    Globally, the World Bank said while the economic slowdown is dampening employment prospects for migrant workers in some high-income countries, global remittances, nevertheless, are expected to stay on a growth path and, by 2014, are forecast to reach $515 billion.

    Of that, $441 billion will flow to developing countries, according to the latest issue of the Bank’s Migration and Development Brief.