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Between FG And Diaspora Investors

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Olusegun Aganga is Nigeria’s trade and investments minister. An accomplished investment banker and erstwhile holder of the nation’s finance portfolio. He joined the ministerial train not quite long ago after relinquishing his managing directorship of the prestigious investment firm of Goldman Sachs in Europe.

As part of his new charge, Aganga has the unenviable task of exploring fresh grounds for more robust trade relations with the outside world. And this he has to undertake alongside developing alternative strategies on how best to attract more investments to help rouse the nation’s near prostrate economy.

The minister has already hit the road, running. At a recent parley with a cross section of his Diaspora compatriots, Aganga was reported to have hinted on the Federal Government’s plan to initiate a drive for the mobilisation of at least 10 per cent of the informal remittances made annually by Nigerians living abroad.

According to him, the government intends to float a special financial instrument which will be issued for sale to such Nigerians. Also in the scheme is the planned establishment of a mechanism to advise and properly guide those who are willing to invest but who may have lost touch with the prevailing investment trend in the country.

This new drive is apparently based on the popular postulation that Nigerians living abroad repatriate billions of dollars annually. Some analysts have even placed the amount at over $20 billion while suggesting that the bulk of such remittances end up in the hands of family members back home who use them for feeding allowances, funerals, payment of school fees and medical bills, and also for the construction of exquisite country homes on behalf of their overseas benefactors.

But this multi-billion dollar assumption may be flawed if a recent revelation by Fola Kehinde, executive chairman of the African and Caribbean Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise (ACCCE) in the United Kingdom, is anything to take away.

Kehinde was at the head of a trade delegation which visited Port Harcourt, recently. And while speaking during a luncheon jointly organised by his chamber and the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), he was reported to have said that Diaspora Nigerians repatriate about $60 million (N9 billion) annually.

It is already obvious that Kehinde’s figure is a far cry from the $2 billion (about N300 billion) which the nation is targeting from its surmised yearly diaspora remittances.

Even as comparatively meager and ludicrous as Kehinde’s figure appears, it will be rather too hasty to dismiss it with a mere wave of the hand until an authentic official figure is made available. Unfortunately, there is hardly any such record anywhere because Nigeria had never reckoned with the economic potentials of her Diaspora citizens until now.

Apart from those who became foreign citizens by birth and, perhaps, students who won government scholarships to attend foreign schools and who chose to stay back on completion of their studies, the Nigerian Diaspora comprises mainly of emigrants whose movements where based on economic considerations. They are mostly people who fled the country during the infamous brain drain of the 1980s when the then military governments slammed an enduring embargo on employment as part of the harsh austerity measures of that era.

In those years, anybody who got disgusted with the system and sought to travel out of the country in search of better opportunities was seen as being lily-livered. Such was readily branded an Andrew and caricatured to no end. State-sponsored newspaper cartoons, radio and television jingles were massively deployed in this exercise. Yet the migrants remained undeterred. The lure of the thriving economies of Europe, Asia and the Americas was too tempting to resist. University teachers and other professionals left in their droves. Lesser folks who couldn’t afford an escape via the normal exits, trekked through the treacherous Sahara Desert.

Like their counterparts from other parts of the developing world, most of these migrant Nigerians have, over the years, laboured honourably to achieve successes in their various countries of domicile; so much so that their once scornful home-nation is now more inclined to show greater interest in their affairs and to also seek ways of involving them in national development.

It is apparently in realisation of this new resource base that the House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora, working with Nigerians In Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), is sponsoring a bill for the establishment of a commission for Nigerians living abroad.

Spearheaded by the committee’s chairman, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the bill seeks to recommend the involvement of such Nigerians in policy formulation and execution with a view to drawing from their reservoir of human, capital and material resources for the overall development of the country.

Countries like Mexico, Chile, Poland, Philippines, China and even our sister West African nation of Sierra Leone each has a long-established Diaspora institution that has been very vibrant in overseeing the welfare of its migrant population. And now that it has become fashionable for nations to facilitate the integration of their Diaspora citizens in the development of the homeland, the above-mentioned countries stand on a better moral ground to engage in such endeavour.

Sierra Leone’s approach is particularly instructive here. According to a source, “Sierra Leone’s Office of the Diaspora is directly under the Office of the President. It encourages the return of professionals and other experts from the Diaspora in order to fill critical human resources gaps within the country’s government. Specifically, the office provides a list of jobs in government departments, a list of educational institutions and professional associations in Sierra Leone, contact details of government officials, and information on dual citizenship and other acts.”

Again, Nigeria’s policy makers should avoid the delusion of thinking that patriotism alone is sufficient to guarantee a steady inflow of Diaspora investments. Of course, let it not be lost on anyone that the Diaspora comprises Nigerians with dual citizenship which invariably translates to double allegiance. Therefore, to assume that these Nigerians will, just for mere love of country, sell off their stakes in some blue chip and gilt-edged securities at the world’s most prestigious stock markets and have the proceeds re-invested in the stocks of a local African bourse, is to believe the absurd.

It will surely take more than guaranteed ministerial slots, security reassurances and sustained executive appeals to convince canny Diaspora investors that it is now safe to plough their hard-earned savings into the funding of development projects back home. Certainly not while they still read about high-level bribery and corruption scandals, wanton waste of public resources, bad roads and general decay of transport infrastructure, bureaucratic bottlenecks, unreliable electricity supply, insecurity of lives and property, multiple taxation, bank failures and frequent changes in government policies.

Like Dabiri- Erewa advocates, Nigeria should as well seek the political integration of her Diaspora citizens by establishing overseas voting centres to enable them participate in the nation’s democratic process. It will be utterly ridiculous to know that these foreign-based Nigerians vote in the general elections of their host countries whereas they hardly have a say in the election of the very politicians who will oversee the management of the proposed Diaspora Funds Pool.

Also, and as has already been done in a few states (including Rivers), the Federal Government should always lend the economy to periodic assessment by one or more of the American and world-renowned independent credit rating firms of Fitch, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Duff & Phelps. That way, Diaspora Nigerians and, indeed, the rest of the investing world will be better positioned to make informed judgments.

Ibelema Jumbo

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NPA Assures On Staff Welfare 

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The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has said the management will continue to accompany its port infrastructure  and equipment  modernization drive  with the development of the welfare of its personnel.
Dantsoho made the disclosure recently while responding to the commendation by the Maritime Workers Union (MWUN) and the senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASGOC) on the  clearing  of the age-long problem of employee stagnation, when the union paid him a courtesy visit at the Authority’s headquarters in Lagos.
A Statement by NPA’s General Manager Corporate & Strategic Communications, Mr. Ikechukwu Onyemekara, quoted Dantsoho as saying,  “our Port infrastructure and equipment modernization drive will go hand-in-hand with continuous staff welfare improvement”.
The NPA MD disclosed that human capital development constitutes the key strategy for creating and sustaining superior performance under his watch, adding that “talent development constitutes a critical success factor for the actualization of the big hairy audacious goals we have set for ourselves especially in the area of Port competitiveness.
“The only way we can meet and indeed exceed stakeholders’ expectations is to deepen the competencies of our human resources assets and boosting their morale.”
Speaking further, Dantsoho commended the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for approving the strategic proposal of the Dantsoho-led Management team that solved the over a decade-long problem of lack of promotion that had fuelled industrial disharmony.
“I must specially appreciate our amiable Minister for graciously approving the multi-pronged stratagem we deployed that cleared all outstanding cases of employee stagnation by conducting examinations in one fell swoop and instituted timelines to forestall a recurrence of such anomaly”, he sad.
Speaking on behalf of the joint maritime labour unions, the President  of Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations & Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), Comrade Bodunde stated, “In addition to clearance of the backlog of stagnated promotions, we also wish to express our appreciation for the increase in productivity bonuses, provision of end-of-year welfare packages for staff, and the revision of the Financial Guide to the Condition of Service, which now addresses our members’ concerns about inflationary pressures.”
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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ANLCA Chieftain Emerges FELCBA’s VP

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National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Elder Olumide Fakanlu, has been elected Vice President of the Federation of ECOWAS Licensed Customs Brokers Association (FELCBA).
The election took place during the FELCBA Congress, held from Tuesday, June 17th to Thursday, June 19th, 2025, in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Fakanlu’s emergence as Vice President marks a significant achievement for Nigeria within the regional customs brokerage community.
Apart from Fakanlu, Secretary of the Seme Chapter of ANLCA, Austin Nwosu, was also elected, securing the role of Secretary of Relations with Institutions.
The Nigerian delegation played an active role in the congress, with Michael Ebeatu nominated as a member of the electoral officer team, ensuring a fair and transparent election process.
The three-day congress concluded with delegates undertaking a visit to the Sierra Leone Port, offering insights into the host nation’s maritime operations, followed by a recreational trip to the Tokeh Beach.
The newly elected executives are expected to lead FELCBA in its efforts to harmonize customs brokerage practices, promote trade facilitation, and advocate for the interests of licensed customs brokers across the ECOWAS sub-region.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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NSC, Police Boost Partnership On Port Enforcement 

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In a bid to enhance more enforcement in the nation’s Port, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has reaffirmed its commitment to stronger inter-agency collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The Council said the collaboration is aimed at enhancing stronger enforcement, compliance and improve operational efficiency across Nigeria’s ports.
Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of  NSC, Dr. Pius Akutah, made this known during a visit to the  Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The visit, which he said, focused on strengthening institutional synergy, comes in the wake of growing responsibilities for the NSC under the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Akutah emphasized the critical role of security agencies in supporting port operations and ensuring regulatory compliance.
He called for the posting of police officers to assist the Council’s monitoring and enforcement teams at key port locations including Lagos, Warri, Onne, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.
“The posting will complement the activities of our revived task teams and enhance our ability to enforce standards across the maritime logistics chain”, he said.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Egbetokun, assured the Council of the Force’s readiness to continue supporting the growth of the maritime sector.
The IGP acknowledged that compliance enforcement is essential to the successful implementation of Nigeria’s Blue Economy objectives.
“The NSC and NPF are expected to deepen collaboration in the months ahead, with a shared focus on building a secure, efficient, and competitive port environment”, to the IGP emphasized.
Chinedu Wosu
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