Remittances from Nigerians living abroad are now considered an economic force in the country’s progress, according to Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chair of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM). At the state house in Abuja on Thursday, Dabiri-Erewa gave an update on Nigerians living abroad. She claimed that the money sent home by Nigerians living abroad was four times greater than the FDI inflows seen in 2021. According to Dabiri-Erewa, FDI was $4.8 billion in 2021 while diaspora home remittances were $20 billion.
She continued by stating that the remittances make up roughly 6.1% of Nigeria’s annual gross domestic product (GDP). According to Dabiri-Erewa, Nigeria and Nigerians must understand the importance of Nigerians in the diaspora because they have continued to provide their skills and resources to the development of Nigeria in various sectors such as health, education, technology, finance, transportation, housing, entertainment, etc. Diaspora home remittances totaled $20,000 billion in 2021, compared to $4.8 billion in foreign direct investment. Therefore, diaspora home remittances are four times more than FDI and account for around 6.1 percent of our yearly GDP. Diaspora direct investment is a word we used to describe how our diaspora [community] is now an economic factor for development (DDI).
The “quality of human resources that Nigeria boasts of in the diaspora,” continued Dabiri-Erewa, “shows the effectiveness of the foreign policy of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.” She claims that particularly “with the recent advent of distinguished Nigerians heading key global organizations in the global comity of Nations,” there is a revived enthusiasm for and admiration for Nigeria throughout the world. To guarantee that Nigerians’ rights are upheld in the many nations where her nationals reside, the Nigerian government, through the ministry of foreign affairs, has so far played a crucial role and offered much-needed leadership, according to Dabiri-Erewa.
However, she said that there are still a lot of issues that Nigerians living overseas must urgently be addressed by the government.
