Over 20m Nigerians Live In Europe- Remittances Hits $4bn
Aderemi Ojikutu
statistics for us. In this combined report by Sheriff Balogun and Funmi
Peter-Omale, I see a challenge for the bulk of youths at home to
generate foreign income while at home. A growing number of youths are
now Google Adsense publishers and are making good earnings from this
source. Some of their publishing websites competes better than most
Nigerian print media online in terms of traffic and Alexa rankings. If
20 million Nigerians abroad are remmiting over $4 Billion Dollars back
home annually, how much can the crowd of unemployed youth add to the
economy?
1. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has estimated
that about 20million Nigerians are in the Diaspora and dispersed all
over the globe.
Okonjo-Iweala who spoke during the Nigerian Diaspora Day and 2nd
Science and Technology Conference with the theme 'The Role of the
Nigerian Diaspora in National Economic Development' said majority of
Nigerians in the diaspora lives in Europe (Britain, Germany, France,
Italy, Dublin, Ukraine, among other countries) and the Americas (the
United States, Canada, Brazil and the Caribbean), adding that others
live in Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, South Africa and in other West African
countries.
According to her "our citizens in the diaspora constitute a national
asset. We have some highly skilled professionals, who could serve as a
channel for technology transfer and new investments in our country".
She noted the day was set aside by Mr. President to recognize the
contributions of Nigerians in Diaspora to national development, as
well as to celebrate their individual and collective successes.
She added that it was also a day that draws our attention to them as
stakeholders in the current economic and political reforms, saying that
the occasion was part of the Federal Government strategy to consciously
mobilize and encourage the involvement of Nigerians in Diaspora in the
development process of our country.
2. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday said
remittances to Nigeria from the Diaspora have hit over $4 billion.
She spoke at a gala night organised in honour of Nigerians in the
Diaspora on Monday evening at Transcorp-Hilton Hotel, where a large
applause from the crowd signified an appreciation of the assistance
funds from abroad.
She said: "Remittances today are becoming an important source of
income for many countries, and sometimes surpassing exports as the
source of foreign exchange. The World Bank estimates that about $167
billion in remittances was sent to developing countries in 20o4.
"It is estimated that sub-Saharan Africa receives about $7.7 billion
in inward remittances, with Nigeria accounting for nearly $3 billion.
These are all, however, conservative estimates and economists agree
that the actual values may be up to 50 percent higher. So in the case
of Nigeria, we are looking at a total value of remittances of over $4
Billion! This is a valuable source of income for the country, and it is
some thing we want to encourage."
According to her, in today's world with rapid globalization and
international migration, the Diaspora communities have become
increasingly important for their parent countries.
The minister listed countries that had benefited from the Diaspora to
include Mexico, India, Morocco, Israel and Jamaica. "The potential
benefits of the Diaspora could accrue via remittances they send back
home, serving as a channel for trade and investments, and also
providing technology and skills transfer upon their return to their
countries of origin."
Okonjo-Iweala said government was developing a data base of Nigerian
experts abroad in order to better access the pool of expertise abroad.
"This will be useful in two ways- first to enable government obtain
access to Nigerian professionals abroad for their skills and expertise;
and second, to encourage interaction among Nigerian professionals who
may share common interests."
She stressed that the Nigerian National Volunteer Service (NNVS)( was
established as a concrete initial step, saying the service was aimed at
providing opportunities for the Diasporas retirees to work in
meaningful projects back home.
The Minister of Foreign affairs lamented that Nigeria's performance
in the global economy remained poor in the last few decades.
"Our share of global trade has been very low. For example: in 2004,
total exports from sub-Saharan Africa amounted to $142 billion (or only
1.6 percent of world merchandise exports). Nigeria, with all our oil
and gas, exported about $37 billion (or only 0.42 percent of World
exports.) This is very low when we compare ourselves to countries such
as Brazil (at $96 billion), Malaysia (at $126 billion), or even Korea
(at $254 billion)."
She said government was doing its best to improve investment climate,
ensure macroeconomic stability, to develop appropriate institutions to
support various initiatives by the private sector.
"We have put in place prudent fiscal policies, improved our public
expenditure management and maintained disciplined monetary policy. The
improved macroeconomic environment has provided the platform for
sustained growth in the real sectors", she maintained.
She urged Nigerians in Diaspora to transfer their skills and
technologies back home send their remittances and channel trade and
investments back home.