Nigerians in Diaspora, brain-power for development, says Maduekwe

Chief Ojo Maduekwe, minister of foreign affairs has said that Nigerians living abrode would become the brain-power for rapid and social transformation in the 21st century.
Maduekwe made the statement at the Diaspora Celebration Day in London on Wednesday.
He said that since the restoration of democracy in Nigeria, the challenges before successive governments had been how to effectively leverage the skills, expertise and huge potential of Nigerians.
``In doing this, however, we must not seek to diminish their continued contributions to growth and development of their host countries.
``Among the Nigerian Diaspora are highly qualified doctors, engineers, solicitors, advocates and sundry professionals.
``They are making tremendous contribution to the economic and social development of the United Kingdom, statistics do tell the story,’’ he said.
Maduekwe noted that often times, host countries had unfairly treated Nigerians in spite, of tremendous boost to the economic and social development in those countries.
``In as much as Nigerians abroad make great contributions to host countries, they can make even greater contribution to their home country.
``Already the contribution of Nigerians to the investment funds through strategic remittance is well acknowledged by the government and the World Bank.
``In 2007, Nigerians abrode contributed about $251 billion to developing economies worldwide.
``Also the Managing director Of the World Bank, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has estimated that Nigerians can add about N40 billion dollars to the Nigerian economy through remittances,’’ he said.
Maduekwe noted that those who were migrating to foreign countries were those who had the incentives and ability to challenge the institutional deterioration in their countries of domicile.
``Remittance alone cannot compensate for your absence from Nigeria; we need to engage your intelligence and political energy to build a better country.
``Given your share numbers there is obvious need to be engaging in the democratic process, including voting.
``I believe we can do a lot more to tap into the immense resources of Nigerians, especially your talented and skilled Diaspora in the United Kingdom.
``For this to be effective however, we need to redesign and fine tune the structure of this engagement back at home and determine how strategic partners and friends such as the United kingdom can assist in making this possible,’’he added.