Rt Hon Dimeji Bankole, the Speaker of the House of Representatives

Over the past decades millions of skilled Nigerians moved abroad in search of greener pastures. A new database for Nigerians in the Diaspora aims to reconnect these professionals with their homeland and put their skills to good use. Kayode Akinmade reports

Nigeria probably has more experts in all the fields of human endeavour abroad than at home. Indeed, the economic crunch, which hit the country in the 1980s, drove many out of the country. These Diaspora Nigerians, who left in droves in the search of the greener pastures, are yet to come back; scientists, medical doctors, artists, lecturers. And with the situation back home not what it should be, some of these Nigerians have decided to stay put in their adopted countries.

Their sojourn abroad is a great loss to the country and is akin to second slavery, since during the slave trade in the 18^th and part of the 19^th centuries, the best and the strongest blacks were transported in ships to Europe and the Americas.

However, unlike slavery, these crops of economic migrants have not totally abandoned the motherland as they still remember the homeland, albeit through financial remittances to families and relatives.

But, if properly harnessed, these experts can contribute meaningfully to the development of the country. And with the launch of a database for Nigerians based abroad, the dream of tapping from the fountain of knowledge of these experts could become a reality very soon.

The database is the idea of an organisation known as the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation in Europe (NIDOE).

The Global Database of Nigerians in Diaspora is an encyclopaedia of Nigerian professionals working abroad. And, according to Dr John George, chairman of NIDOE, the facility exists for both the private and the public sector in Nigeria to tap from.

"The data that shall be held in this databank shall be made available to both the public and the private sectors of Nigeria, to create opportunities for our nation to benefit from the vast skills that she has all over the world, towards national development", he said.

Speaking at the launch of the database in London, George dwelled on the character of the Nigerian, which he said, has ensured that he survives and excels anywhere he found himself. Such character, he noted, is responsible for appointing Nigerians to key positions in mega establishments all over the world and for Nigerians leaving lasting legacies in great universities and research institutions.

The database is registered with the Data Protection Commission in the United Kingdom, and according to George, as one the strictest regulatory bodies in the world, Nigerians can be assured of the highest respect for their privacy if they registered.

Dr George agreed that Nigerians abroad have a role to play in the march towards nationhood by contributing to the development of the homeland.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole puts it succinctly when he said that Nigeria is presently in a state where all hands must be on deck to steer her towards socio-economic and political development. And he said that from Nigerians abroad, indigenous skills can be harnessed for national development.

Bankole, who delivered the keynote address at the launch of the database, maintained that the time has come for Diaspora Nigerians to go beyond financial remittances to families and relatives and be active participants in the efforts to pull the country out of her present economic malaise. This, he added, can be done even without relocating back home with the advent of information and communications technology.

Bankole, who spoke on the theme Indigenous Skills Abroad at the Service of the Nation, said Nigerians abroad remit US$18 billion annually back home. "I dare say that hitherto, the major mode of contribution by our citizens abroad to our national development is through financial remittances to relatives back home.

"Another significant avenue takes place in the medical sector when teams of medical specialists visit for some emergency episodic interventions. However, I am convinced that we can benefit much more from those of you here.

"All over the world, Nigerians can boast of skilled professionals in the health, engineering, financial, agricultural and other key sectors. In the academia, literary and entertainment world, we can be reckoned with as leading examples. The majority of our people in these categories, I am convinced, are willing to be at the services of national development in the areas of their specialties, if avenues and infrastructure are provided for," he said.

Indeed, the Nigerian parliament is also not unaware of the importance of the Diaspora Nigerians. Only recently, the House of Representatives established a full fledged House Standing Committee on Diaspora, with versatile broadcaster and a Reps member, Abike Dabiri-Erewa as its chairperson, according to Bankole. The committee is to work in tandem with Nigerians abroad to exploit their potentials towards the rapid development of the country. Bankole also stated that the House is tinkering with the idea of a National Commission on Diaspora, and according to him, the database would be very useful to the Commission when eventually established.

The Speaker raised the hopes of Nigerians at home and abroad when he said that the House and the present government are desirous of eliminating corruption from the body politic. He said: "The House has taken its oversight responsibilities seriously with positive results in the revelation of graft, as we begin to consider the reports of various investigations. It is hoped that legislation will be enacted to check corruption as well as provide measures to be taken by the Executive arm of government to prevent lapses in its implementation. When we succeed in enthroning good governance, probity, transparency and anti-corruption through these initiatives, then, I am sure some of you would want to relocate to Nigeria thereby rendering services to the nation."

Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the UK, Dalhatu Sarki Tafida while speaking at the launch said Nigerians abroad are committed to giving back their expertise, knowledge and services to their country.

"Nigeria blessed with abundant human capital and other natural resources but there is no single database of Nigerian professionals at home and abroad. Such a global database would be available to governments at all levels, agencies and other interested parties as a means of mobilising and harnessing the expertise and acclaimed entrepreneurial spirit of our countrymen and women who currently reside in various parts of the world, for the benefit of the country," he said.

According to the High Commissioner, in the global economy of today, access to knowledge and to those who possess such knowledge serve as an ingredient to national economic development efforts. The Federal Government, he said, supports the database with the hope that it will assist in the formulation and execution of policies that would transform Nigeria and launch it into one of the best 20 economies in the world by 2020.

Calling on the NIDOE to ensure the sustenance, expansion and regular updating of the project, Tafida called on governments and the private sector to ensure that they buy into the project for the benefit of Nigerians.