The president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had recently shared his opinion and concern for those Nigerian citizens who had left the country for greener pastures abroad, soliciting that they do not forget home and also invest in making the country better especially economy-wise.
I would have to agree with Mr. President on the need for our diaspora brothers and sisters to invest their experiences and resources to improve our dear country. But my major concern is the fact that when these diaspora brothers return and invest in various sectors, what is the assurance that their investments, lives, and properties are secured?
A look at the outcome of the just concluded #endbadgovernment #protest; a 10-dayful protest demonstration turned out to be an avenue for the destruction of properties and some citizens losing their lives. Most of the properties destroyed were investments of private owners; people who have worked so hard to build a future for themselves.
If such businesses and establishments can come crumbling within such minimal time; then you would agree with me that it is easier to destroy than to build. Should it be that it takes a period of three, five, or more to build a business Network, empire, and establishments and a day to set them ablaze and see them burn to ashes? What, then, have we achieved?
I haven't been able to understand why we need to destroy properties, either privately or government-owned establishments before we are given the attention we seek; why must we be violent before we are heard? It is such a terrible experience and has portrayed us as violent beings to others.
How about the issue of banditry; which has become rampant these past few years, victims who are suspected to be wealthy are taken in and their family members or loved ones are forced to pay ransom for their release and cases where these victims' members cannot afford the pay, they are killed; only in few cases do the security agencies rescue the victims and apprehended the culprits.
As much as diasporas return to their country and improve the lifestyle of the society by creating job opportunities and putting their accumulative years of experience to work, we should not fail to realize that they can be easy prey for predators.
Apart from security challenges, another problem is that Nigerians do not appreciate, support, and value their own. Other countries are faced with racism, but so also is Nigeria; we have an ethnicism and tribalism problem.
This has always affected us, especially in decision-making; about 75% of the things around us are imported; a glance at our environment proves that, from the clothes, jewelry, and accessories we wear to the food we eat, the cars and automobiles we use, and even the fuel we consume. We have the mindset that those things produced in our localities are of inferior quality and prefer foreign products, thereby helping other countries grow their economy.
By comparing the standards of professionalism and discipline put in place abroad, in their companies, empires, and establishments, the difference is glaring even to the blind. You would notice that when it comes to professional attitude to work, here in Nigeria, only a few amongst the majority put in their best to grow or improve the organization they find themselves.
We have a nonchalant and lackadaisical attitude once we are not placed at the hem of affairs or if we are not the sole pioneers or owners in businesses, organizations, establishments, etc. So, a diaspora sees a disadvantage upon his return, and since he would need people to work with, he realizes that his employees may not have had the kind of exposure and training or even the kind of lifestyle he had experienced abroad.
In conclusion, fraud could also be another challenge that may hinder such development; many foreigners and diasporas who have wanted to invest in various countries or even their own countries as in the case of diasporas, fall victim to being duped by self-acclaimed agencies. They invest a lot of resources, but at the tail end, they realize that they have invested into thin air. Those cases that are more frequent are those who invest in real estate businesses or whose ambition is to acquire some piece of land and build up their ideas but end up losing their hard-earned resources.
I have taught long and hard and imagined that if a good number of Nigerian citizens living in diasporas decide to return home and contribute their quota of knowledge and experience, the question NOW would be; are we going to give them the necessary support they need? Can we assure them of the safety of their lives and properties? Will the government authorities, both Federal, State, and Local Government, encourage and support them? Or shall we oppose them just as the National Nigerian Petroleum corporation (NNPC) is opposing Aliko Dangote Aliko on Dangote's refinery? Let's be sincere and only then can we move forward.
Reference
President Tinubu Advises Nigerians Living Abroad to Return to Nigeria, Gives Reasons