Some state governors attending the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) including Mohammed Bago and Caleb Mutfwang of Niger and Plateau states, respectively, are pressing the Nigerian Diaspora to consider investing their money in profit-yielding initiatives such as agriculture and health now being undertaking in their states.
They spoke at a discussion event organized by the UN Staff Recognition Council, Nigeria Association, at the sidelines of the General in New York on Tuesday night.
The Niger governor told the audience that under his stewardship, the state has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth about $1 billion coming as Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), noting that his administration also wants to channel Diaspora funds into transportation, health, education projects among others.
“And I want to say in the last one year of my stewardship as a governor of Niger State, I have seen prosperity in agriculture. I’m bigger than Nigerian agriculture. I can say that boldly. In the last six months, I have signed treaties and MOUs worth over a billion US dollars, and these are coming as FDI.
“I have partnership with the United Nations Development agency and other development partners, companies like Bayer, like John Deere and so many other companies, even the UAE, they’ve just given me 1 million stoves so that my people can transition out of using fossil fuel,” he said.
Noting the Diaspora contribution to the growth of the Nigerian economy so far, he argued that mere remittances to family and friend alone is not enough, adding: “We need to identify exactly what we want do we want to channel resources from Diaspora in housing, in transportation, in health, in education.
“This conversation must be around this subject, in agriculture, in production, not this one that you send money to somewhere, to your uncles or aunties and they will build their house for themselves and add additional wives.”
“So, I’m basically agrarian. Livestock in my local market, I sell weekly, an average of 1 million cattle weekly. So, if I sell cattle and I charge 10,000 Naira per cattle, I’ll be making 20 billion naira from that market.
“So, for those of you who are in Diaspora, you want to invest in livestock or in slaughterhouses or in the meat business, look at the numbers. They are very clear. So you know exactly where you want to invest in,” Bago counseled.
In his remark, Governor Mutfwang noted that though many Nigerians in Diaspora want to invest in states, the issue of adequate remuneration has been an obstacle.
He, therefore, suggested the emplacement of a structure that can overcome the snag and enable interested Nigerian investors abroad to put in their money in local developmental initiatives.
The Plateau governor stated: “Now, there are many people in the Diaspora, or many people outside the government now, whose capacity to add value to what we are doing cannot be questioned. But the challenge we have is that we do not have the remuneration package to bring them on board. So one of the things the Diaspora community can do is to see how we can put heads together and manage this gap.
“Can we have a buffer that allows people of intellectual capacity, economic network, social capital, to come back home and add value to what we are doing. But if they are coming back home, they are returning as your ambassadors, and therefore they ought to be supported. We can put a structure to this.
“I’m excited about the figures that we are talking about, the Diaspora remittances. But like Governor Bago mentioned, we need to put a structure to it. What is coming so far is just social largess we are not feeling the impact. We don’t understand where those monies are going into and therefore we can guide you.
“One area of guidance, for example, I believe almost every state we have in the Plateau State, where we have the medical insurance scheme, rather than send money to an uncle, you can actually enroll a lot of people into the insurance scheme. And with that you have killed two birds with one stone. We have built capacity for the state, and you have also provided health care for some of your relations.
“So, we can put a structure to this that it becomes a win, win situation for us. And what Governor Bago mentioned very much as investment opportunities, they abound. I can tell you that before the year rolls out, I’m planning to close five to six deals you know, that are going to inject funds into the economy in my state, and our strategy, also in agriculture, is export oriented.
“We want to take advantage of AGOA. We want to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. These are things we are working on, but often than not, the skill set that we find available to drive these processes is inadequate and that is where the Diaspora community can come in.
“Put yourselves together and be able to offer consultancy even if it’s at a cheaper price than what some of the foreigners are offering. And at the end of the day, you have helped your country, you have driven the economy and you yourself will be relieved of certain burdens because I can tell you that you are as wealthy and comfortable as the poorest person in your community.
“As long as you do not alleviate the levels of people in your community, you yourself will not be comfortable. So, this is a very critical challenge that we need to face together.”
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