Foreign Policy and Nigerians in Diaspora: An Analysis of President
Goodluck Jonathan’s Foreign Policy Review (2011)
By
Adelusi, O.P. (Ph.D)
e-mail:adelusiolufemi@gmail.com;
and
Oluwashakin, A. (Ph.D)
Abstract
The paper examined Nigerian foreign policy
since 1999 and the gradual importance being accorded Nigerians in the Diaspora.
It posited that from the minimal attempt made by former President
OlusegunObasanjo during his tenure to always hold meetings with Nigerians
living in the countries visited by him, to organize medical teams and sent them
to selected states in Nigeria by Nigerians in Diaspora, there has been gradual
recognition being given to them in the scheme of things. The study unveiled the
new developments concerning the Nigerians in Diaspora, such as the creation of
a committee of the House of Representatives in Diaspora, acknowledging their
involvement and contributions towards Nigeria’s omnibus economic state.
President Goodluck has made concerted efforts to review (reform) Nigeria’s
foreign policy to be investment oriented. In this regard, the role of Nigerians
in the Diaspora is viewed as crucial to vigorously market the country as a
conducive environment to do business. But that cannot be divorced from the need
to have a sustained democratic good governance to leverage their expertise for
national development.
1. Introduction
Nigerian foreign policy crisis in
the last 50 years calls for concern and urgent need of reorientation. The
concern and reorientation can be addressed from several factorial areas. One of
such areas is currying the expertise of Nigerians in the Diaspora. These
Nigerians abroad are among the best of minds in the field of technological
developments. Given their integrity and resources in their various host
countries, and the scandalous image and economic crises the Nigerian state is
burdened with, they have a role to play in the Nigerian foreign policy
investment agenda. Most of these Nigerians in the Diaspora are competent,
successful professionals whose contributions could be enormous towards national
image redemption and economic development. But a high premium is demanded for
democratic good governance to encourage and attract these Diaspora Nigerians to
invest at home. Good governance is required, and can be acquired to articulate
a robust foreign policy.
President Goodluck Jonathan,
following his victory in the 2011 elections, before the anxious 100 days in
office, directed the Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations
(PACIR) to coordinate the reviewing (reforming) Nigeria’s current foreign
policy to be investment oriented. Coupled with his interactive pulse with
Nigerians abroad during his foreign visits, the President asked the nation’s
foreign policy experts, seasoned diplomats, professionals and the
intelligentsia to ‘chart a new way for the future without discarding the past’
(Onuorah and Oghogho, The Guardian
(Lagos), August 2, 2011, p. 1). Given this intent, the analysis proceeds in
five parts, with this introductory section as the first part. The second part
takes a cursory look at the background to Nigeria’s foreign policy and a
theoretical framework of analysis. In part three, a case is made for the
Diasporas in Nigeria’s foreign policy. Part four examines the contributions of
the Diaspora to evolve a robust foreign policy, particularly the involvement
and the contributions diasporan Nigerians can make to enhance the country’s
economic development. Section five draws a conclusion on the strength of the
analysis presented.
2. Background to Nigeria’s Foreign Policy
and A Framework of Analysis
Background to Nigeria’s Foreign Policy
From the cradle of the Nigerian
statehood in 1960, the principles of Nigerian foreign policy had remained profoundly
as follows:
The principal
objective of Nigeria’s foreign policy, indeed that of any country, is to
promote and protect the country’s national interest in its interaction with the
outside world and relationship with specific countries in the international
system. There is a general agreement in Nigeria that these national interests
consist of (i) the defence of the country’s sovereignty, independence and
territorial integrity, (ii) the restoration of human dignity to black men and
women all over the world, particularly the eradication of colonialism and white
minority rule from the face of Africa, (iii) the creation of the relevant
political and economic conditions in Africa and the rest of the world which
will not only facilitate the preservation of the territorial integrity and
security of all African countries but also foster national self-reliance in
African countries, (iv) the promotion and improvement of the economic wellbeing
of the Nigerian citizens, and (v) the promotion of world peace with justice.
(Olusanya and Akindele, 1986:511).
For 50 years, the thrust of Nigerian
foreign policy has remained Afrocentric, which has paid off with the total
decolonization of the continent. In particular, the dynamism of the Nigerian
foreign policy had its “golden era” during the 1975/76 Murtala – Obasanjo
military government which orchestrated the eventual liquidation of apartheid in
South Africa. During the Babangida military administration, (1985-1993),
Nigeria had Economic Diplomacy as foreign policy thrust, which has continued to
the president Jonathan’s civilian government in one form or another. But not
much has been gained from the country’s foreign policy in terms of economic relations
with the international community, except the minimal (about 60%) foreign debt
write-off under Obasanjo’s administration in 2006. This arguably, explains, the
current review of the country’s foreign policy to be investment-oriented,
realizing that “you don’t give for free in international relations without
getting something back in return”. (RaheemOluwafunminiyi, The Nation, 2011. http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.
php/editorial/letters/9168-as-jonathan-rebrands-nigeria%E2%...)
Retrieved July, 30, 2011).
A Framework of Analysis
Foreign policy is a stimulating body
of study due to its dynamic nature. Joseph Frankel aptly captures this essence
when he states that ‘foreign policy is a dynamic process of interaction between
the changing domestic demand and supports and the changing external
environments (Frankel 1975:9; Dauda 2002:2). Although foreign policy may take
on various definitions, however, there is general consensus that foreign policy
is all about national goals and the ways and means of articulating and
achieving them. It also include a common recognition that foreign policy is not
only a by-product of the external forces to which it is focused, but also as
much determined by domestic factors and forces (Birai 1983:115; Dauda 2002:2).
Aside from the dynamism and forces
that shape foreign policy, there is equally the all important aspect of the
several approaches to the study of foreign policy. These approaches include liberalism, realism, decision model,
linkage, policy making model and personality approach. Of these approaches,
the linkage approach to the analysis
of foreign policy holds that there is a link between domestic processes
(politics, economics, social, cultural, religion, and so on) and the external
situation towards which foreign policy is focused. (Dauda, 2002:24). Reflecting
on the imperative of domestic factors to the understanding of the dynamics of
foreign policy, Rosenau comments:
Domestic factors
may be of considerable significance even if they are not primary sources of
foreign policy and on some issues they may well be dominant (Rosenau 1967:2).
Indeed, Rosenau defines the linkage
idea as “any recurrent sequence of behavior that originates in one system and
is reacted to in another” (Rosenau 1967:45).
Dauda points to the two important
features of the linkage concept as: (i) the general context it provides for a
link to be established between the domestic situation of a country and the
external environment in which foreign policy is being analysed. The idea of a
linkage between the domestic situation and foreign environment allows for an
analysis that sufficiently examines the extent to which interaction between the
two environments can create a hindrance to the formulation of an efficient
foreign policy, (ii) the linkage approach equally provides a specific context
for knowing the extent to which specific forces can positively or negatively
impinge on the success of a given foreign policy (Birai 1996:13; Dauda
2002:25).
The linkage between domestic and
foreign situations that result in a country’s overall foreign policy is what
Kegley and Wittkop call intermestic
politics (Kegley and Wittkop 2001:62).
Of the various approaches to the
analysis of foreign policy, the linkage approach seems to be most appropriate
for this paper. First, because it holds that there is a link between domestic
processes such as social, political, and economic factors. As President
Jonathan succinctly says:
I agree with those
who feel that a review is necessary to inject new dynamism into our foreign
policy. It is about how we can deploy our foreign policy to the service of our
domestic aspirations and priorities (The
Guardian (Lagos), August 2, 2011, p.1).
Second, the linkage approach
provides a specific context which identifies the extent to which specific
issues can positively or negatively exert influence on achievement of a given
policy. Again, as affirmatively stated by Vice President NamadiSambo,
acknowledging the prime place of diasporan Nigerians:
As a group, the
Diaspora constitutes a force for positive change which should be maximally
harnessed for the development of our homeland (Sambo: The Punch, July 26, 2011, (www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201107263332446).
Clearly, Sambo recognized the
Nigerians in Diaspora as critical ‘stakeholders in the Nigerian project’. As
the rest of the analysis will reveal, the Nigerian government under President
Jonathan is poised to rejuvenate Nigerian foreign policy to be investment
oriented in which domestic economic factor is linked to foreign investment
inflow, in which the expertise of the Diaspora is a critical factor.
3. The
Diaspora in Nigeria’s Foreign Policy
Diasporans migrated from their
homelands to different parts of the world, especially to the developed
countries in search of economic well-being, in most cases. The International
Organization for Migration (IOM) based in Geneva, Switzerland, estimates that
African States might have lost one third of their skilled population to
economic migration. While some migrated on their own volition, others were
forced to move out due to economic hardship and socio-political recklessness of
govenrments. In the eighties, for instance, many Nigerian professionals and
academics (University teachers) left the shores of Nigeria in scores to escape
the highhandedness of the military governments, in search of better pay and
freedom. Most of them migrated to the developed countries of the West and
Middle East.
According to the Presidential
Committee set up in 1988 to look into the flow of migration of professionals,
‘about 10,694 professionals left Nigerian tertiary institutions between 1986
and 1990. An estimated 30,000 persons also left the country from both public
and private organizations’ (UcheIgwe, The
Punch, July 21, 2011, p. 16). It is also believed that some 53,470
lecturers might have left Nigerian universities till date. In 1995, some 21,000
Nigerian medical doctors were said to be practicing in the United States alone,
far more than the number of doctors in the entire Nigerian public service at
that time (Igwe, The Punch, July 21,
2011, p. 16). These staggering figures and the number of Nigerians abroad,
including thousands of nurses, engineers and other professionals. This is the
large bodies of skilled manpower that constitute Nigerians in Diaspora towards
whom the review or reform of current Nigerian foreign policy should be partly
focused.
Chinua Akukwe has rightly argued
that the refocused foreign policy should “attract Nigeria’s best minds and
practitioners in international relations, global economy, political history,
statecraft issues, bilateral and multilateral partnerships” (Akukwe 2011). Specifically,
Akukwe states:
The relationship
between Nigeria and Nigerians in the Diaspora will increasingly grow in
importance in a refocused foreign policy. Today, Nigerians in the Diaspora have
a formidable online presence, with media sites owned by members of the Diaspora
already exerting oversized influence on governance and accountability issues in
the polity (www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?
Retrieved 7/27/2011).
Process of Grafting the Diaspora as Foreign
Policy Content
Once there is a political will there
will always be a political way to establish and actualize a recognized and an
accepted idea. The recognition of the Nigerians in Diaspora as a foreign policy
resource has set in motion the process of formulation of foreign policy around
it. At the 5th National Diaspora Conference, organized by the Office
of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim,
affirmed that the Nigerians in the Diaspora “constituted the human capital
necessary for development”. (The Punch, July 26, 2011; www.punchng.com/Article.aspx?theartic=Art201107263332446.
Retrieved 7/30/2011). In the same vein, the Vice President Sambo declares: “We
recognize you (the Diaspora) as important stakeholders in the Nigerian
project”. Indeed, the Jonathan Administration has called on the Nigerian
Diaspora Community to join hands with it for the transformation of the
fatherland. (Geoffrey Teneilabe 2011, http://nigeria-consulate.atl.org/site/?p=707.
Retrieved 7/20/2011).
What is expected of the Diaspora is
simple and unambiguous. Teneilabe, Nigeria’s Consul-General in Atlanta, USA,
cites what other diaspora communities are doing to advance the economy of their
home countries:
The Diaspora
communities of the states of Israel, Labanon, Egypt, India, Pakistan and even
Ghana made and continue to make significant contributions to the development of
their respective countries…. The focus of Nigerian Foreign Policy, besides
Citizen Diplomacy, is Economic Diplomacy, which you (Nigerians in Diaspora) can
help government to drive to its logical conclusion (http://nigeria-consulate-atl.org/site/?p=707).
The grafting of Nigerians in
Diaspora as foreign policy content has taken some processes including
international public relations drive, part of which has been alluded to above. Other processes
include legislation to ensure their voting right, an establishment of a
Diaspora Commission in the National Assembly and a Functional Diaspora
Organizations in several foreign countries.
Nigerians in Diaspora Organization (NIDO)
The formation of Nigerians in
Diaspora Organization is significant as a credible body that the Nigerian
government can partner with at official diplomatic level. NIDO exists to:
- Encourage the participation of Nigerians in Diaspora in the affairs of the country.
- Provide a forum to organizations for the exchange of views and experience
- Through networking, enhance the image of Nigeria in all ramifications.
- Partner with Nigerian stakeholders in pursuance of national development
- Build a database of Nigerians with professional skills and make such database available for the benefit of government, the private sector and Nigeria’s partners.
NIDO has
functional chapters in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France,
Italy, Greece, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, Belgium and Luxembourg, Finland,
Poland, Sweden, Russian Federation, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine. It needs to
be stressed that in each country, NIDO should have its secretants within
Nigerian Missions abroad for easy coordination and efficiency. (http://www.nidoeurope.org/nideo/shtml/index.html).
Retrieved July 30, 2011.
Nigeria Diaspora Alumni Network (NIDAN)
As NIDO exists overseas to take care
of Nigerians currently living abroad, as partial or permanent residents, so
also Nigeria Diaspora Alumni Network (NIDAN) exists at the domestic level to
accommodate diaspora returnees. NIDAN is an organized body, established to
function as an independent, non-governmental, non-political and non-partisan
forum for Nigerians in the Diaspora aimed at “promoting and advancing economic,
political, social and professional interest of Nigerians who have spent at
least one year outside the country, and have returned to contribute to national
development” (The Nation (Lagos),
July 20, 2011, p. 38).
NIDAN was formed October 1, 2010, to
accommodate Nigerians who have either finally returned to the country or are
spending major part of their times in the country. Basically, its modus oprandi is networking, investment
promotion, national image projection, collaborative pairing, political pursuit,
among others, including mentoring those who are still apprehensive or
pessimistic to return home.
NIDAN operation is founded on ‘the
principle of global best practices in every aspect of national development and
draws its membership from a wide array of Nigerian professionals and academics
with diverse skills acquired during their residence abroad. Membership of the
Network is structured such that it allows every member the opportunity to act
as a change agent in all sectors of the nation’s economy through participation
in one of its 12 fora (The Nation (Lagos),
July 20, 2011, p. 38).
The wide array of membership of
NIDAN is set to increase by over 400 Nigerians in the Diaspora, who have
registered to return to the country. TaiyeHaruna, Permanent Secretary,
Political Affairs, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation
(SGF), affirms that over 400 Diasporas registered to come back to Nigeria to
contribute to the growth of the economy. Haruna says:
The government has,
over the last four years, intensified efforts to mobilize and engage the
Nigerian diaspora towards national development agenda. The diaspora engagement
policy is driven, by the need to harness the immense human capital and
resources of Nigerians living abroad for the development of the nation – state
(Franca Ochigo, The Nation (Lagos)
July 22, 2011, p.5).
A Bill to Establish Nigerians in Diaspora Commission
A Bill has been proposed to
establish Nigerians in Diaspora Commission. In 2009, the Bill was proposed with
this explanatory memorandum:
This Bill seeks to
establish Nigerians in Diaspora (Establishment) Commission, provide for the
engagement of Nigerians in diaspora in the policies, projects and participation
in the development of Nigeria and for the purpose of utilizing the human,
capital and material resources of Nigerians in diaspora towards the overall
socio-economic, cultural and political development of Nigeria.
The function of the Commission shall
be:
(a)
to register adult citizens of Nigeria who reside
outside Nigeria as a member of Nigerians Diaspora in their respective continent
and any other continents to which they might relocate from the commencement of
this Bill;
(b)
to issue a coded Commission membership card, to the
member which shall bear his/her passport photograph and other coded
information;
(c)
to assist the Government in policy formulation and
implementation in the areas where foreign expertise is required:
(d)
to proffer mechanisms for identifying and involving
qualified Nigerians and expert in developing relevant policies and operations
in all sectors of Nigeria and such mechanisms shall extend to implementations
and success;
(e)
to invest and execute meaningful project in
collaboration with various Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies;
(f)
to enhance projects introduced by the Nigerians in
diaspora and maintain interministerial co-ordination.
(g)
to liaise with the Nigerians in diaspora and identify
their needs in pursuit of national development;
(h)
to facilitate diaspora contact with government agencies
at all levels of Government;
(i)
to ensure that all proposals from the Nigerians in
diaspora to Government on developmental issues are presented at the appropriate
quarter;
(j)
to ensure Nigerians in diasporas’ participation in the
planning and execution of major activities and projects centered on
socio-economic, cultural and political goal;
(k)
to facilitate effective working relationship between
NIDO, professional groups, socio-cultural groups and other diaspora groups;
(l)
to collate data and information on developmental
aspirations either requested from bodies in Nigeria or proposed from the
Nigerians in diaspora and provide to the interested parties;
(m)
to engage in research in relevant areas in respect of
its functions whenever the need arises; and
(n)
to institute strategies, promote and market the skills
of NIDO members, professional groups and socio-cultural groups in order to fund
and facilitate the Organization.
This
Bill is being sponsored by Hon. AbikeDabiri-Erewa, among other seventeen
co-sponsors. If the Bill becomes law, it will formally establish the Nigerians
in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) and placed under the Federal Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. The composition of the Board of the Commission, among others,
shall include “a representative each from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Nigerian Embassies, Consulates and Missions, qualified in that regard for not
less than ten years. Also, representatives each from Nigerian in Diaspora
Organization in: the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Professional
Groups, and Socio-cultural groups from various continents and countries with
not less than 10 years experience in foreign affairs and Nigerian matters”.
Voting Rights of Nigerians in Diaspora
According
to Teneilabe, the Consul-General in Atlanta, Georgia, USA,
The Federal
Government had already promised to work with the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) and other organs of government with a view to reviewing the
necessary laws to ensure that Nigerians in Diaspora exercise their franchise in
future polls. (http://nigeria-consulate.atl.org/site/?p=707.
Retrieved July 30, 2011).
Prior
to President Jonathan’s promised initiative to work with INEC to review the
necessary laws to ensure that the Diaspora exercise their franchise, an action
had been initiated earlier on: “Pursuant to the judgement of the Federal High
Court, Abuja, delivered by Justice A. Bello, dated 18th December
2008, in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/370/2007 Between Hon. OLUWAFOLAJIMI AKEEM BELLO
and 19 Others vs Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Attorney
General of the Federation.
The
judgement of this case engendered a memorandum for the insertion of a section
in the Electoral Act of Nigeria, to enable Nigerians in foreign countries to
participate in both Presidential and Gubernatorial elections in Nigeria. The
insertion to the amended Electoral Act is: “Section (XXX): Rights of
non-resident citizens of Nigeria to vote”.
The
section reads in part:
(1)
Subject to the provisions of the Constitution and notwithstanding any provision
to the contrary in this Act or any other Act of the National Assembly, a citizen
of Nigeria of the age of eighteen years and above, resident in a country or
territory outside Nigeria shall be eligible to vote in all Presidential and
Gubernatorial elections (general, bye-, and supplementary) held in the
Federation; provided that such non-resident voter is not subject to any legal
incapacity to vote and is registered as a Nigerian citizen in the Nigerian
Embassy or High Commission in the country of residence.
(2)
Accordingly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (the Commission)
shall make rules to enable Nigerian foreign residents of the age of eighteen
years and above to vote in all Presidential and Gubernatorial elections held in
the federation, to include but not limited to the following:
(a)
Registration Procedure;
(b) Qualification
for registration and eligibility to vote;
(c)
The use of Nigerian embassies and missions and any
other designated centers as polling venues;
(d) Designation
of electoral functions to Nigerian Ambassadors and Heads of Mission and any
other governmental and non-governmental entities;
(e)
Vote counting in the foreign countries;
(f)
Release of votes counts in the foreign countries; and
(g) Carrying
out such other activities and duties as are necessary in giving effect to the
provisions of this Act.
Beyond
these provisions of voting rights of Nigerians in the Diaspora, for their votes
to count and meaningful, there should be mechanisms to ensure the conduct of
fair, free and credible elections in Nigerians. In this regard, the gains of
2011 elections which have been adjudged as free, fair and credible by both
domestic and foreign observers must be sustained. This will build confidence in
Diaspora Nigerians that their votes not only count but also a stable polity is
ensured and a conducive business environment is guaranteed. With a renewed
confidence in the country’s democratic consolidation, the diaspora Nigerians
can join “to articulate and vigorously market the country as a conducive
environment and viable economy to do business with”.
With
the diaspora organizational structures known as the Nigerians in Diaspora
Organization and Nigeria Diaspora Alumni Network in place and, when the
Nigerians in Diaspora Commission bill becomes law and as their voting rights
are ensured and incorporated into the Nigerian foreign policy as being documented
by the Jonathan administration, Nigerians in the Diaspora become or form part
of the contents of Nigerian foreign policy in the 21st century.
4. Contributions
of the Diaspora Nigerians
Nigerians
in the Diaspora and the Nigerian government both recognize the need to develop
their country. Diaspora Nigerians have come together under the aegis of NIDO
and NIDAN, while the former is off-shore-based, and the latter is
on-shore-based. Both organizations can work collaboratively or separately, but
all towards achieving the same goal of civic responsibility of contributing
their quota to the Nigerian national development. They are doing this is
several ways but three of such ways are noteworthy: financial remittance,
medical support and technological transfer.
In
clear terms, the areas Nigeria needs all round assistance include reliable
Power Supply, Infrastructure, Food supply, National Security, efficient
Transportation (the rail system in particular), affordable Housing,
zero-Poverty, quality Education, provision of clean Water, among others. These
and more are areas of development needs to which the Diaspora are in position
to contribute their expertise, of which the following cases demonstrate:
(i) Remittances
(of Investment for Development)
According to the World Bank report
in 2009, about $18.6 billion was remitted to Nigeria by Nigerians in the
Diaspora. As stated by Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment,
OlusegunAganga, “if we take half of that, ($18.6 billion) and channel it the
right way into the country, we will have enough capital to invest in this
country”. (YemiIfegbuyi, http://nigeriansabroadlive.com/diaspora-fun-is-key-to-nigeria%E2%80%99s-short-term-investment-drive-s...
Retrieved July 30, 2011).
2010 World Bank report shows that
Nigeria is the 6th largest recipient of remittances in the world
only followed by India, China, Mexico, Philippines and Bangladesh. In 2010, Nigerians in the
Diaspora remitted more than $10 billion back home, excluding money transfer not
formally accounted for. Worldwide, the World Bank pegs the sum of remittances
(capital) flow at $440 billion (YemiIfegbuyi, Nigerians Abroad Live (NAL) Staff
reporter, July 21, 2011).
According to Geoffrey Teneilabe,
addressing Nigerians in Diaspora Organization in the Americas (NIDOA), Chicago,
also revealed that:
The contributions
of members of the Diaspora world-wide in terms remittances to the Nigerian economy
stands at between $10-13 billion a year, second only to revenue from crude oil.
In this respect, it is worthy of note that contributions from Nigerians in the
United States make up a significant proportion of this amount (http://nigeria-consulate-atl.org/site/?p-707.
Retrieved July 30, 2011).
Teneilabe further affirms that “many
NIDOA members have served the Federal and State Governments in advisory and
executive capacities; attracted businesses and investments to Nigeria; sent
home medical and other supplies; operate charities and scholarship schemes for
indigent students back in Nigeria, among other assistance”.
Also, corroborating the financial
remittance figures, Dr. KaluKaluDiogu, a leader of Abia State in the Diaspora,
recently disclosed that about 12 million Nigerians in the diaspora remit over
N23 billion home annually. (GordiAdeajah, The
Guardian (Lagos) August 18, 2011, p. 3).
Considering the volume of
remittances flowing to developing countries, diaspora fund (diaspora bonds) has
become a potential source of capital for financing infrastructure and
development projects. Israel (from 1951) and India (from 1991) have been cited
as two notable examples of countries that have successfully engaged their
nationals through issuance of diaspora bonds. According to reports both Israel
and India, “through issuance of diaspora bonds”, have raised more than US $40
billion in financing development projects (Ifegbuyi, 2011).
With this realization of huge
investment derivable from the Diaspora, Aganga states:
We have so many
Nigerians in the Diaspora. The economies of many countries were built based on
investments from people living abroad. We are in the process of structuring a
fund, which we hope to put in place sometime in September when all approvals
are in place. That fund will be targeting those Nigerians in the Diaspora
(http//nigeriansabroadlive.com/diaspora-fund-is-key-to-nigeria…)
The Diaspora Fund was planned to be
floated in September 2011. But given the viral effect of corruption, the
Nigerian government must demonstrate greater determination to deal with
corruption so as to build confidence in the diaspora.
(ii) Medical
Missions: The Case of Ondo State
NiyiAkinnaso characterizes many
parts of Nigeria as “where there are no healthcare facilities or where existing
ones lack adequate staff and equipment”. Hence, Nigerian doctors in the
Diapsora have organized medical missions to several parts of Nigeria in
recognition of the poor state of the healthcare industry. (Akinnaso, The Punch,
July 19, 2011, yourviews@punng.com).
The Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americans (ANPA) is at the
vanguard of these missions’ efforts.
Ondo State, Nigeria, is described,
as a place where “a medical revolution” is currently taking place. Why? A
revolution occurs in different facets of society. In its rather simplistic
form, the keynote of a revelation is said to lie in the fact of a “profound
change” radically different from business as usual. A revolution is an activity
having its ramifications not only in the fields of politics but also in those
of economics, sociology, medicine (healthcare) and so on. Here we are talking
about a fundamental change in healthcare delivery in Ondo State.
The revolution is pivoted on three
related healthcare projects: (i) the Abiye
(Safe Motherhood) Program; (ii) the GaniFawehinmi Diagnostic Center, and (iii)
the Emergency and Trauma Center (under construction).
Following a revolutionary path, the
healthcare system is structured such that various categories of health and
medical facilities spread across the state, organized into a “a tiered health
system”, as follows:
Tier A: Four
State Specialist Hospitals located in Akure (state capital), Ondo, Ore, and
Ikare.
Tier B: Five
General Hospitals
Tier C: Ten
General Hospitals
In addition to these, there are 18
Comprehensive Health Centers, which include mobile ones for riverine areas.
Also, the state operates a Psychiatry Hospital at Akure and two Dental Clinics
at Akure and Ondo. Moreover, each Local Government operates a variety of
dispensaries and maternity homes in towns and villages. (Akinnaso, 2011). The
medical missions to Ondo State is a response to Governor OlusegunMimiko’s
outreach to Nigerians in the Diaspora.
The current mission (2011) comprises
obstetricians, gynaecologiests and pediatricians, core specialists critical to
the Abiye Program. The mission team also includes hematologists, oncologists,
nephrologists, psychiatrists, nurses and pharmacists.
In 2010, medical mission to the
state offer its services between August 13-21. It brought relief to over 3,000
patients, gave over 4,000 prescriptions and delivered four babies (all adopted
by ABOFI). Additionally, the mission gave drugs and other medical supplies
worth over N10 million (Akinnaso 2011). (ABOFI – African Business Owners Forum
Incorporated – is a consortium of African business leaders and professional
experts based in the United States).
In two years (2010 and 2011) the
medical mission has served the Ondo State people, all organized and operated by
the US-based ABOFI, let by its President Franklin Akinkoye, a financial
management expert. The 2011 mission was held August 13-24, with greater
performance than the preceding year. ABOFI mission is to leverage members’
expertise and business networks to promote trade and investment between Africa
and the United States. Ultimately, the objective is to bring development to
African countries as well as assist in their sustainability (Akinnaso, 2011).
(iii) Technology
Transfer
It has often been argued that
despite the abundance of highly educated and naturally gifted Nigerian
scientists and technologies (both at home and in the diaspora) there is much
still lacking at the level of policy towards technology transfer. As
IkechiMgbeoji (2009) argues, “Nigeria has neither a pragmatic nor a
result-oriented policy on technology transfer”. Whereas if such a policy is put
in place among Nigeria’s best minds in the technological fields found in the
Diaspora, “innovating and creating things we purchase at high premium”, could
be part of the targets of such a policy.
More than 50,000 Africans in the
Diaspora, many of them Nigerians, now in possession of Ph.Ds, and have excelled
in their chosen fields of expertise. UcheIgwe, a Nigerian diaspora, cites some
other accomplished Nigerians in the Diaspora, in various fields of technology.
They include Dr. Joseph Igietseme, a Bio-scientist and researcher with the
Center for Disease Control (won the Charles Shepard Award for Excellence in
Science); Prof. John Dabiri, a Bio-physicist, an Aeronautics and Bio-engineer
(received a grant to help him “reflect, create and explore”); and Prof. George
Ude, also received a grant, in collaboration with Dr. Gary Coleman, from
National Science Foundation, (in U.S.A), “to train over 120 minority
undergraduates and high school teachers on biotechnology techniques and skill
for enhanced scientific inquiry” (Igwe, The
Punch, July 21, 2011, p. 16). Also, in the field of politics and economics,
we have a classic example in Dr. NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, who attained the managing
directorial position of the World Bank. She has used her expertise in
international economic relations (diplomacy) to strike a bargain in the
cancellation of about 60 percent of Nigeria’s foreign debt in 2006.
(Okonjo-Iweala had agreed to serve as Nigeria’s Finance Ministry twice, and
briefly as Foreign Minister. First, under President Obasanjo (1999-2007) and
second under President Jonathan (2011-2015).
Igwe further reflects on how “we can
tap into the abundance of high quality resources within the Diaspora to
encourage a systematic remittance of scientific knowledge back” to the country.
A systematic remittance of scientific knowledge, in other words, simply means
technology transfer. Prof. Ude, a visiting guest lecturer at the Godfrey Okoye
University, Enugu, Nigeria, says “It is very sad to hear that Nigeria spends
trillions of naira on food importation annually. We have the potential to
become self-sufficient in food production and even export food by the year
2020”. Ude affirms passionately and explains that,
This is only if we
are able to make the right investments in science. Biotechnology has brought
simple hands-on skills that can boost agricultural production in Nigeria. I am
coming home to teach the same skills that I teach and the same experiments we
conduct at my Biotechnology Summer Institute at the Bowie State University here
in the United States (Igwe, 2011).
As a plant breeding and molecular
geneticist, Ude is the founder of the International Society for African
Bio-Scientists and Biotechnologies (ISABB), he speaks with authority in his
field. Through Ude’s modest but significant efforts, the Bowie State University
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Joseph Ayo Babalola University in
(JABU), Osun State, Nigeria, “to set up a state-of-the-art biotechnology
laboratory as well as conduct hands-on training on basic skills of
biotechnology research including DNA extraction, gene cloning and production of
genetically modified organisms”. This collaborative effort on
cross-fertilization of ideas was made possible through the initiative of Prof.
AmaImevbore, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of JABU who signed the MoU between JABU and
Bowie State University. He stated that “biotechnology for Africa is not a
luxury but the fastest way to poverty alleviation in the continent”.
In view of the enormous potentials
available in Nigerian Diaspora in terms of financial remittances, medical services
and technology transfer, we believe that with a visionary leadership and
action-oriented domestic and foreign policies, the Nigerian project stands to
gain immeasurable from the Diaspora.
CONCLUSION
A cursory look at Nigeria’s foreign
policy in last 50 years has revealed a posturing oscillating between sometimes
dynamic and at other times apathetic. Each successive Nigerian government since
independence has attempted to reposition the country’s foreign policy to make
it more assertive and robust. The Jonathan administration’s current reform or
review of Nigeria’s foreign policy to make it investment-oriented while
laudable, must adequately address the issue of Nigerians in the Diaspora.
Nigerian foreign policy must henceforth make Nigerians in Diaspora a key factor
of investment resource in the country’s foreign policy calculus.
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