Government tasks Nigerians in Diaspora on IDPs, others

The Federal Government wants Nigerians in Diaspora to support the nation in finding solutions to its challenges.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, said this yesterday in Abuja, while briefing the press on preparations for the 2016 Diaspora Day Conference, which Nigeria is hosting.

The conference would start from Sunday, July 24 2016.

He hinted that this year’s event would be different from previous ones where “our nationals overseas come home only to highlight the challenges that confront our nation.

“The government and citizens of Nigeria at home are not ignorant of the challenges. What our nation requires are solutions to specific problems,” he said.

The permanent secretary in the office of political affairs, Olukunle Bamigbose, represented the SGF.

He stressed that in the past, Nigerians in Diaspora wore superiority complex with the intent to intimidate those at home, without making tangible commitments to nation building.

“We don’t want that, we live in Nigeria, we know our problems, we want people who would come and offer solutions to our problems, not people who would come and tell us about the problems we already know.

“This administration is ready to partner with them on how they can assist the internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North-East Region. This can be done through medical interventions in the healthcare delivery across the country, or youth empowerment and employment generation,” he added.

While noting that Nigerians in Diaspora contributed 21 billion dollars to the economy in 2015, he pledged that government would bear the cost of their transportation, accommodation and other logistic needs.