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| Tinubu urges Nigerians abroad to invest locally. |
President Bola Tinubu told Nigerians living abroad that the country is on the mend and that it is “rising again,” urging them to join the rebuilding effort.
He spoke at this year’s National Diaspora Day event at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where officials gathered to mark the links between home and the many Nigerians living overseas.
The president’s message was short on flourish and aimed at results, calling on diaspora communities to invest, to bring skills, and to help shape the next phase of national recovery.
Organisers said the event focused on tapping the talent, money, and networks that Nigerians abroad carry, and on formalising channels to turn those flows into lasting projects at home.
Officials highlighted a recent jump in official remittances that underlines why the government is wooing the diaspora as a pillar of national finance and development plans.
Last year alone, Nigerians abroad sent home about $20.9 billion through official channels. That’s no small change — it’s actually bigger than the country’s foreign direct investment for the same period, which says a lot about where the real money’s coming from.
That inflow, they said, now far outstrips foreign direct investment for the same period and acts as a steady source of foreign exchange and household support.
At the Banquet Hall, NiDCOM leaders presented new tools meant to make it easier for Nigerians abroad to buy homes, start businesses, and remit money through formal channels.
Among the items on display were a Diaspora Mortgage Scheme, data-mapping work to track skills and capital abroad, and plans for an annual investment summit to match demand with supply.
Those moves are part of a broader nudge from the federal government to convert short-term remittance flows into long-term, visible projects that create jobs and services at scale.
Inside the hall, ministers and top agency heads talked about passport and consular fixes. They claimed delays are shorter now, and overseas Nigerians can finally count on more reliable services.
Officials said passport delays, the kind that used to keep people waiting for months, are finally easing. Embassies are rolling out outreach programs, while visa services are being trimmed down to cut the back-and-forth. For many Nigerians abroad who’ve long complained about endless queues and missing documents, these changes feel overdue. The idea, government explained, is simple: make life easier so the diaspora can stay tied to home — for business, for family, and for a sense of belonging.
Government notes framed the appeal to the diaspora in plain terms: private money is large, networks are global, and the right policies can turn those assets into factories, clinics, and schools.
The president and his team stressed that the country’s image abroad matters, and that Nigerians living overseas already act as informal ambassadors in business and in culture.
They said the state will back private initiatives and create windows where diaspora savings can underwrite mortgages, seed new companies, and fund public projects at local level.
Those policy pitches come amid ongoing economic shifts at home, where the government has pursued reforms aimed at stabilising currency markets and expanding official revenue.
Administration briefings at the event emphasised steady gains in reserves and greater clarity in fiscal planning, framing those moves as the fiscal groundwork diaspora investors want to see.
Yet officials also acknowledged sharp challenges remain: food prices, fuel and transport costs, and uneven service delivery in places where many Nigerians still live and work.
The president’s team did not offer simple promises; instead they set out a menu of practical steps to make investment easier and more transparent for people joining from abroad.
That practical tone aimed to answer a basic question many diaspora Nigerians ask: can my savings and my time produce reliable returns and visible impact back home?
NiDCOM and other agencies showed figures and new data tools meant to tell potential investors where projects were bankable, how risks would be shared, and which local partners were vetted.
Officials leaned on the numbers, breaking them down by sector to show how diaspora cash already fuels things like health care, schools, housing, tech, and farming.
Those same charts made another point clear: remittances now dwarf other external inflows, turning Nigerians abroad into one of the country’s biggest lifelines for foreign exchange and everyday demand.
But money wasn’t the only pitch. The gathering also pushed for skills transfer, urging doctors, engineers, and tech experts abroad to plug into local universities, labs, and hospitals.
Organisers said quick visits or one-off project donations help, but the real prize is steady, long-term partnerships that can actually shape growth.
The government’s message was blunt enough: it wants more than good wishes. It’s building stronger data systems, offering sharper incentives, and tightening legal protections to give diaspora investors a real reason to commit.
The mood in the room mixed cautious optimism with clear questions. Older business leaders liked the mortgage and investment windows, while younger professionals pushed for stronger rule-of-law guarantees.
Civil society groups who track diaspora matters liked the push for formal channels, but they were quick to remind the government that corruption, erratic power, and shaky local governance still eat away at trust.
On the business side, analysts pointed out that remittances are a lifeline — they keep households afloat and small shops running. But when it comes to big factories or major projects, investors want one thing: steady rules and working public services.
In Abuja, the message from the event spread quickly online. Diaspora forums and social media buzzed with talk, many Nigerians abroad asking for faster, cleaner ways to send money, invest, and actually see where it all ends up.
Some diaspora members welcomed the government’s push as overdue, saying formal mortgage products and diaspora data mapping could turn informal money into formal investment.
Others remained cautious, asking for stronger legal protections for foreign investors and for independent monitoring that can show projects actually deliver services and jobs.
For its part, the government promised new reporting lines and an annual review of diaspora-linked programs, pledging some transparency improvements to reassure overseas partners.
Government officials pointed out that Nigerians abroad are now one of the country’s biggest sources of external finance. They said the plan is to lean on that strength to steady the naira and give local businesses a push.
As the event wrapped up, senior aides mentioned there’ll be follow-up meetings in big diaspora hubs. They added that embassies and consular offices will get beefed up to keep pace with the push.
The NiDCOM directorate said it will publish a roadmap and progress scoreboard within weeks, offering the diaspora measurable checkpoints and targets for the coming year.
That scoreboard, officials said, will include targets for remittance channel growth, mortgage uptake from abroad, and the number of diaspora-backed small businesses created.
Observers will be watching whether the policies translate into actual construction projects, clinics opened, or firms launched with clear tracking from investor funds.
For now, data on remittances gives a numerical story: private money is large, steady, and increasingly important for national stability and family welfare.
And the president’s message to those abroad was direct — that the country is opening doors and wants partners to help build the future here at home.