US Secretary Of State, Antony Blinken has been back in Africa since Sunday 21 January 2024, for a week visit. Nigeria is one of his four planned stops.
Key question in the lips of Africa watchers is if Blinken Africa shuttle diplomacy is out of love for Africa? I’d say Nope!👎🏾 It can only be out of protection of America’s interests & investments, obviously!👍🏾 And Africa’s interests? Who’s protecting those? Certainly not its leaders, if they even know what Africa’s interests are… that is! Except for a tiny few.
I had a short interaction with Television Continental TVC anchor, Precious Amayo, around how Nigeria could derive its best interests. I even attempted a couple of suggestions.
In doing so, I reminded myself of an ongoing conversation at a Think Tank I am associated with, People Expertise & Excellence Foundation (PEEF) under the leadership of Dr. MUSA RABIU, FCIPM about the prospect of Nigeria commencing manufacture of Military Hardware at its Ajaokuta Steel Plant.
I was quick to assert that in the battle between the US & China over influence in Africa, the continent ought not have a dog in that fight. There ought to be sufficient space for all in a potentially prosperous Africa. Not Turkey, not Russia and others with eyes on the raw materials, minerals, and young human capital of Africa, should be ignored.
African Governments, especially led by Nigeria, must undertake a value analysis to determine their advantageous positioning with the US & China, as both powers battle for influence over Africa.
Ajaokuta Steel Plant Nigeria in its planned commencement of manufacturing of Military Hardware for instance, could become an almost insatiable market for weapon spare parts for America’s weapon industry?
I was barely 6 months old when in January 1966, the first military seizure of power took place in my birth country Nigeria. Some 34 years thereafter, military rule held sway in Africa’s most populous nation. To a large extent, I could be rightly described not only as a ‘Warchild’ but also as a product of a military environment. To say the least, it is traumatising and perhaps psychologically deforming.
Outside textbook theories of the meaning of democracy, our generation of Nigerians only started learning in practical terms what true democracy is all about as from 1999. Some of us are adaptable but for very many of us, in our mid to late 30s, it was too late. Brut force, getting things the hard way, lack of inner peace, violence, aggression, and other vices had formed or deformed our psych. But not all of us!
While some of us believe these vices are normal, others consider them grossly abnormal. So we understand it when both young and old take to the streets embracing the military because they said they are the new messiahs that will bring them the good life, the prosperity that has eluded them for way too long.
The list is a mixed bag ranging from the often revered Gadaffi, who took over power by force, hung in there for 42 years and died in there rather than give power up. We can’t forget Omar Bongo either who stayed in for over four decades. Obiang is doing 44 years and counting while preparing his son, the Vice President to step in at any given moment. What about Museveni who has spent 38 years so far and won’t tolerate any opposition? We can’t loose sight of Paul Biya, can we? He’s been around as President for over 40 years and counting. But for a 4 year hiatus, Dennis Sassou Nguesso has held sway for 39 years. There are also the emerging oligarchs like Paul Kegame and Ali Bongo who have by one crooked means or the other have made the rulership of their fatherland a personal estate.
Do these abnormalities justify disruption of constitutional orders? No, not at all! While some of us maintain that coup is and remains an aberration, we understand the psychology of those who applaud the military boys for stepping in. The cliché that those who make peaceful coexistence difficult only makes violent dissent inevitable, comes handy here.
In all of these, some interesting queries around reshaping the world order are emerging. A couple of key emerging question are how well for Africa Western democracy is for the continent given that it was a forced system? Also how do you deal with neo-imperialism and its impact in retarding Africa’s growth? These are all germane issues worthy of interrogation but they should not be mixed up with the menace of power seizure with the barrels of the gun. These must be handled in isolation from the other even as closely related as they are.
To demonstrate the nature of coup as an aberration, there’s often a denial by ‘coupists’ that they committed a coup. An instance was in 2017 when in Zimbabwe, a military takeover brought Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule to an end. Major General Sibusiso Moyo, who was one of the masterminds of the operation, appeared on television at the time, flatly denying it was a military takeover. In April 2021 after the death of the Chadian leader, Idriss Déby, the army installed his son as interim president, leading a transitional military council. His opponents called it a “dynastic coup” not a classic coup!
Two US researchers, Jonathan Powell and Clayton Thyne probably has the most plausible explanation for this denial when they concluded that coup leaders almost invariably deny their action was a coup in an effort to simply appear legitimate. One illegitimacy can not correct another or a hundred illegitimate actions.
My realist friend and comrade, Adetunji Omotola’s bluntness on this matter of coup in Africa is a truism that stirs us all in the face when he asserted that he sees all dictatorships collapsing this year with military take over of power. Irrespective of which side of the divide one is, there is perhaps a silent realisation that the soldiers might have naturally been assigned the role by Bob Marley of chasing the crazy baldheads out of town.
In this exposé, Nigerian-born African enthusiast, Adetunji Omotola adds his audacious voice to the cry for Africa to recognise the value that her sons and daughters bring to Africa’s growth table and purposefully mine it for the global good.
The millennium saw the emergence of Africans in diaspora as a force with which to be reckoned. Some diasporans serve in the highest levels of government and many returned to Africa,particularly in Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the current Director General of the World Trade Organisation; Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, the current President of the African Development Bank; Wally Adeyemo, the current US Deputy Treasury Secretary, and the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Onyeama are some diasporans who have made it to cabinet level in Nigeria and beyond.
Nigeria leads sub-Saharan Africa in terms of diaspora remittances, with $23billion in 2019, followed by Ghana ($3billion), Kenya ($2.8billion) and South Sudan ($1.3billion). On the global remittances index Nigeria is in sixth place, with India in the lead ($79billion), China in second place ($67billion), Mexico third ($36billion), Philippines fourth ($34 billion) and Egypt fifth ($29billion). Despite these positive contributions by diaspora, there is a sense that that diasporansfeel extremely marginalized and unjustly treated. Nigerian Diasporans not having a vote is a grave injustice, when other African countries, such as South Africa, Kenya, Botswana,Rwanda and seventeen other African nations practice diaspora as a matter of course.
Nigerians in diaspora remittances still does not guarantee any inclusion into the Nigerian landscape. It also seems clear that,despite having a newly formed diaspora commission, there is no determination on embarking on a census on the numbers of Nigerians abroad. Research shows that the United States, UK, Italy, Germany and Canada have the largest numbers of Nigerians, followed by South Africa, France, Ireland, China and the Netherlands. These are the top ten countries with Nigerian populations. At the top is the USA (380,785), followed by UK (190,000), Germany (56,000), Italy (71,000), Canada (51,800),France (30,000), South Africa (30,000), Ireland (17,542), China (10,000) and the Netherlands (9,453). Great difficulty exists in determining the numbers in various African countries, due to a lack of data. According to Statistics South Africa in 2015, there were 10, 334 Nigerians who had temporary residence permits,25% of which had visitor’s visas and 355 had permanent residency permits.
Despite the success of Nigerians in foreign lands, the fact that there is still disconnectedness on many levels is painful and disheartening. There is no Nigerian national policy to absorb diasporans into the broader national landscape beyond settlements and investments. There ought to be a shift in the current haphazard methods in place for diaspora inclusion. It is a travesty of gigantic proportions that many Nigerians are ignored in a manner that creates deep concern and misery. There also exists a bias by those in authority towards Nigerians in the United States, Canada and Europe. The issue of not voting is one of the most notable examples of the failure to absorb Nigerians in diaspora into the political and economic development of the country. So many flimsy excuses are given by the members of the National Assembly and INEC regarding a lack of data and costs and also who will vote and which countries will be involved. This lack of political will is like a knee on the necks of Nigerians in diaspora, who observe voting by diasporans in Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana, Kenya and eighteen other African countries.
Nigerians in diaspora are the most educated migrants in the US. Most African doctors in South Africa are Nigerians, and there iseven a Nigerian Doctors Forum in that country. A Nigerian holds the world boxing heavyweight crown and there is the NBA most valuable player, Gianni’s Antetoukoumpo. Nigerian Ngozi Chimamanda-Adichie is a superstar and there is a slew of Hollywood actors, such as Chiwetel Ejiofor and more. There is Asa and John Boyega and Bayo Ogunlesi who owns Gatwick airport and was Trump’s adviser for some time. With all these observations it is clear that Nigerians in diaspora succeed across many formations and professions.
Nigerians in diaspora will provide Africa’s upward trajectory. What is missing at this stage is the ability of planners and African leaders work with various Nigerian diaspora groupings to access bodies like the African Union, the African Development Bank, the Pan African Parliament and regional bodies to build capacity and leverage the professionalism and skillsets of Nigerians in diaspora. The best kept secret that Nigeria and Africa by extension has in term of human capital is Nigerians in diaspora. Recently, Lt. Victor Agunbiade was given an award for his extraordinary accountability. Agunbiade received the Navy and Marine Corp Development medal for successfully managing $68 million. The amount represented 70% of its overseas disbursing volume. Agunbiade who was in charge of the money while he served as disbursing officer, comptroller department, Camp Lemonier in Djibouti (Horn of Africa) from October 2019 to July 2020, achieved 100% accountability among six rigorous inspections and independent audits with zero discrepancies.
Nigerians have become notable in the USA. Dr Bennet Omalu was the first person to discover and publish on chronic traumatic encephalopathy in American footballers. (Will Smith plays him in the 2015 film Concussion). In the legal space ImeIme A. Umana is the first black woman to be elected President of the Harvard Law Review in its 131 year history. Pearlana Igbokwe is the President of Universal Television and the first woman of African descent to head a major US studio. Dr Jacqueline Nwando Olayiwola is an Associate Professor at the University of California and the author of “Papaya Head” which speaks to first generation African Americans. Jacqueline’s siblings are Okey Onyejekwe, a medical doctor, Meka Don a lawyer turned rapper and Sylvia Onyejekwe, a lawyer. Jacqueline and her brother Okey frequently undertake two mission trips to Nigeria every year.
In the Netherlands there is circular migration between Nigerians in the Netherlands and the UK. Most are employees of Royal Dutch Shell and some work for ABN Amro, Nike, Celtel, IBM and CMG. There are about 500 Nigerians with Dutch passports. In Russia there are 2100 Nigerians on Facebook.
The Nigerian diaspora population is the biggest African population, with the exception of French speaking nations. Nigerians in diaspora also contribute the highest in terms of remittances. The remittance figure of $23 billion it is almost the same size as the GDP of Africa’s bottom ten countries, Togo, Burundi, Eswatini, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Lesotho, South Sudan, Djibouti, CAR, and Gambia. Is it not ironic yet all these countries have presidents, budgets and military and they all have a say in continental African affairs? For example, each country sends five members of its national parliament to the Pan African Parliament in Midland, none of whom are diasporans, yet diaspora contributes significantly to each of these countries. South Sudan’s diaspora remittances are 36% of its GDP, while Nigeria’s are 8%.
The failure of the Nigerian government to deepen its relations with its diasporan and include them in politics and business and other sectors of the economy is probably the biggest oversight in the last three decades. The current model of meeting a few diasporans, who are handpicked by diplomats abroad, has not yielded any meaningful result in the past two decades. With the rampant corruption happening in Nigeria, it may be wise to draft diasporans who are used to living according to their means and are not desperate to buy land in Ikoyi or Maitama in a matter of months.
There is a Diaspora Commission in Nigeria and there are also committees in both houses of the National Assembly but the Diaspora Commission board is yet to be constituted and the committee members in both houses are not even known to diaspora stakeholders and their impact has not been felt in any significant manner. There is a sense that diasporans are not given the seriousness that they deserve and until major steps are taken with diasporans, Nigeria will not grow into the true economic and political giant it can and should be. One can go as far as to suggest that the diasporan ought to have slots at the National Assembly and each state house of Assembly in the same manner that women participation is desired.
The following recommendations may be considered. Firstly, all Nigerians in diaspora who are aged 18 and over should be allowed to vote by 2023. Secondly, Nigerians in diaspora need to be on a database at every high commission. The missions should see the registration as their most sacred duty. Thirdly, Nigerians abroad doing business and in professions should be encouraged to join chambers of commerce between the host countries and Nigeria. It is also important to engage in positive branding about Nigeria in the countries with big Nigerian populations. A country with 200 million people should be branding Nigeria weekly, monthly and annually. The embassies can work with the community and the media to do so. There can be no doubt that countries such as South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United States and the United Kingdom have had their fair share of Nigerian scams and fraudulent activities so it is wise to promote Nigerians who are doing very well in those countries or face stiff visa restrictions when travelling to these parts. Nigerians in diaspora are the most marginalized Nigerian group and this needs to change very quickly. No nation will reach its full potential while it ignores its most productive population.
Barrister Adetunji Omotola is the founder of the Guild of Nigerian Professionals-South Africa. He is an alumnus of the Henley Business School, Executive Speaker Programme. He is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Consultant and Founder of 12 Disciples Leaders. He is an African Media Personality and Founder of Afrospace. He blogs at www.winelawandpolitics.wordpress.com. He initially published this article under the original title : Africa in the 21st Century and the role of Nigerians in Diaspora in its trajectory
I was delighted to have made a presentation at a Multi-sectoral Stakeholders Economic Investment Summit organised bySME Secretariat and hosted at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria on Monday 21 January 2019
Jeffrey Onyeama
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria
I used the opportunity to review the Nigerian Economic Diplomacy Initiative (NEDI) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari. After a general refresher of what NEDI is all about, I dropped the following conclusions on this policy initiative:
NEDI is a strategically important policy tool with huge potentials to make a structural difference in economic regeneration of Nigeria with focus on non-oil sector
NEDI made a good start but has clearly not lived up to its biddings. It has failed rather woefully in showing evidence that it has made a convincing start in delivering on the important task of enhancing inter-agency collaborations
There is no visible effort on the part of NEDI to genuinely engage the Diaspora in a result-oriented way
Unless there is a change of course, NEDI is marked to fail!
I wrapped up with these sets of recommendations:
Foreign trade component should be introduced into the operations of all Ministries, Departments & Agencies (MDAs)
A NEDI Attaché should have a sitting in all major Missions of Nigeria worldwide where possible or the role unambiguously integrated into the duties of all diplomats charged with economic affairs
A formal working relationship should be initiated with Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) worldwide to enhance professional Diaspora mobilization
Clear targets should be set for inward investment flows as aconsequence of NEDI activities
On the sidelines of the conference to launch the Covenant on Demographic Change in Europe at the EU Committee of the Regions, I took some time out to speak to the EU Public Affairs programme, ‘Inside the Issues’ to evaluate the COP21 climate conference that took place in Paris, France. The broad focus of the brief but punchy talk was EU-Africa climate change relations within the context of the global discussions at COP21. On one hand you have African countries who do the least to pollute but pay the highest price in climate change terms. On the other hand you have the historical dimension of the EU that has been a leading contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions.
In this context the specific topics covered include:
The credibility of an EU-Africa partnership on climate change, given their divergent views.
Who were the winners and losers at COP21
Should developed countries, like the EU, pay the highest price in contributing to a better climate?
Click here or on the picture to watch the discussion, which also includes the perspective of a researcher, thus balancing politics with academics and in my opinion, excellently well delivered.
