Osun State government in southwest Nigeria is set to establish a Diaspora Office.
The office would cater to the needs and aspirations of Osun indigenes in several African countries and other parts of the world.
Governor of the state, Ademola Adeleke, while receiving Osun indigenes who came for the Sallah celebration from the diaspora disclosed this.
He said: “Tell our people from Cotonou to Abidjan, from London to Atlanta that we have plans to integrate them into our good governance agenda. I am working on the creation of a diaspora office to document, engage and involve our people.
“I know our people across West Africa are mostly artisans and small-scale business people. The proposed office will capture their data to see where to come in to assist and support them. I may even appoint a liaison officer to be based in Abidjan.”
The Governor who noted that diaspora communities were agents of development, stressed his administration’s desire to tap into the potentials of that critical population.
According to him, apart from the estimated hundreds of thousands of Osun indigenes resident in Benin, Togo, Ghana and the whooping number in Ivory Coast, those in Europe and North America would also be engaged.
He said: “For our North American and European diaspora community, I am part of you. Your population is different from that of our brothers and sisters across West Africa. We are already reaching out to you, to drive investment into Osun and ensure your involvement in our administration.
“I know of some towns in Osun where almost every household has several family members, of several generations in Abidjan, Cotonou and others. I want to put up formal structures to address these various categories of our people”, the Governor added.
Governor Adeleke promised to unveil details of the plan in due course noting that Osun needs all hands to be on deck to resolve its developmental challenges, tackle poverty and fast-track development.
