Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has expressed the willingness of the state to take diaspora sensitisation and advocacy message to the three senatorial zones in the state.
This is to provide the local communities with the necessary opportunities, create awareness for better coordination, and maximise impact.
The Governor was speaking in Kano during the 4th Zonal Sensitisation and Advocacy Program for Promoting Diaspora Investment Potentials in Northwest Nigeria.
The event was themed: ‘Unlocking the Potentials for Diaspora Investment in the Northwest Nigeria. Opportunities, Advocacy Strategies, Enabling Policies and Challenges.
Governor Yusuf, who was represented by the Commissioner for Internal Security and Special Services, Major Gen. Idris Inuwa Rtd, commended NiDCOM for taking this advocacy throughout the country and for the choice of discussion.
He said Kano and the entire Northwest are ready to leverage and harness the full potentials of its diasporas, adding that the zone is rich in agriculture, mineral resources, human capacity, and an enabling environment.
Yusuf further reiterated his commitment to diaspora engagement by setting two diaspora portfolios and officers for greater economic prosperity.
Also, the Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Dr. Abike Dabiri-Erewa represented by the Secretary to the Commission, Engr. Dr Sule Yakubu Bassi explained that the diaspora has skills, talent, resources, cutting-edge technologies, global exposure, network for attracting funds, among others that can bring prosperity to Nigeria.
He added that the diaspora has brought over 90 billion dollars to Nigeria as diaspora home remittances in the last five years.
Dr. Bassi also explained that the 3Es in diaspora engagement strategies means to engage, enable and empower, therefore, the need for the State Governments in the zone to key into diaspora engagement, break the trust deficit, and maximise the potential of their diasporas.
He stressed the need for both Nigerians at home and those abroad to work together to achieve developmental goals for Nigeria’s advancement.
He also maintained that the diaspora is a low-hanging fruit that must be intentionally leveraged and harnessed for requisite output across different sectors of the Northwest economy.
The sensitisation in Kano made it the fourth zonal Diaspora advocacy programme. The programme was flagged off in Lagos for South West, Enugu for South East, and Bauchi, for North East.
Comments are closed.