By EMMANUEL OLONIRUHA

President, Nigerians in Diaspora Chamber of Commerce (NiDCC), Ms Patience Ofure-Key, has urged the Federal Government to prioritise Nigerians in diaspora as central actors in the nation’s investment and development process.

Ofure-Key, a former governorship aspirant, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja urged the government to see Nigerians in diaspora beyond their traditional role as providers of remittances.

She said that the diaspora should no longer be treated as a mere source of remittances or ceremonial invitees to national events, noting that they remain central to Nigeria’s investment and development process.

The 2024 Edo governorship candidate noted that diaspora-linked capital had become an indispensable economic driver that should be structured into infrastructure finance, co-investment vehicles, and governance policy design.

Ofure-Key cited World Bank data showing that diaspora remittances to Nigeria reached a five-year high of 23 billion dollars in 2025, accounting for nearly 12 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

She noted that the World Bank projected recorded remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries to reach 685 billion dollars in 2024, larger than foreign direct investment and official development assistance combined.

`The World Bank’s Nigeria data page also continues to track the country’s remittance inflows and shows personal remittances received at 8.4 per cent of GDP in 2024.

“Diaspora remittances to Nigeria in 2025 reached a five-year high, estimated at 23 billion dollars.

“This strengthens Nigeria’s position as Africa’s largest recipient, while the inflows are projected to account for nearly 12 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP in 2025 and are crucial economic drivers, representing a significant portion of Nigeria’s foreign exchange.

“If diaspora-linked capital is already so economically consequential, then Nigeria should be deliberately structuring diaspora participation in infrastructure finance, co-investment vehicles, export platforms, enterprise growth, governance, and policy design,’’ she said

According to Ofure-Key, the real strength of the nation lies in its ability to organise its human capital from within and across its borders to achieve sustainable development under the “Renewed Hope” mandate.

The NiDCC boss urged the government to ensure that international trade deals prioritise local content and technology transfer.

She lauded the 746 million pounds export-finance arrangement for the development of the Lagos Port Complex and Tin Can Island, noting that while infrastructure renewal was vital, the terms must ensure measurable domestic benefit.

“A country that celebrates the size of a package before interrogating its structure risks mistaking dependence for development.

“We must ask what local content is guaranteed and what Nigerian engineering and labor participation is secured,” Ofure-Key said.

On the UK-Nigeria migration partnership, Ofure-Key acknowledged the government’s clarification that returnees would undergo strict verification but stressed the need for a robust reintegration plan to avoid straining the local economy.

She also called for “moral seriousness” in leadership, urging the government to engage Nigerian experts at home and in the diaspora rather than relying solely on foreign-structured solutions.

“The real strength of a nation lies not only in what it can attract from outside, but in what it can organise from within.

“Nigeria is rich in capable stakeholders, in infrastructure, finance, security, and governance. Too often, they are left outside the room while national choices are shaped by a narrow circle,” she added.

Ofure-Key said that for Nigeria to break the cycle of dependency, it must negotiate from a position of clarity and leverage its immense human capital to secure the life, dignity, and confidence of its citizens. (NAN)