Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), believes the government must do its share to provide a welcoming atmosphere for its citizens in view of the rising rate of emigration among Nigerians.
It is impossible to completely stop the mass exodus of Nigerians known as Japa, according to Dabiri-Erewa, who spoke on Monday from Paris during an appearance on Channels Television’s Empowering Tomorrow: A New Vision for Nigeria, a special programme on the 63rd anniversary of Nigeria’s independence celebrated on October 1.
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The head of NIDCOM admitted that relocating abroad has no inherent problems, but that it needs to have a specific purpose: “You can’t stop this migration, legal or illegal, but the question is: Why are you migrating?” Are you migrating to a better place? Are you migrating to bigger dreams?
“Here is a quick thing, government needs to play its own role of [providing] a conducive environment. The Tinubu administration has talked about job creation, SMEs, digital transformation, and digital truth for our younger people, and a lot of that conversation is going on here in France.”
“There is nothing wrong with migration, but migrate to a better place. Migrate to become a better person; don’t migrate to get into trouble. A lot of people we deal with are looking for jobs but they don’t get the jobs when they go abroad.
“Why are you migrating? Are you a better person by the time you migrate? But again, government must play its role and do what it has to do.”
