ColumnsNigeriaWhat government must do to lift Nigeria out of poverty

Avatar PilotnewsJanuary 15, 2020
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We know Nigeria is not working for the vast majority of Nigerians. We have too many of our youths unemployed and unemployable; too many of our children out of schools and roaming the streets, too many of our elderly eking out a living in the rural areas.  All the indices of human development are pointing South. Yet, our population growth rate outpaces our GDP growth rate earning us the unenviable crown of poverty capital of the world. Insecurity of life and property reigns supreme. The Gini Coefficient which simply measures the inequality of income distribution among the populace is sliding dangerously high to the point where political instability is imminent.

We know, as well, that government’s best efforts at reversing this slow but steady movement towards the precipice have not yielded appreciable results. The World Bank’s Nigeria Economic Update published early December, 2019 stated that an additional 30 million Nigerians could fall into extreme poverty during the next decade, a most gloomy future for Nigeria. The consensus projection among other foreign and local economic analysts is saying much the same.

We know Nigeria is not working for the vast majority of Nigerians.

The good news, however, is that it appears our political leaders and policy makers are beginning to realize that the failure of government development plans, particularly in the economic sphere, has been due, largely, to the unavailability of the right kind of human capital – the critical mass of healthy and educated citizens that have the capacity to drive productivity and sustain economic growth. It has taken all of the past thirty years to come to the realization that what Nigeria needed most to transform her enormous human and natural resources into economic prosperity is an educated and healthy citizenry. We spent so much resources and time churning out dreamland visions, development plans, policies, agendas, etc. forgetting that no matter how well-conceived and constructed these are, they will not advance economic development without the critical mass of capable, committed and sincere implementers.

The huge human capital deficit the country is faced with was brought about by the brain drain that began in the 1980s and escalated through the years with our brightest and most-able citizens leaving the country in droves to Europe, America, Canada, etc. in search of better economic and living conditions. A concomitant effect of the brain drain is the weakening of our national institutions, particularly in the health and education sectors – the same sectors that are expected to reproduce the nation’s human capital.

One may ask, why is there such a huge human capital deficit when the number of universities in the country ballooned from a paltry 11 in the 1980s to 160 today, and we have millions of graduates unemployed and unproductive? I believe there is a consensus among stakeholders that our educational system, at all levels, has been broken for quite some time and has not been producing graduates that are adequately prepared for the economy of the twenty-first century.

One may ask, why is there such a huge human capital deficit when the number of universities in the country ballooned from a paltry 11 in the 1980s to 160 today, and we have millions of graduates unemployed and unproductive? I believe there is a consensus among stakeholders that our educational system, at all levels, has been broken for quite some time and has not been producing graduates that are adequately prepared for the economy of the twenty-first century.

Therefore, the dilemma we face as a nation is that the citizens that should constitute the critical mass of human capital that will drive our national development are unavailable to us as a result of brain drain and weakened national institutions. In the circumstance, the pragmatic and sensible thing to do, and probably our best option, is to tap heavily into the capacities of the large population of Nigerians currently living outside of her shores.

It is estimated that there are about fifteen million Nigerians in the diaspora, largely in the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Many of these Nigerians are highly educated, highly skilled, highly accomplished, earn above average incomes and contribute significantly to the economies of their host countries. In 2018 alone they remitted about 24 billion US dollars into the Nigerian economy.

Fortunately, the phenomenon of brain drain is not peculiar to Nigeria. Nigeria must borrow a leaf from countries that have effectively overcome the debilitating impact of brain drain on their economy. Countries like China, India, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and in sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana and Senegal all suffered brain drain in different measures in the last 50 to 70 years. How did they emerge from the brain drain era to become thriving economies? It is well-documented that the diaspora population played a major role in the reversal of economic fortunes of each of these countries. Through a focused and purposeful leadership, appropriate policy responses were put in place to robustly engage the diaspora population in order to maximize benefits to the country.

Previous governments of Nigeria, starting with the Babangida administration that birthed the brain drain phenomenon have made varying attempts at addressing the issue, without much success.  Much of the past efforts to engage Nigerians in the diaspora had been half-hearted, unstructured, unfocussed and lacked the requisite commitment from the highest levels of government. The Obasanjo government did make some progress in this direction which was not followed up by the succeeding government.

However, the recent establishment of the Nigerian Citizens in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) by the Buhari government is a welcome development. The Commission should provide the much-needed institutional framework, focus and coordination of government efforts towards engaging Nigerians in the diaspora. I believe the Commission should have been placed in the Presidency instead of under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) since much of the work to actualize its core mandate would be based locally, cutting across several ministries, departments and agencies of government.  The very important task of protecting the interests and promoting the welfare of Nigerians resident in foreign countries should be left as a core function of MFA.

It is noteworthy that NIDCOM is chaired by a dynamic woman with a track record of performance who has been engaged in the Diaspora issue from her time in the House of Representatives. Since her appointment, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa has brought her usual hard work and commitment into her new job. Aside from the renewed vigor NIDCOM has put into the annual Diaspora Day event, it has launched an annual Nigerian Diaspora Investment Summit. Other initiatives in the pipeline, we are informed, include a Health Exchange Scheme, Diaspora Voting Rights, and most importantly a National Policy on Diaspora Matters. It is my hope that wide consultations were made with relevant stakeholders for their inputs into these laudable schemes and policies.

I see NIDCOM as an interventionist agency of government that has the critical mandate to help turn around the economic fortunes of Nigeria by robustly engaging and leveraging the capacities of Nigerians in the diaspora for the maximum benefit of Nigeria. This mandate is an urgent one, in our present circumstance.

I see NIDCOM as an interventionist agency of government that has the critical mandate to help turn around the economic fortunes of Nigeria by robustly engaging and leveraging the capacities of Nigerians in the diaspora for the maximum benefit of Nigeria. This mandate is an urgent one, in our present circumstance.

The primary goal of NIDCOM (and the fundamental objective of any national policy on diaspora) should be to encourage Nigerians living abroad to return home. While diaspora remittances, investments, voting rights, etc. are all important, what Nigeria needs most at this time is the human capital offered by her Diasporans – the expertise, skills and experience – which are critically needed to drive productivity and sustain economic growth.  NIDCOM must vigorously pursue this goal in order to bring about the highest benefits for the greatest number of Nigerians.

Therefore, the states and federal governments, through NIDCOM, should work to create a conducive environment to encourage Nigerians in the diaspora having the requisite skills, expertise, experience and entrepreneurship, that are willing to return home, to be able to do so and participate in national development. In this regard, government must single-mindedly tackle the issue of insecurity in order to enhance the feeling of safety and security by Nigerians.

Also, in the drive to encourage Nigerians in the diaspora to return home, government must not ignore what I would call the human factor. Over the past 20 years or so, we have seen the tendency among some Nigerians at home to be apprehensive, resist or sometimes exhibit outright animosity towards diaspora returnees in the wrong belief that they have come to displace them from their positions. Government policies had been sabotaged by some of these self-seeking officials. In the university system, for example, academics that returned from the diaspora are being discriminated against. NIDCOM must put in place mechanisms to ensure that Nigerians who return home are not deliberately discriminated against and frustrated out as such occurrences would be counterproductive to its efforts.

I conclude by reiterating my firm conviction that Nigeria has no better option at this time than to harness the enormous human capital offered by her citizens in the diaspora if she must make the desired progress in national development and usher in economic growth, employment generation and wealth creation. To lift her citizens out of the crushing poverty, Nigeria needs her best brains and hands many of whom happen to be in the diaspora at this time.

Finally, having established NIDCOM, the Buhari administration must give its total support and commitment to the agency to fulfill its critical and urgent mandate.

Sepribo Lawson-Jack, Ph.D writes from Port Harcourt, Nigeria

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