The Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has called for Strategic Diaspora Relations in more African countries.
According to her, with more African countries participating in diaspora engagement, Africa will fully actualize its potentials through harnessing the human and material resources of Africans living across the world.
She also applauded the Zambian Government for taking the bold step in diaspora engagements.
The NIDCOM Boss spoke at a study tour of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission by the Zambian delegation, led by the Zambian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Jenipher Mutembo and Mr. Tunde Omoyeni, the Migration Management Specialist, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) South Africa.
The Secretary to the Commission, Dr. Sule Yakubu Bassi, received the visitors on behalf of Hon Dabiri-Erewa.
Excited that another African country is understudy NiDCOM to create a replica Commission in Zambia, she noted in a statement by Gabriel Odu, Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit,
NIDCOM, that their visit coincided with the fifth anniversary of the Commission, hence providing the opportunity to categorically list the activities, projects and plans of the Commission.
The NIDCOM Chairman also said that in the last five years, the Commission established the National Diaspora Policy that contextually states "the concept, Diaspora, and the mandate of the Commission; created July 25 annually to celebrate the National Diaspora Day, started the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS), launched the Diaspora Mortgage Scheme, set the Diaspora Data Mapping System; hosted its first National Diaspora Merit Awards, as well as, engaged in townhall meetings with Nigerians at their respective countries of residence and built comprehensive media and communication channels for engagement, among others."
Issues such as funding, bureaucratic bottlenecks, trust from citizens abroad and many others, she warned, will arise in their course of establishment but encouraged the delegates not to relent in their efforts.
On her part, the Coordinating Officer for Diaspora Affairs in Zambia, Mrs. Lucy Namadula, said that their team has come up with a 30-point plan towards feasible diaspora engagement that cuts across "employment, health insurance, diaspora database, home affairs, remittances and investments, and other social interventions."
She further said that a special website has been created to provide real time information for diasporas, as well as a platform to have a diaspora database for about 250,000 of its citizens abroad.
Mrs. Namadula, noted that just like Nigeria, trust, capacity-building and funding are the major challenges being faced in Zambia.
Other challenges, she said, included absence of a diaspora law and a dedicated Commission.
She however expressed optimism that in due course, the Diaspora Office in Zambia will attain the level of progress as NiDCOM in its five years of existence.
The Assistant Labour Commissioner, Ministry of Labour and Social Security Zambia, Mrs Mukamasole Kasanda, commended the Nigerian government for setting up NiDCOM for proper diaspora engagement.
Kasanda stated the objective of establishing a migration resource centre in her country.
She also disclosed that the Zambian government has set policies on anti-trafficking and employment.
Kasanda added that a technical group on migration data has been set up, as well as, reviewed the Convention 97 and 91 which focus on migration for employment and ethical employment in Zambia.
According to her, Zambia has reached Memoranda of Understanding with Seychelles, Angola, South Africa and some countries, as regards labour and migration.
The statement said that the study tour of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission was facilitated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) South Africa.
"Zambia makes it the ninth country after Zimbabwe, Egypt, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Namibia, Ghana, South Korea and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) to under study the Commission in the last five years." the statement said.