REFORM TALKS with Enam Obiosio
I have always believed that Nigeria’s greatest economic resource is not buried beneath the ground. It is dispersed across the world in the knowledge, capital, networks, enterprise and professional experience of millions of Nigerians who have built successful lives beyond our shores. We have often celebrated this diaspora as evidence of Nigerian ingenuity. I think we must now begin to see it as one of the country’s most important engines of economic transformation.
That is why I regard President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s invitation to Nigerians living abroad to invest in Nigeria as more than a routine appeal to patriotism. I see it as an important attempt to reconnect a powerful national asset with the economy from which that asset originated.
At the Nigeria Diaspora Economic Conference (NIDEC 2026) in Toronto, the President, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, told Nigerians abroad: “Nigeria sees you. Nigeria values you. Nigeria needs you.”
I think those words capture something we have not always said clearly enough. We need our diaspora, not merely because they send money home, but because they possess resources that can help change the quality and scale of economic activity in Nigeria.
For years, our understanding of the diaspora economy has been dominated by remittances. Those remittances remain enormously important. They support families, finance education and healthcare, sustain small businesses and provide a vital flow of foreign exchange. But we should not stop there.
We should be asking what happens when remittance becomes investment, when professional experience becomes technology transfer, when international relationships become export opportunities and when individual success abroad becomes institutional capacity at home. That, to me, is the larger promise of the President’s appeal.
I am particularly encouraged that the invitation was not limited to capital. President Tinubu asked Nigerians abroad to bring home their knowledge, technology, networks and international experience. This is a much more sophisticated understanding of development.
We do not need Nigerians in the diaspora to abandon everything they have built abroad. We need them to connect what they have built abroad with what Nigeria is building at home.
A Nigerian engineer working in Canada can contribute to a Nigerian infrastructure project. A banker in London can help structure capital for a Nigerian enterprise. A technology professional in the United States can mentor Nigerian developers or establish a technology partnership. A doctor abroad can support a healthcare enterprise. An entrepreneur in Dubai can open channels for Nigerian products into new markets.
We should therefore stop thinking of “returning home” only in geographical terms. In the modern economy, one can remain abroad and still participate directly in Nigeria’s development.
What gives this invitation greater significance is the changing economic environment in Nigeria.
The country is undergoing a difficult but consequential process of economic restructuring. President Tinubu cited real Gross Domestic Product growth of 3.89 percent in the first quarter of 2026, manufacturing growth of 3.29 percent, easing inflation of 15.91 percent and foreign reserves of US$45.4 billion at the end of 2025. The International Monetary Fund has projected Nigeria’s economy to grow by 4.1 percent in 2026, while the World Bank has acknowledged progress in restoring macroeconomic stability and strengthening the external and fiscal position. We should recognise what these developments mean.
Nigeria is not a finished economic proposition. It is a large economy undergoing adjustment, reform and repositioning. That inevitably creates challenges, but it also creates opportunities for investors who understand that substantial economic value is often created during periods of structural change.
The federal government’s investment in roads, railways, ports, power, digital connectivity, healthcare, housing and agricultural value chains also matters. These are not abstract projects. They are the physical and institutional foundations upon which businesses grow.
We should therefore view diaspora investment as part of a larger investment ecosystem rather than an isolated government campaign.
The President’s proposal for professionally managed investment clubs, sector funds, co-investment vehicles and venture networks is especially important. If properly structured, these instruments could mobilise diaspora resources at a scale that individual investments cannot achieve.
Imagine thousands of Nigerians abroad contributing to professionally governed pools that invest in agriculture, manufacturing, housing, technology, healthcare, creative industries and infrastructure. The economic consequences could be substantial.
But we must build these structures properly. I believe Nigerians abroad will invest more confidently when they see transparent governance, audited accounts, professional management, credible investment opportunities and proper mechanisms for accountability. We should not be asking diaspora investors to take blind risks in the name of patriotism. We should be giving them professionally structured opportunities to participate in Nigeria’s growth.
Government also has a responsibility, and I think the President was right to acknowledge it. Predictable rules, transparent project pipelines, efficient consular services and stronger protection against fraud are essential. The proposed Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account, Non-Resident Nigerian Investment Account and Non-Resident Bank Verification Number can further simplify participation in Nigeria’s financial system. These measures are important because confidence is built through systems.
I also see the emphasis on tax reform as relevant to the diaspora investment proposition. An investment environment becomes more attractive when compliance is simpler, obligations are clearer and small businesses are not unnecessarily burdened. The reforms therefore need to be understood as part of a broader effort to make Nigeria easier to do business in.
The reported N636 billion financing by the Bank of Industry in 2025 also demonstrates that domestic capital mobilisation is already being strengthened. If diaspora capital can be connected to such institutional channels, the potential becomes even greater.
We should also recognise the scale of Nigeria’s market. We are not asking Nigerians abroad to invest in an economy without consumers, entrepreneurs or opportunities. We are inviting them into one of Africa’s largest markets, with enormous needs across virtually every productive sector.
That is precisely why I think the diaspora should look beyond the familiar practice of sending money home for consumption. We should encourage a gradual transition from family remittances to family businesses, from personal support to productive assets, from individual transactions to investment vehicles.
This is not about abandoning the diaspora’s responsibilities to families. It is about multiplying the economic value of their contribution.
I also believe Nigeria should become more confident in telling its own economic story. Too often, we describe ourselves primarily through our problems. We should acknowledge the challenges, certainly, but we should equally recognise the enormous opportunities created by our population, market size, entrepreneurial culture, natural resources, creative economy and emerging infrastructure.
Our diaspora understands this potential because many of them are already succeeding in competitive global economies. They know what Nigerian talent can accomplish.
What we must now build is a stronger bridge between that talent and Nigeria’s domestic opportunities.
For me, this is the real significance of NIDEC 2026. It represents an attempt to move the relationship between Nigeria and its diaspora from emotional attachment to economic partnership. We should welcome that transition.
Nigeria does not need charity from its citizens abroad. We need partnership. We need capital that can generate more capital, expertise that can develop more expertise, technology that can create new industries and international networks that can open new markets for Nigerian businesses.
And we, on our part, must continue building the conditions that make such participation worthwhile. I believe Nigeria is capable of doing that.
We are already seeing signs of an economy being repositioned. We are seeing reforms, infrastructure investment, institutional changes and efforts to improve macroeconomic stability. The task before us is to sustain them, deepen them and ensure that their benefits become increasingly visible to citizens and investors.
