Security key to our investment in Nigeria, say diasporans

News Agency of Nigeria

The Global United Christian Congress of Africa and Diaspora has urged the Nigerian government to prioritise security as a prerequisite for investments.

The group made the remark during a press conference organised by the Cross River Diaspora Commission in partnership with the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Calabar on Saturday.

The diasporans, who have been in Nigeria since October 12, were from 18 nations, including Canada, Barbados, Bahamas, Jamaica, the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, among others.

President of the GUCCAD, Ijeoma Nwosu, said many diasporas were willing to invest in Nigeria but wanted the security to be put in place to erase fear.

He noted that the visits to Ghana revealed that the country was without any security threats. He added that this was largely the reason why investors and tourists prefer Ghana as a country of choice.

“You can change your money on the streets and go back with your money; you don’t need to see law enforcement agents around with guns. This is because the citizens know that if they touch somebody on the street, they will be driving away investors. Security must be put in place in Nigeria to allay fears of investors,” he said.

The group’s co-visionary, Nneka Nwosu, said that although global narratives did not favour Nigeria, every society had its fair share of characters who represented “the good, the bad and the ugly.”

She said she believed in the future of Nigeria while noting that the nation could still rise if all its citizens began to say no to corruption and commit to integrity.

“If we begin to clean up from within and rebuild a global presence, the diasporas that are willing to come back and invest will return. There should be an agency established to protect the interests and investment of diasporas who come home to invest; if this is not done, it will be difficult for people to come back to invest,” she said.

Ms Nwosu also advised the diasporas who wished to invest in Nigeria to follow due protocols, work with the right government agencies, and play by the rules to protect their investments.

Similarly, Peggy Okey, chairman of the GUCCAD Concert Committee, urged the government of Nigeria to remove restrictions to attract investments. She noted that restrictions such as waiting for 100 days to get a visa to come to Nigeria prevented the diasporas from coming back home.

Ms Okey also said it was necessary to have direct flights from Nigeria to the Caribbean to avoid many stopovers that stretched the travel time to about 21 hours instead of just eight hours. She added that anything that would give the investors or tourists stress would make them abandon the visit, as there were many nations that were always ready to receive them.

Otu Okor, chairman of the diaspora commission, said that the state had enacted the investment protection bill and assured the diasporas that their investments were safe.

(NAN)