Chairperson of the Nigerian House of Representatives' Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa says there is no record of how many Nigerians are living in the diaspora. She said this situation makes it difficult for the legislators to effectively account for citizens who may need assistance abroad.
Chairperson of the Nigerian House of Representatives' Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa says there is no record of how many Nigerians are living in the diaspora. She said this situation makes it difficult for the legislators to effectively account for citizens who may need assistance abroad.
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Speaking over the weekend on the subject of Nigerian students abroad facing different forms of persecution , Ms. Dabiri-Erewa acknowledged the difficulties of accurately putting in place measures to help these students. She spoke to Sahara TV's Adeola Fayehun.
Students in Belarus, Ukraine, Malaysia, Cyprus and other countries recently appeared on Sahara TV to speak about their experiences.
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There have been recent reports of racially-motivated attacks, killings, imprisonment and exploitation of Nigerian students in various countries around the world. Added to these, the students also complained about neglect from the Nigerian government.
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa however said one of the many challenges the Nigerian government faces in trying to assist students is locating and documenting them because of a lack of accurate records of students studying abroad.
"We don't even know how many Nigerians we have abroad in the first place; we don't have a strong database" she said.
She further expressed dismay at the fact that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has failed to be proactive in this area leading to the current situation. She said all the Ministry needs to do is to contact the universities for the information. "We asked the Ministry of Foreign affairs why is it so difficult to know the number of Nigerians abroad," she said.
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa also suggested that the students themselves have a vital role to play in enabling the government to assist those in need.
"We are hoping that we get support from Nigerian students... We told them, if you think there are challenges please let us know", she continued.
Hon. Dabiri-Erewa advised students to register their information at local embassies. She also indicated that the Nigerian House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs has done a lot to advocate on behalf of students studying abroad.
The House Committee on Diaspora Affairs was set up in 2009 to promote the exchange of ideas between Nigerians home and abroad. The board collects and manages data on Nigerians in the diaspora from consulates, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education, and Justice as well as from population censuses, employment agencies and statistics divisions of international organizations and international census bureau for domestic planning and uses.
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