Buhari tells diasporans that he needs their expertise to help in the fight against corruption

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has announced that he plans to tap into the experience of millions of Nigerians in the diaspora in his bid to succeed in the ongoing war against corruption and kleptomania.

 

Elected with a promise to eradicate corruption and graft in public life, President Buhari has made eliminating the ill the main policy objective of his government. Since assuming office on May 29, President Buhari has made strenuous efforts to recover Nigeria's stolen money stashed abroad, while the anti-graft agencies have stepped up the prosecution of former public servants.

 

Speaking yesterday at the 2015 Diaspora Day in Abuja, Ibukun Odusote, the permanent secretary in the office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation, who stood in for the president, said this process will involve Nigeria's diaspora community. She said the aims for the conference were clearly defined in a way that would support and enhance the change agenda of the president.

 

Mrs Odusote added: “The idea is to leverage on their expertise and experience out there, which means that, as we have in this conference, some of them are experts being called all over the world to give their lead presentations on corruption. They have successfully helped some other economies to get themselves out of corruption and they are Nigerians, so we want to leverage on their expertise.

 

“You can find a lot of them, specialists and experts, in their various fields, making names for themselves and for Nigeria, so we want to get the advantage of their experience. We also want to lure them into coming back to Nigeria and contribute to national development and thirdly, we want them to contribute to the economic development of Nigeria even while they are out there."

 

She stressed that the government wants these diasporans to invest in Nigeria and attract investment in Nigeria that can bring economic expansion and assist the change agenda of President Buhari. Mrs Odusote said one of the ideas behind the diaspora conference was to ensure the proper documentation of the Nigerians out there that are not yet documented.

 

"We are talking about those that should be documented legally in their positions and they are making waves. They are doings things that are unique in all their endeavours and exploits.

 

“So, the overall objective is that we have a direct relationship with them. We know who they are, we know where they are, we know how they are faring and then we take care of their welfare to be sure that they are not maltreated where they are," Mrs Odusote added.

 

She also impressed it upon diasporans to obey the rules of the countries where they are. Today, the conference continues with a roundtable discussion programme which will focus on investment opportunities in Nigeria.