OP INION actively considering in the process of creating strategies to expand intentional engagement. Without the pull of family ties, how can Nigeria incentivize the foreign-born to consider themselves as part of this diasporan force? And even if the far-flung foreign-born diaspora were to mobilize at scale, would those at home be willing to include diasporan voices at the table? The answers to these questions are critical, particularly as the foreign-born diaspora are facing the choice whether to claim and intentionally engage with their Nigerian heritage, or turn away.
Grace Amos BSc. Mechanical Engineer ing MIT
NIGERI A N BY CHOICE - A CA SE FOR THE ENGA GEM ENT OF NIGERI A ?S FOREIGN-BORN DI A SPORA Engagement with the Nigerian diaspora has long been identified as a key nation building strategy. With nearly 6% of the GDP made up of international remittances from the diaspora, both public and private Nigerian initiatives have made several efforts to engage the diaspora in more civic and economic development. Research has shown that most of these remittances are due to familial and social equity, so this income source is most likely limited to those in the diaspora who were originally born in Nigeria, known as the nation-born diaspora. As emigrated generations progress, nation-of-origin ties inevitably erode. While there isn?t any prediction to determine whether such remittances would decrease over time (the effects of COVID versus the recent CBN initiative aside), there is certainly a growing separation between Nigeria and its diaspora. The foreign-born diaspora, those born abroad to Nigerian parents, will shortly, if they haven't already, outnumber and perhaps out-perform the nation-born diaspora. This is a resource pool that Nigeria should
It was due to the pivotal experience of participating in a Nigerian education startup that I made my choice. Born and raised in the States, I was 18 years old when I first arrived in Nigeria. I was both mute and dumb to my ethnic tongue Yoruba, a fact for which I was often mocked by both family and strangers during my employment as an instructor in Lagos. And yet, despite my Americanized way of life, my accent, and the comforts that I had left behind, I felt an unexpected yet wonderful sense of homecoming. This feeling only deepened as I interacted with the students who came from at least 15 different states across the federation, young people who were so bright and curious and excited for life. Their willingness to learn and their excellent performance in spite of their lack of exposure to the subject matter made me incredibly proud. They helped me see life differently; they helped me see myself differently. For the first time in my life, I was not just born to Nigerian parents, I was Nigerian, and that connection to the land and people of my heritage has lasted long after the program?s completion. Ten years later, I am again involved in an exciting opportunity to return to Nigeria, this time to start an innovative school in Abuja. Those who are part of Nigeria?s foreign-born diaspora get to choose what it means for them to be Nigerian. Given the challenges associated with Nigeria, it is not hard to imagine that my choice might very well be the minority across the foreign-born diaspora. With little to no immediate family or opportunity back in Nigeria, all we have is what we hear, and what we hear (for those of us who care to listen) is too often discouraging. From the effects of COVID-19 on Nigeria?s social fabric; the rapidly depreciating value of the Naira; the increasing terrorist activity, ethnic and religious violence; and to federal dissatisfaction that includes the response to last year ?s #EndSARS movement, Nigeria does not look like a land of opportunity. For those of us in the West with its increasingly toxic racial divides, being Black is hard enough without adding the social association of being Nigerian in reference to the infamous internet scams. To tie everything together, many foreign-born diasporans experience difficulty in being accepted as truly Nigerian. Some nation-born diasporans find it hard or outright refuse to acknowledge us who are foreign-born as Nigerian because we more often than not have never been to Nigeria; forget learning our ethnic tongues. With the 68
The Diaspora - African Magazine | October 2021
