Nigeria to build Diaspora village in Abuja
Nigeria is set to build a Diaspora village to house Nigerians wishing to return back to the country.
This was disclosed by FCT minister, Nasir el-Rufai at the 1st Nigerians in Diaspora Conference in Toronto, Canada at the weekend.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent in Toronto, reports that the project, to be sited on 65 hectares of land in the capital city will be undertaken under a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), arrangement.
The minister was represented at the occasion by his Education counterpart, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili.
In a paper entitled: “The Diaspora and Socio-Economic Development of Nigeria’’, el-Rufai said that the village would comprise of 146, 85 and 50 high, medium and low density plots.
He said that the village would have a mosque and church, clinics, community centre, schools, hotels, shopping malls and what he referred to as “social development corridors’’.
The minister therefore called on Nigerians in Diaspora to commit themselves to the project by investing in infrastructural development, real estate, tourism and other recreational facilities.
He urged them to also explore other opportunities in the federal capital, such as the development of the Abuja technology village, Jabi development project, the automotive village and the city’s light-rail system.
Others, he said was the construction of large shopping malls in parts of Abuja, as well as the industrial parks for small and medium scale industries.
He also charged the Nigerians in Diaspora to contribute to the efforts of revitalising the Nigerian economy through imparting their knowledge and skills to Nigerians at home.
El-Rufai appealed to them to emulate the teachings of former US President, late J.F. Kennedy, who said, “ think not what your country can do for you, but think what you can do for your country’’.
On Nigeria’s socio-economic transformation, the minister advocated for “sincere and just leadership to sustain the current economic reforms and protect human and national resources’’.
“The need for committed and focused leaders in both the public and private sectors of the economy is unparalleled to any other political motive,’’ he added.