'Nigerian Factor' Hampering Diaspora Efforts

8th March 2011:

DAILY TRUST

Nigeria: CANUK - 'Nigerian Factor' Hampering Diaspora Efforts

Ibrahim Chonoko
7 March 2011
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London - The Central Association of Nigerians in the United Kingdom (CANUK) has blamed what it termed 'the Nigerian Factor' for the failure of past efforts by the Nigerian Diaspora community to help "bring Nigeria out of the woods."
In a statement issued in London and signed by its newly elected chairman, Dr Bimbo Roberts Folayan, the association lamented that "our country is in trouble and yet will not accept help from its Diasporan community," and described as "unacceptable the way Diasporans are treated by Nigerians at home.

"Nigeria is presently confronted with numerous serious problems which the government cannot tackle all alone without assistance from its citizens from abroad in collaboration with people at home", the statement said, pointing out that "past efforts to establish a viable and effective national think tank in Nigeria never succeeded because of the Nigerian factor."
The statement further said the association would reach out to other Diasporan communities, such as Jewish and Asian communities to learn how the brain drain of those communities were translated into brain gain for their countries, emphasizing that CANUK aims to realize the new maxim: "brain drain to brain train and to brain gain."
On the political front, the association lamented that none of the UK "Diasporans who went home to participate in the primaries of the political parties succeeded in being nominated by any of the political parties."