‘We’re eager to come home and invest’ – Nigerians in diaspora
A group of Nigerian professionals in the U.S. have expressed their eagerness to come home and invest in the Nigerian economy to fast-track the development of the country.
Some of the professionals who spoke at the inauguration of the Nigerians-American Business Forum at Florida, said they were determined to use their wealth of experience to develop their fatherland.
They said many of them started out from Nigeria where they had free world-class education and were able to compete and succeed on the global stage, adding it is now time to give back to their country.
The forum inaugurated several work groups tasked with fashioning out practicable solutions to some of the challenges currently militating against the development of the country.
The infrastructure and technology work group was constituted by professionals within America’s Fortune 500 Corporation, with expertise in engineering, information technology, architecture, electrical power and modern agriculture infrastructure, among others.
A member of the group, Mr Gboyega Aladegbami, said: “We have been doing great things in America and now, we want to transfer our expertise back home”.
“I am in charge of Smart Cities in Los Angeles; if I can do it for Los Angeles, I can do it for Nigeria.
“We have to change the narratives about Nigeria; we are ready to partner with the Nigerian Government”.
President of the U.S.-based forum, Mr Kenneth Shobola, said the group could take on any world-class building, engineering and technology project in Nigeria, including road construction.
Shobola, particularly, urged the Nigerian Government to utilise the group’s expertise for the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, saying it has been under construction since he was young.
“We have our Diaspora eager to come home. Most of us here are comfortable and don’t need to come home but Nigeria is our home,” he said.
The Health and Business Development group comprised of world-class experienced medical professionals with expertise in radiation therapies, cancer pharmacotherapeutics and telemedicine, among others.
NAN reports that Pharmacotherapy is therapy using pharmaceutical drugs, as distinguished from therapy using surgery, radiation, movement, or other modes.
Dr Oluyemi Badero, one of America’s best cardiologists, bemoaned the many ill-equipped and abandoned healthcare projects in Nigeria, saying they are offering their talents for the benefits of Nigeria.
“We have been called to different countries, we are ready to do it in Nigeria. For the past five years, there is no month that we are not in Nigeria; Nigeria is littered with under-equipped hospitals.
