The IOM office in Abuja has organized a Diaspora Dialogue to
discuss the role of the Nigerian diaspora in Europe in their
country's development: The IOM Diaspora Dialogue, which took place
on 17 July at the UN House in Abuja, was held in cooperation with
the Nigerians in the Diaspora Organization, or  NIDO ( class="paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"http://www.nidoeurope.org/" target="_blank" title=
"">http://www.nidoeurope.org/), and Nigeria's Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.

Participants include IOM's Deputy Director General, Mrs. Ndioro
Ndiaye; government officials, including NIDO's Ambassador Keshi;
and representatives of the diaspora living in Austria, including
doctors, academics and women's groups.

Mrs. Ndiaye shared IOM's insight and expertise on mobilizing
diasporas for the development of their countries of origin through
IOM's the Migration and Development in Africa (MIDA) programme.

Nigeria faces a number of challenges in reaching the Key Goals
for "Vision 2020", which include building a healthy, well-educated
nation with a thriving private sector. 

The discussion focused on three main areas where the diaspora
can help: education, health and private sector development. 
Some of the skills that the Nigerian diaspora can contribute
include the following:

• Returning academics can reinvigorate universities, training a
  new generation of Nigerians;
• Retuning doctors can not only treat people, but also bring back
  management and development ideas and links with the institutions
  they know in Europe;
• Successful diaspora entrepreneurs can inspire Nigerians to
  build their own businesses, creating jobs and wealth.

The IOM Diaspora Dialogues offer an opportunity for migrants to
have their voices heard by the governments of their countries of
origin, share their ideas and possible contributions, and discuss
the obstacles that they face. 

Mrs. Ndioro Ndiaye said, "This latest IOM Diaspora Dialogue is
just the beginning of a process that will go beyond a single
videoconference.  Hopefully Nigeria's valuable diaspora will
be engaged over the long term and become an important partner for
Nigeria's development.  IOM's MIDA Nigeria programme is fully
committed to supporting this endeavour."

For more information, please contact:

Paul Tacon

IOM Geneva

Tel: +41 22 717 98 62

E-mail: "mailto:ptacon@iom.int">ptacon@iom.int