STATEMENT BY DR. (MRS.) N. N. AKANBI, AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND

PLENIPOTENTIARY OF THE FEDERALREPUBLIC OF NIGERIA TO THE NETHERLANDS,DELIVERED

 AT THE MEETING WITH THE NIGERIANS IN DIASPORA ORGANISATION IN EUROPE, HELD IN

 HONOUR OF SENATOR IKE EKWERAMADU’S PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO THE

 NETHERLANDS FROM THE 6TH – 9TH FEBRUARY, 2009

Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,

Honourable Members of the National Assembly,

Distinguished Members of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organization,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

        It gives me a great pleasure to welcome you all to our newly remodeled Chancery and to introduce you to our august visitors, from Nigeria. As some of you might have been aware, this highly honoured delegation arrived in the Netherlands in the early hours of yesterday morning and they have been extremely occupied with matters germane to our national interest throughout the two days.  I am particularly impressed by the manner in which the team had conducted their business without any sign of fatigue or exasperation with the volume of programmes lined up for them.

2.     For those of you who know the leader of the team, you would not be surprised by the delegation’s performance.  The Distinguished Senator, Ike Ekweramadu, who is the leader of this very noble team, is the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate.  He has a reputation for hard work, dedication and achievements.  It was this reputation that earned him the covetous vote as the best Local Government Chairman of the Year 1997, for a record construction of an ultra-modern Local Government Secretariat for the New Local government area within 6 months in office and without taking any loans.

3.     Since 2003 when he became a member of the Senate, the Distinguished Senator has blazed the trail in several areas of endeavors, which, with his outstanding achievements as a legal luminaire, had established him as a highly respected Deputy Senate President.  It is indeed a great honour for us to have a man of such outstanding qualities, visit us today in the Netherlands.  He is also accompanied by a delegation of legislatures of no less achievement.

4.     Our most worthy Deputy Speaker, Hon. Bayero Usman Nafada, had been a speaker in the Gombe House of Assembly since 1997 where he championed the cause of the common man by pursuing bills that has direct bearing on people.  In his capacity as the Deputy Speaker of the National House of Assembly, the Hon. Deputy Speaker is reputed to be ‘a tireless task master’.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

5.  The other members of this delegation are men and women of high repute.  I am sure that during the course of our several interactions with them, we would have noticed and appreciated their mettle.  I can only express our collective gratitude and appreciation to them for giving us this unique privilege and opportunity to mix with them.  As we savour the essence of their presence, we must endeavour to introduce ourselves to them too. 

6.     In this regard, I would like to welcome all our brothers and sisters from the Nigerians in Diaspora Organizations from the 19th Chapters in Europe including the Netherlands.  I want to salute the Members of the Board of Trustees of this flag-bearers of our country in Europe.

 7.    As a body established to provide the official framework and platform for the various Nigerian Organizations, individuals and corporate bodies and to contribute towards Nigeria’s national development, I want to express my appreciation for all the efforts that you have all made individually and collectively to enhance the image of our country in Europe.  I also want to assure you that the government and people of our country are very much appreciative of your achievements since the year 2000 when your organization was inaugurated in Europe.  You have displayed a remarkable sense of responsibility that had earned your organization the recognition of our people as the official platform through which individual Nigerian Diaspora, their community Organizations, and Corporate bodies can channel their development efforts to our country, Nigeria.  Your partnership with the Nigerian Communities/Professional Organizations as well as public and private businesses has greatly enhanced the mobilization and introduction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), professional networking, stakeholder advocacy, medical missions, educational support and skill transfer to Nigeria.

 8.     Despite all these achievements, the challenges before our nation demand more contributions from your Organization and the over 3 million Nigerians under your watch.   As you are all aware, the present administration under the leadership of our President, Alhaji Umar Musa Yar’Adua, GCFR, has adopted a seven point Agenda which all our citizens at home acclaimed as a laudable effort geared toward the economic development of Nigeria and the well being of every Nigerian both at home and abroad.  I sincerely appeal to all of you to exert your enormous best to contribute individually and collectively to these deliberate design by our government to tackle the challenges in the areas of energy and power sector for the oiling of the wheels of progress; security for a conducive environment for foreign investors to come in, invest and live in Nigeria without fear of their lives and properties, agriculture for food security: wealth creation to eliminate poverty; education for a vibrant and qualitative populace; mass transportation for easy movement of people, goods and services and a conscious plan to address the Niger Delta issue.

9.  I must emphasize that there are great potentials that lie in our countries’ business climate.  If you or your European partners are looking for new markets, manufacturing or economic investments, Nigeria has the right environment, it is the place to be.

 10.     Many of you must have heard of the strident efforts made by the Embassy to encourage foreign direct investments by Dutch Business Entrepreneurs in Nigeria since the presentation of my Credentials to Queen Beatirx of the Netherlands, in June 2008.  These efforts culminated in a successful trade mission to Nigeria led by me, barely two months after the presentation of my credentials.  This visit was highly successful as the team was able to meet with the Vice-President of Nigeria, the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, other Ministers and business chieftains in the private and public sectors.  Several Memoranda of Understanding were concluded and many of these agreements are already been executed.

11.  We have already started making arrangements for another trade and investments team to visit Nigeria latest by March or April this year.  I welcome you all to introduce serious partners to us to join us on this trip to Nigeria. We hope that we would be able to reciprocate all these visits to Nigeria by bringing Nigerian Entrepreneurs to the Netherlands before the end of this year. We are also in the process of arranging a joint exhibition of products from Nigeria in the Netherlands in collaboration with the South Africa and Malaysian Embassies.  I look forward to receiving your full support and cooperation in all these endeavours.

My Fellow Compatriots,

12.    The essence of our mobilization of the Nigerians in Diaspora in Europe is not limited to their participation in the developmental processes at home but also to ensure that they are in a position to garner their experiences towards helping each other. To this end, I have called upon the Nigerian Associations and community leaders in the Netherlands, to embark on meaningful and relevant projects or initiatives such as; international schools just like the British and American school, Vocational Schools for emerging youths and summer camps for Nigerian children where our culture and tradition could be taught to them.  I have also tried to encourage them to take advantage of the current mortgage facilities for the purchase of ready-made houses being offered by various banks in Nigeria where they can own a home in any state of Nigeria.

13.    In my various interactions with Nigerians in the Netherlands, I have made it a point of duty to explain to them the full privileges of our new Foreign Policy Trust on ‘Citizens Diplomacy’ for the promotion of the economic and socio-cultural well being of Nigerians and protection of their rights in and outside Nigeria.  I have impressed upon them the need to own a Nigerian Identity Card which is designed by this Embassy to facilitate easy identification and access to all the benefits of our citizen’s Diplomacy.

14.    As members of the Board of Trustees of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organizations in Europe and as leaders of our local communities, I call upon you to encourage all the Nigerian Communities and Associations to endeavour to come under one umbrella as they would make greater impact in their various countries of sojourn on one platform than under the existing situation.  The Diaspora organization is a very crucial, and I hope not for long, the missing link in the on-going development processes in our country.  I urge you to continue to encourage our Diaspora brothers and sisters to take a queue form the Polish, Jews, Chinese and Indian migrants who, managed to contribute their quota to the developments of their home countries in spite of the fact that they are far away from home. Our Nigerians in Diaspora should not hesitate to do likewise.

15.    Finally, I would like to encourage you to continue the struggle for the right to have your votes counted wherever you are resident as a Nigerian in Diaspora.  It is a democratic right enjoyed by many migrant populations all over the world.  I am sure that our Distinguished Parliamentarians would carry your message home to their colleagues and work out the modalities of allowing you to exercise your civic responsibilities as true Nigerians.  I thank the distinguished Senate Vice-President and the Hon. Deputy Speaker of the House as well as all members of this highly distinguished delegation for giving us the opportunity to engage in this interactive session with them.

        Thank You.

EMBASSY OF NIGERIA

7TH  February, 2009