Vice President Kashim Shettima has assured Nigerians in the diaspora, particularly those in the United States, that Nigeria remains open for business despite negative narratives about the country on social media.
Shettima made the statement on Wednesday during an interactive session with members of the Nigerian diaspora community at the Nigeria House in New York.
According to a statement issued on Thursday by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President urged Nigerians in the diaspora to support the administration of President Bola Tinubu as it works to reposition the economy and attract investment.
“Be rest assured that beyond the negative stories that you hear and see in the social media, Nigeria is open for business. We have crossed the rubicon, and we are on the path of sustained growth,” Shettima said.
He said the Federal Government was implementing measures to reposition key sectors of the economy, including education, health, science and technology, and agriculture, while seeking to leverage the expertise of Nigerians living abroad.
Shettima described the intellect of Nigerians in the diaspora as “the greatest resource of the future”, saying citizens had the capacity to harness the country’s potential and drive it to greater heights.
“Citizens of our country have the capacity and intellect to harness our nation’s potentials and take it to greater heights,” he said.
On the administration’s economic reforms, Shettima said President Tinubu had demonstrated courage from the beginning of his administration by taking decisions aimed at repositioning the economy rather than blaming his predecessor for the country’s challenges.
“When President Tinubu assumed office, he did not resort to trading blames and accusing his predecessor for the state of affairs of our nation. Rather, he took decisions that only a leader of courage and conviction would take,” he said.
The Vice President said the reforms were already producing tangible results, citing an increase in Nigeria’s foreign reserves from $3.9 billion to more than $55 billion and economic growth of 4.45 per cent in the last quarter.
He also said improvements in the exchange rate and foreign reserves would strengthen the safety of diaspora remittances, support exchange-rate stability and provide greater confidence for investments by Nigerians abroad.
“We are working day and night to reposition the Nigerian nation as investment confidence is returning to Nigeria, and the Dangote Refinery success story is a true manifestation in recent times,” Shettima said.
He said the administration was determined to redefine modern governance, adding that Africa was positioned to benefit from the next phase of global growth and that Nigeria had an important role to play.
On education, Shettima highlighted the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, saying more than 1.29 million students in tertiary institutions had accessed N125 billion since the programme began.
Addressing security challenges, he said the situation was not peculiar to Nigeria and that the administration was deploying all available means to contain emerging threats.
The Vice President also called for greater national unity, saying, “whatever binds us together supercedes whatever divides us as a people”.
The event was attended by Governors Babagana Zulum of Borno State, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State.
Also present were Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele and spouses of the governors of Kwara, Katsina, Abia and Osun states.
The ministers in attendance included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh; Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro; Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa; Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; and Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim.
Others were the Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Doris Uzoka-Anite, and Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Mariya Bunkure.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim; Nigeria’s Ambassador to Washington, Kayode Are; heads of government agencies and senior officials of the Nigerian mission in the United States also attended the session.
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