Nigerians Abroad Remits $277bn Home in 14 Years

• Nigerians Abroad Remits $277bn Home in 14 Years

Over the years, Nigerians in the diaspora have helped stimulate economic productivity through substantial remittance back home.

The data compiled by BusinessDay has shown that Nigerians in the diaspora remitted a total of $277.3 billion into the Nigerian economy in the past 14 years.

Remittances were mainly from the United States of America, Switzerland, Germany, Russia and China, according to the Global Knowledge Partnership on migration.

Another report by Dalberg Advisors, titled ‘Nigeria Diaspora: Opportunities for Increasing the Development Impact of Nigeria’s Diaspora,’ revealed that most of the remitted funds were invested in the real estate sector.

“Among potential future investments, real estate and entrepreneurship are the most popular categories. Nearly all currently investing or interested in investing in Nigeria would like to invest in the South-west.”

International remittances has been recognised as an important growth driver in most developing economies. However, experts believed the federal government needs to do more to further encourage broad base investment.

“The government in collaboration with other partners can address barriers to engagement at the ecosystem level to make it easier and more compelling for the diaspora to engage in Nigeria.”

On average, Nigerians abroad remit over 15.8 billion pounds to the country yearly.

These funds have helped deepen growth and reduce pressure on the foreign exchange reserves. In the last 4 years, Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have risen from about $23 billion to over $42 billion. While some analysts have attributed this to stable oil prices and effective forex policy. Majority of experts believed it is a combination of huge inflow via remittance, capital importation and oil earnings.