With over 2.5 million Nigerians living in UK, the African-British Returnees international and Ben TV International has revealed that Nigerians living in the United Kingdom spend ₤300 million annually on British education, which they believe would make a wide range of difference if the said amount of money is spent on the educational sector back home (Nigeria).
They two bodies said; more than 2.5 million Nigerians “are currently living in the UK,” who they said, could have contributed to a large extent to the country’s socio-economic development if they lived at home given the achievement many of them had accomplish in their callings and professions.
The statistics were released at a recent news conference the Regional Director of Ben TV West Africa, Mr. Lanre Ijaola addressed at the station’s Lagos Office, Ikeja alongside the Head of News, Tunde Alabi and the founder of African-British Returnees International, Mr. Al-Ja’afaru Braimoh among others.
At the conference, Alabi said Nigerians spent at minimum £300 million annually on British education aside from a huge sum of money in pound sterling spent annually on properties and rents, noting that they contributed immensely to the British economy.
He said there “are a good number of Nigerians living in the UK. They are doing well in their callings, especially in healthcare, education and banking among others. In the British universities, there are Nigerians, who are heads of departments, deans of faculties and professors. They are doing well.
But according to Alabi, a lot of people are struggling over there. For instance, the UK economy is growing at 1.25 percent. Yet, its citizens are praising the government for the growth rate. Nigerian has one of the fastest growing economy in the world, but this does not really mean so much to many countrymen.
Also speaking, Ijaola explained the mission of Ben TV in the forthcoming elections, which he said, would give maximum publicity “to events beyond Nigeria. Ben TV is the right platform of choice reaching Europe, US, Middle East, Asia and the rest of the world.”
He, also, announced the station’s partnership with African-British Returnees International, an international NGO specialising in assisting returning Africans back “to base, more so, people who want to return back to their various countries to settle down.”
He added that statistics “has revealed that the economic impact through remittance from Nigerians in the diaspora is in billions of Dollars annually and their wish and aspiration is for them to have the right to vote. Unfortunately, we still await legislation to this effect maybe in the nearest future.”
The regional director noted that the country’s “huge diaspora population can be a potent force for Nigeria’s transformation especially with the huge potential of professionals in different field of endeavours.”
He opined that they have been exposed to world best practice in their public, private and entrepreneurial fields. Even with this, Ijaola lamented that less than five weeks to the 2015 polls, Nigerians in United Kingdom “still awaits legislation to participate in the country’s election processes.”
The regional director stated that the wish and aspiration of Nigerians in diaspora was “to have the right to vote in the forthcoming elections. We, also, pray for a peaceful election in Nigeria. Political gladiators must respect the verdict and embrace whoever wins in the spirit of sportsmanship.
