The Federal Government of Nigeria has reaffirmed its commitment to addressing national security challenges, leveraging the diaspora community for economic growth, and building strategic international partnerships based on mutual respect.
Speaking at the Nigerian Diaspora Economic Conference Dinner Night in Toronto, Canada, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, stated that containment of Nigeria’s multi-faceted security challenges remains a top priority for the administration.
”Security remains a major challenge, but the current administration is doing everything humanly possible to ensure that we contain these issues that have been with us for the past 10 or so years,” Enikanolaiye said.
Addressing diplomatic relations, the Minister highlighted Nigeria’s shift toward a “new era of partnership of strategic autonomy” with key global allies, including the United States. Briefing attendees on recent high-level talks in Washington, D.C., he noted that these engagements are designed to deliver direct outcomes in security, defense, economic prosperity, and citizen welfare.
Ambassador Enikanolaiye also emphasized the administration’s view of Nigerians living abroad, stating that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government considers the diaspora a strategic resource rather than a administrative weight.
”We don’t see you as a basket case of consular burden responsibilities always in need of government’s intervention,” the Minister noted. “On the contrary, we see you as a vital human resource with huge capacities for Nigeria which government is trying to harness in terms of our national development priorities.”
To maximize these contributions, the Minister called on Nigerians both at home and abroad to overcome internal divisions, specifically urging citizens to move past ethnic, religious, and tribal barriers to focus on productive economic collaboration.
Additionally, Enikanolaiye acknowledged host nations such as Canada for supporting bilateral cooperation built on mutual respect, while thanking conference organizers and diaspora stakeholders for their contributions to national development.
