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PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHUJA #1765/01 2671322
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241322Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7087
INFO RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 2003
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0559
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0448
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0426
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001765 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/PDPA, INR/AA, S/P and S/GPI 
 
LONDON, PARIS, ROME for AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A 
TAGS: PREL NI
SUBJECT: Engaging the Nigerian Diaspora 
 
REF: STATE 86401 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: An estimated 20 million people of Nigerian descent 
reside outside Nigeria, with about three million in the United 
Kingdom (and about one million in the United States.  Nigerian 
immigration to the U.S. began in the late 1960s and accelerated in 
the the mid- to late-1980s due to political and economic problems 
exacerbated by the Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha military 
regimes.  The departure of much of Nigeria's small professional and 
middle class over the past four decades has significantly undermined 
Nigeria's capacity for development.  Due to the global financial 
crises, we hear anecdotally that many Nigerians are returning from 
the U.S. to help with development, work in government, and open 
businesses.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. Nigerian immigrants to the U.S. continue to be well-educated, 
pursuing educational opportunities in undergraduate and 
post-graduate institutions.  Currently, over 6,000 Nigerians study 
in the U.S., the largest number of Africans to do so.  The largest 
Nigerian diaspora communities are in Chicago, Houston, Prince 
George's County (Maryland), New York, and Atlanta.  In addition to 
its Embassy in Washington, Nigeria has consulates in New York and 
Atlanta. 
 
¶3. Responses to questions in reftel follow: 
 
(A) Nigeria has the largest population in Africa and its people 
constitute a significant portion of the number of immigrants (legal 
and illegal) to the U.K., U.S., Canada, and Nigeria's neighboring 
countries. 
 
--Several websites cater to the Nigerian diaspora: 
 
 
---www.nigerianmuse.com: One of the most current sites, it has a 
minimum of the advertisements "seeking investment" that 
traditionally appear on Nigerian websites. 
 
---nigeriaworld.com: This site hosts an oft-visited message board, 
but contains several advertisements. 
 
---allafrica.com/nigeria/: Weblog that functions as a loose-knit 
online community. 
 
---nigeriansinamerica.com: According to this website, NIA tries "to 
maturely express the Nigerian worldview from the perspective of 
Nigerians in America.  We are a misunderstood people, granted. We 
have also been given a bad name in certain circles by the foreign 
media intent on highlighting only the actions of the bad eggs in our 
midst.  Good thing we also have a voice...." 
 
--Nigerian diaspora on-line media outlets, such as 
saharareporters.com based in New York, are also read in Nigeria. 
 
(B) Connections between the diaspora community and Nigeria typically 
aggregate around cultural, religious, hometown, alumni, and social 
groups that occasionally fund development projects in Nigeria. 
 
--Nigerians are among the most affluent and best educated immigrants 
from sub-Saharan Africa.  They include captains of industry (e.g., 
American Express), doctors, lawyers, university professors, 
scientists, professional football (20 currently in the NFL) and 
basketball players, and college administrators. 
 
--Our Consular Sections in Abuja and Lagos see the push-pull effect 
and influence of immigrants on a daily basis, including through 
letters of introduction and support for visa clients wishing to 
travel to the U.S. for one reason or another. 
 
--In the mid-1980s, the Embassy's immigrant visa unit consisted of 
one FSN employee and one part-time FSO interviewer.  Today, the unit 
has ten FSNs and five FSOs to support the immigrant and diversity 
visa case-load.  Since Nigeria has been allocated ten percent of the 
Qvisa case-load.  Since Nigeria has been allocated ten percent of the 
FY10 Diversity Visa program, the Nigerian diaspora in the U.S. seems 
set for further growth. 
 
 
--A 2003 Western Union report claimed that transfers via the company 
to Nigeria averaged about $3 billion per annum for the previous 
seven years. (Note: This is significantly higher than the amount 
stated below.)  Western Union does not transfer funds from within 
Nigeria. 
 
ABUJA 00001765  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
(C) As far as we are able to determine, the GON has not activated 
its diaspora communities for humanitarian relief beyond what is 
outlined below.  However, there are a number of Nigerian-Americans 
that lead NGOs in the U.S. and Nigeria in health and education. 
Opportunities to maintain diaspora community involvement in Nigeria 
over the long term will continue to increase. 
 
(D) Nigerians in the U.S. and Nigerian-Americans play important 
roles in promoting U.S.-Nigeria trade and investment.  Examples 
include Kofa International, a Chicago-based company that supplies 
construction, dredging and other heavy equipment (new and used) to 
Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.  The company, led by a 
Nigerian-American, is a leading exporter from the U.S., represents 
several major U.S. manufacturers, and is a prominent client of the 
U.S. EximBank. 
 
--Clear Essence Spa in Lagos is an investment by two Nigerian-born 
U.S. citizen brothers, one of whom is a chemical engineer and well 
known as an innovator and developer of cosmetic and beauty products 
popular in the U.S., Nigeria, and throughout Africa. 
 
--Several Nigerian chambers (e.g., Los Angeles and Miami) and 
associations function in the U.S.  Their effect in promoting or 
facilitating trade and investment is unclear, but the organizations 
offer networking opportunities for their members and maintain 
contacts in Nigeria. 
 
--Houston-based Global Energy USA, which has 12 to 20 expatriates 
working in Port Harcourt and Abuja and is led by a 
Nigerian-American, is planning to sponsor a tour by the Houston 
Symphony Orchestra to Abuja and Lagos in 2010. 
 
(E and G) Members of the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the 
Americas (ANPA) regularly return to offer assistance to patients and 
doctors in Nigeria.  Several opportunities exist for the 
Nigerian-American medical community to become involved in tackling 
HIV/AIDS through the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
(PEPFAR). 
 
(F) Several organizations attempt to harness the influence and 
technical skills of the Nigerian diaspora community in the U.S. to 
assist in conflict resolution, including Delta Diaspora Direct (D3) 
(www.deltadiasporadirect.org).  D3 involves a Delta state 
government-sponsored initiative aimed at linking Delta diaspora 
expertise with home-based talent to accelerate development of the 
state.  According to the D3 website, Delta State diasporans want to 
contribute to the government's effort at socio-economic 
transformation of the state. The D3 Initiative provides a platform 
for mobilizing technical expertise, financial resources and contacts 
that Delta diasporans can use to support development of their state. 
Initial areas of focus include the Governor's three-point program of 
peace/security, human capital development and infrastructure 
development as well as agricultural, medical care and environmental 
protection sectors. 
 
(H) Many Nigeria-related organizations and universities in the U.S. 
are pushing to ensure future elections in Nigeria, especially the 
April 2011 presidential election, improve markedly over the 2007 
poll. 
 
--The Change Nigeria Project Incorporated 
(changenigeriaproject.org), recently established to lobby for 
Nigerians in the diaspora to vote from overseas, has taken on a 
broader mandate.  The organization will host a forum October 1 
entitled, "Nigeria at 49: The Way Forward Conference," at the 
Qentitled, "Nigeria at 49: The Way Forward Conference," at the 
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington to discuss 
electoral reform, the Niger Delta, Diaspora Voting Rights, and the 
Role of Diaspora in Nation Building.  The GON, while aware of this 
organization, has not committed to sending a representative to the 
upcoming forum due to concerns that it will devolve into a 
GON-bashing exercise. 
 
--The National Endowment for Democracy recently hosted 
Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow Anyakwee Nsirimovu for a five-month 
fellowship that concluded in a June 2009 presentation, "Arms 
Proliferation as a Threat to Democracy in the Niger Delta," 
examining how the proliferation of small arms in the Niger Delta 
region and governance deficit threatened efforts of civil society, 
the donor community, and others to advance democracy in Nigeria. 
Nsirimovu is founder and executive director of the Institute of 
Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (IHRHL), a Nigerian human rights 
 
ABUJA 00001765  003 OF 003 
 
 
organization that serves the Niger Delta region. 
 
(I) Since the return of multi-party democracy in 1999, former 
Nigerian head-of-state Olusegun Obasanjo has made numerous appeals, 
especially to young Nigerian professionals in the U.S., to return to 
Nigeria to help its rebuilding effort.  Obasanjo's efforts have met 
with mixed results, as some potential migrants consider Nigeria's 
socio-economic situation unstable.  However, due to the recent 
economic slowdown in the U.S., anecdotal evidence suggests some 
professional Nigerians have returned home to pursue economic 
opportunities, including opening small businesses and restaurants. 
 
--The Nigerian government has attempted to harness the diaspora and 
has several American-Nigerian citizens working in appointed 
positions. 
 
--Nigeria's National Assembly created a Committee on Diaspora 
(www.diasporacommittee.com) to "promote the exchange of ideas 
between home country and Nigerians in the diaspora and to collect 
and maintain data on Nigerians in the diaspora from consulates, 
ministries of foreign affairs, education, justice, the population 
registers, censuses, employment agencies and statistical divisions 
of international organizations and international census bureau for 
domestic planning and uses.  The committee aims to initiate policies 
to recognize and harness the potential of Nigerians in the diaspora 
in support of development and growth in both their home and host 
countries and to encourage and monitor diaspora networks and 
organizations and assist in the realization of their agenda and 
promote institutional change to help public servants collaborate 
effectively with diaspora representatives." 
 
--Chairperson Abike Dabiri-Erewa said the Committee has worked on 
citizen diplomacy by creating diaspora desks in all Nigerian 
missions abroad.  Dabiri claimed the total remittance of Nigerians 
in the diaspora was not less than N18 Billion (about 117 million 
USD) annually. 
 
--According to its website (nidoamerica.com), Nigerians in Diaspora 
Organization (NIDO) in the Americas serves as a non-profit 
organization in Washington, DC, drawing upon resources from the 
synergy of all Nigerian professionals in the diaspora, to instill 
ethical consciousness and civic responsibility.  NIDO is focusing on 
professional networking, social advocacy, education, healthcare, 
technological and economic empowerment, skills, and cultural 
exchange projects.  The GON recognizes NIDO as the umbrella 
organization for all Nigerians in the Americas and Caribbean 
including their community-based organizations.  In 2005, NIDO 
established an official charitable arm for the organization. 
 
NIDO, located at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, will host 
its first annual Business and Community Development conference in 
Boston on October 10. 
 
(J) Ambassador Sanders has participated in speaking engagements in 
the U.S. with audiences that include members of the Nigerian 
diaspora.  She recently conducted an event with the African-American 
community in Washington, D.C. 
 
(K) Mission has had no experience in this area. 
 
(L) Mission has not designed or participated in public diplomacy 
programs customized to diaspora community needs and interests due to 
Smith-Mundt limitations and has no plans to do so in the future. 
 
 
(M) We encourage the Nigerian diaspora community to access our 
website (Nigeria.usembassy.gov) regularly to read about our ongoing 
Qwebsite (Nigeria.usembassy.gov) regularly to read about our ongoing 
activities, to learn about opportunities to further engage, and to 
provide feedback. 
 
¶4. Embassy recommends that S/GPI contact NIDO at the Nigerian 
Embassy in Washington as the first step in investigating 
opportunities to engage the Nigerian Diaspora in the U.S.  Point of 
contact for future reference and follow-up is Political Section 
Deputy Chief Jeffery A. Salaiz (email available on the Global 
Address List, extension 4219). 
 
SANDERS