By Iyoho Emmanuel
ABUJA — The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has called for a coherent policy framework to transform Nigeria’s growing diaspora remittances into productive investment capable of creating jobs, expanding exports and strengthening the value of the naira.
The organisation made the recommendation in its recently unveiled handbook, Political and Governance Agenda for the Economy, published in collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
According to CSJ, Nigeria’s large diaspora population represents an important economic asset that remains largely untapped as a source of investment, despite the substantial inflow of funds into the country from Nigerians living abroad.
The handbook noted that diaspora remittances rose from $17.21 billion in 2020 to about $19 billion in 2021, while it put the figure at $21.29 billion in 2024 and $26 billion in 2025, citing data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It, however, observed that a large proportion of the funds sent home by Nigerians in the diaspora was used primarily for family welfare and household support rather than capital investment.
CSJ argued that with Nigeria facing significant investment needs in critical sectors of the economy, including infrastructure and agriculture, the country should develop mechanisms to encourage highly skilled and high-earning Nigerians abroad to invest directly in the domestic economy.
The organisation said such an approach could help reduce the pressure on the Federal and state governments to rely heavily on borrowing to finance development.
It called for greater access to reliable investment information in Nigeria, particularly information on investment returns, interest rates on government bonds and opportunities in the Nigerian capital market.
According to the CSJ, competitive returns and opportunities for capital growth in Nigeria could make domestic investments more attractive to members of the diaspora compared with investment opportunities in some developed economies.
The organisation therefore recommended the development of transparent investment platforms and special-purpose vehicles through which Nigerians abroad could pool their resources and invest in productive ventures in the country.
It further proposed mechanisms that would enable members of the diaspora to participate in investments even where individual contributions fall below the minimum threshold normally required for international investment in medium, small and micro enterprises.
CSJ said such arrangements could widen participation and make diaspora investment accessible to a broader section of Nigerians abroad.
The Lead Director of CSJ, Eze Onyekpere, described the handbook as a “working document” designed to provide direction for economic governance and political discourse.
Onyekpere said the publication reviewed the building blocks of the Nigerian economy and raised key questions intended to help political parties, presidential aspirants and candidates focus on critical economic issues in their policies and manifestoes.
He explained that the objective was to mainstream economic issues in governance and political discourse and make them a national priority during political debates.
According to him, the handbook also provides a checklist that political parties can use to assess their manifestoes without having to navigate the numerous existing legal and policy frameworks.
He said the document could also be used to engage political and governance discourse at both the federal and state levels.
CSJ maintained that deliberate policies aimed at converting part of Nigeria’s diaspora remittances from household consumption into productive investment could provide an additional source of funding for businesses, infrastructure and other critical sectors of the economy.
The organisation urged political parties and political office seekers to clearly state how their proposed policies would address the challenges of mobilising diaspora resources for national development.