FG tells Nigerians abroad to return, says things are changing

The Federal Government has assured Nigerians living in Europe and America that things have began to change for the better in the country and so, they should come back and contribute their quota.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, gave the assurance during a series of Town halls with Nigerians in the U.S., where he appealed to them to come home and help build the Nigeria of their dream.

Onu was in the U.S. to sensitise diaspora Nigerians on the Presidential Executive Order V signed by President Muhammadu Buhari in February, aimed at improving local content in public procurement with science, engineering and technology components.

[penci_blockquote style=”style-2″ align=”none” author=””]. “Things are changing in our country, and if all of us can walk together, if we can do that, then we can now build a great nation that all of us would be proud of.[/penci_blockquote]

According to the order, all “procuring authorities shall give preference to Nigerian companies and firms in the award of contracts, in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007”.

The minister said: “Please we want you to return home, it is important. Not everybody will return but some can start coming home, and that’s the essence.

“We are telling you that things are changing in Nigeria, this is the message, that’s why I’m here.

“I heard all the complaints – people will do this and nobody responds and all that and so on; yes, these are things that happened in the past and we can’t correct these things just overnight.

[penci_related_posts taxonomies=”undefined” title=”Online Related Posts” background=”” border=”” thumbright=”no” number=”4″ style=”grid” align=”none” displayby=”recent_posts” orderby=”random”]

“This is the truth, there is no way you can make these changes and then make the corrections and all that overnight. But the important thing is that there is a change”.

He said Nigeria had never had it like this before about the level of infrastructure development that was going on in our country, stressing that the country is having changes across board.

“Things are changing in our country, and if all of us can walk together, if we can do that, then we can now build a great nation that all of us would be proud of.

“This is the message and I believe that this is also your intentions that our nation will be a great nation. Please, you should never have any doubt about the future of our country.

“We have some of the most intelligent people in the world. I can tell you this because I know those Nigerians who have done so well in the best universities, in the best research centres in the world.”

According to him, the executive order will make money for Nigeria and Nigerians, create jobs for the citizens, fight poverty and increase the middle class in the nation.

Onu thanked the diasporas for their remittances to Nigeria estimated at 22 billion dollars yearly, saying it is a major contribution for our nation “but we want you to return home”.