Going Abroad Shouldn’t Mean Losing Touch With Reality, Dabiri-Erewa Tells LASU Graduates
Kehinde Adeleye
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has urged graduating students of Lagos State University (LASU) to embrace global opportunities without losing touch with Nigeria or their responsibilities to the country.
Dabiri-Erewa gave the charge on Tuesday while delivering the convocation lecture at LASU’s 29th and 30th Convocation Ceremonies.
Speaking on the theme, “From LASU to the World: Harnessing the Nigerian Diaspora as the 7th Region for National Development,” she encouraged the graduates to see international exposure as an opportunity to acquire knowledge, build networks and gain experiences that could be channelled towards national development.
She stressed that going abroad should not mean losing touch with Nigeria, but rather expanding one’s capacity to contribute meaningfully to the country.
According to her, Nigerians living abroad constitute a significant pool of expertise, investment, innovation and international connections that can be harnessed to support Nigeria’s development.
Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement issued by NiDCOM’s Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, described the Nigerian diaspora as Nigeria’s “7th Region.”
She urged the graduates to pursue excellence wherever their careers take them while maintaining meaningful connections with their homeland.
“Be Useful, Visible and Nigerian,” she told the graduates, charging them to become positive ambassadors of the country wherever they live and work.
The NiDCOM boss also identified investment, innovation, knowledge transfer, mentorship and strategic partnerships as key ways Nigerians in the diaspora could contribute to national development.
She challenged the graduates to look beyond personal success and consider how their skills, experiences and networks could create positive change in their communities and Nigeria at large.
Her message was that global exposure should expand the graduates’ impact, not disconnect them from home.
