Afamefuna Ezenwankwo, an award-winning social media influencer, has stated that the diaspora remittances from Nigerians living abroad to their loved ones keep Nigeria going as a nation.
Ezenwankwo, popularly known as Afam Dexulo, made the comment on social media as conversations about the Nigerian economy continue to generate debates.
According to him, without the diaspora remittances, poverty would have been endemic in the country.
His words:
”Last year diaspora remittance was at a staggering $19.8 billion. If you stop half of this remittance from going to Nigeria today, Nigerians will eat fellow Nigerians.
”The only thing still keeping Nigeria away from an apocalypse is diaspora remittance.”
Onyeje Chika agrees with Ezenwankwo and even expanded the conversation to include non-cash remittances.
He wrote:
“This only tells part of the story. Cars, laptops, cash, clothes, pieces of jewellery, naira transfers, phones and other gift items are not even captured here. That figure may be around $30 billion if everything is taken into consideration.”
Ebe Ogidi says the figure is likely to increase this year. He said:
“Totally agree. There will be more this year because those at home increasingly depend on these remittances.”
Experts say the substantial influx of funds from overseas plays a vital role in supporting Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves and contributes to household incomes.
According to a World Bank report earlier this year, the Nigerian Diaspora community has remitted $168.33 billion to the country in the past eight years.
Many Nigerians have relocated to the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Turkey, Australia and the United States, among others, in recent years in search of greener pastures.