The 2016 Diaspora Day Conference came and went by in a matter that can be described as "Jiffy'' with most Diasporans still asking questions on when this years conference will be holding, unaware that the conference has been concluded. I spoke with people who attended the 2015 Diaspora Day Conference, they also agreed that this years' conference cannot be compared to the shadow of last years event.
Below is a letter to the President, Muhammadu Buhari from Kemi Muritala a concerned Nigerian who witnessed the shoddy way in which the 2016 Diaspora Day Conference was put together.
More photos after the Jump.
"Sir: The 2016 Nigeria Diaspora Day has come and gone but its impacts, though negatively, will continue to haunt the organizers of this badly and hurriedly organised flopped conference. From when the committee was hurriedly set up late June barely a month to July 24 - 26 date under the chairmanship of Ambassador Olukunle Bamgbose, Permanent secretary (political affairs), office of the Federation, it had been programmed to fail.
It is painful as it is shameful that the only programme for Nigerians in the diaspora who had contributed a lot to national development including remittances over $21 billion to the country was shabbily planned and poorly executed. It was more disastrous that most stakeholders were fenced out of the Diaspora Day Conference unlike the successful 2015 Diaspora Day Conference where all the stake holders took active part.
One of the greatest flaws in this year's Diaspora Day Conference was that the portal for registration was not opened until about a week to the conference day and it was not even functional for people to register for the conference. Secondly, the invitation card for the conference was not made available until four days to the conference. Thirdly, apart from the press conference , no proper awareness was given to 2016 Diaspora Day, thus shutting out many genuine Diasporans from participating.
The aftermath was the recruitment of most Abuja based so-called Diasporans who were accredited to attend the event in one of the small halls at the International Conference Center unlike the 2015 conference held at the Aso Villa Banquet Confetence Hall filled to capacity with genuine Diasporans.
Even though the conference was planned for 500 delegates, less than 200 people delegates that attended actually live in Nigeria with the police and other secretariat staff filled the empty seats in the hall. Besides, most stakeholders like the chairpersons of the Diaspora Committee of both the House of Representatives and that of the senate were conspicuously absent as well as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora. It was indeed a shame.
Unlike 2015, when the Vice President Yemi Osibanjo represented the President, none of them was at the 2016 Diaspora conference which had as its theme: " Harnessing the potentials of the Diaspora for National Development". Whither the potentials to be harnessed when genuine stakeholders were shut out of the conference?
It is desirable that the organization of subsequent Diaspora conferences should be handled by the real Diasporans themselves and not the Nigerian National Volunteer Service. It will be of interest to members of the public to know how much of taxpayers' money was wasted in this badly Organised conference.
I hereby call on President Muhammadu Buhari to institute a panel to probe the activities of the 2016 Diaspora Day Conference so as to safeguard the country from the misfortune of a repeat in 2017"
