From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government has disclosed that it is set to launch a special mortgage loan scheme for Nigerians living in diaspora before the year ends in a bid to provide safe and decent opportunities for them to own property in the country without necessarily coming back home physically.
According to the Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank, Hamman Madu, made the disclosure at the opening of the three-day 5th Nigeria Diaspora Investment summit, tagged NDIS22 with the theme: “Optimizing investment opportunities for national development”.
He said Diaspora Mortgage loan scheme, an initiative of the bank, will help bridge the housing deficit gaps in the country.
He said, The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, had recognised that Nigerians in the diaspora contribute significantly to their host communities and Nigerian economies.
He added that the monies remitted back home has helped to stabilise the country.
According to him available statistics, show that there are over 20 million Nigerians in the diaspora and in the last one year, monies remitted back home is in excess of $20 billion.
Madu said: “You invest in your family, friends and the country leading to a huge economic transformation. It is in view of the foregoing and in order to broaden the mandate of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, that we developed a national housing fund product for Nigerians in the diaspora.
“This product will afford Nigerians in diaspora the opportunity to register with the National Housing fund Scheme, make monthly contributions and ultimately be able to access mortgage loans at reasonable rates in order to own their own houses back home without having to physically come to Nigeria before they can participate.
“The product is the Diaspora National Housing Mortgage fund. The long window offers the Nigerians in the diaspora mortgage loans to build or to develop houses or to buy and develop houses in Nigeria.
“So why this product or this type? The product provides an opportunity to own a decent home at home. Man naturally ventures out to search for enduring means of livelihood and thereafter instinctively, head home. His only impediment usually in any home is the absence of a decent accommodation to go back to.
“This product therefore provides him the opportunity to own such a decent home anywhere in the country. That is why the bank, the Federal Mortgage bank of Nigeria developed the Diaspora mortgage bank programme, targeted at Nigerians living outside the shores of this country to give them an opportunity to participate and benefit from the national housing scheme.
“It is also established that the volume of money remitted to Nigeria by our brothers and sisters in the diaspora is usually large. Though part of these remittances are for family upkeep and other needs.
“A large chunk of it is usually meant for investment in residential development back home. And many of such investments, usually fail to achieve the aspiration of our Nigerians in diaspora and therefore end up alienating them from coming back to Nigeria. “
The MD also said that the product will help address the housing gap in the country.
He therefore urged Nigerians living abroad to seize the opportunity provided by the product to all decent and affordable homes back in Nigeria. We expect that this product will be shortly launched before the end of this year.
Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit, coordinator and chairman, board of trustees Dr. Badewa Adejugbe-Williams, earlier said NDSI is made up of diaspora Nigerians who come together to give back.
She said: “This began in 2018 with the aim of exposing the diaspora to investment opportunities in Nigeria, thus attracting diaspora investment into the country. I don’t have to speak to the choir, I don’t have to tell you the enormous attributions that diaspora Nigeians have brought into the nation by their remittances like taking care of the social and economic needs of their family members.
“To achieve this, a lot of things was channeled into structuring the NDIS as a platform where diaspora private business owners, notable sponsors and partners, as well as government agencies to interact to explore investment opportunities and make business deals for the economic growth of our motherland.”
She said the summit’s attendance has grown from 400 in 2018 to 4,000 during the pandemic.
She said one of the success stories of the NDIS is that of one major organization made up of about 500 investors, that picked five different projects that they invested in. “Their nonprofit foundation identify about 10 different NGOs that they gave grants to as donations to help them with nonprofits”, she said.
Chairman/CEO,Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, noted that the platform provides for Nigerians in diaspora to interact with potential investors and partners, collaborators and government officials with a view to investing their resources, skills, talents and global exposure into the nation’s economy.
Represented by the Secretary of the Commission, Sule Bassai, she said the summit has been a huge success adding that every state in the country today have two or more diaspora investments running concurrently.