… Tinubu Must Address Insecurity First
President Bola Tinubu’s appeal to Nigerians living abroad to move beyond remittances and invest in productive ventures at home is timely and important. Nigeria undoubtedly needs diaspora capital, expertise, technology and international networks to accelerate economic growth, create jobs and expand productive capacity.
Speaking at the Nigeria Diaspora Economic Conference 2026 in Toronto, Canada, the President rightly observed that remittances have helped Nigerian families pay school fees and medical bills, build houses and sustain small businesses. But he argued that remittances should be “the floor of diaspora engagement, not its ceiling,” urging Nigerians abroad to invest in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, technology, energy, logistics, mining, education, housing, creative industries and export manufacturing.
The argument is compelling. But there is a fundamental question the government must answer: How can Nigerians living abroad be expected to bring their hard-earned savings home when many remain deeply concerned about their personal safety and the security of their investments?
For many Nigerians in the diaspora, the desire to return home and contribute to national development is genuine. They want to establish businesses, create employment, support their communities and build a future in the country of their birth. Many have spent decades abroad working, saving and acquiring the skills and capital that Nigeria desperately needs.
Yet insecurity remains one of the biggest obstacles to that dream.
Imagine a Nigerian who has lived abroad for 20 or 30 years, carefully saving money with the intention of returning home to build a house, establish a factory, open a school or invest in a business. After years of sacrifice, that person returns to Nigeria with substantial savings and suddenly becomes a potential target because criminals assume that someone returning from abroad must have money.
Kidnapping, extortion and violent crime can turn what should be a homecoming into a nightmare. A victim may be forced to surrender savings accumulated over decades, while family members are subjected to enormous emotional and financial pressure to secure their release.
This is why insecurity should not be viewed solely as a security problem. It is also an economic problem.
Investors, whether domestic or foreign, make decisions based on risk. If people believe that their lives, families, employees, businesses or assets are unsafe, they will naturally hesitate before committing substantial capital. Patriotism may encourage someone to consider investing in Nigeria, but patriotism alone cannot eliminate fear.
The same principle applies to Nigerians in the diaspora.
The President is right to demand that diaspora Nigerians move from simply sending money home to making productive investments. But the government must also recognise that investment is built on confidence. People need confidence that their property will be protected, that contracts will be respected, that disputes can be resolved fairly and quickly, that regulations will be predictable and, above all, that they and their families will be safe.
The administration’s efforts to improve access to Nigeria’s financial system through initiatives such as the Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account, Non-Resident Nigerian Investment Account and non-resident Bank Verification Number are welcome. So too are calls for professionally managed investment clubs, sector funds, co-investment vehicles and stronger corporate governance.
But these mechanisms will have limited impact if the underlying security environment remains a major source of anxiety.
The government must therefore treat security as a central component of its diaspora investment strategy. Protecting lives and property should not be presented as a separate issue from economic development. It is a prerequisite for it.
Nigeria has much to offer diaspora investors. It has a large consumer market, a young population, abundant natural resources, entrepreneurial talent and access to the wider African market through the African Continental Free Trade Area. Nigerians abroad also possess valuable international connections, technical expertise and knowledge of global markets.
The challenge is to create an environment in which they can deploy those advantages with confidence.
The government should therefore go beyond appeals to patriotism and demonstrate, through measurable action, that returning Nigerians and their investments will be protected. This means strengthening security around vulnerable communities and economic centres, improving intelligence gathering, tackling kidnapping networks, ensuring effective policing and making the justice system capable of bringing perpetrators to account.
It also means creating credible channels through which diaspora investors can report threats, resolve disputes and obtain timely assistance when their businesses or properties are endangered.
Tinubu is right that the success of the diaspora conference should not be measured by speeches, applause or a final communiqué. It should be measured by the businesses established, jobs created, institutions strengthened, research partnerships formed and export opportunities opened.
But there should be another measure: whether Nigerians abroad feel sufficiently safe and confident to put their savings and expertise into Nigeria.
Diaspora Nigerians have the capital, skills, experience and global networks that the country needs. They can become powerful partners in Nigeria’s economic transformation.
But Nigeria cannot ask them to take investment risks while ignoring the security risks.
If the government genuinely wants remittances to become productive investment, it must first build an environment in which diaspora Nigerians can return home without fear, invest without anxiety and build businesses without constantly worrying that their lives, families or assets are at risk.
Patriotism can inspire investment. Opportunity can attract it. But security and confidence are what sustain it.
Nigeria must provide both.