THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
A big housing project for Nigerians living outside of their home country is to be built in Abuja.
When completed, the Diaspora Mega City Housing Project, which is expected to consist of over 17,000 housing units of different models, will give Nigerians in the Diaspora an opportunity to have a roof over their heads in the nation’s capital city.
Senator Gbenga Ashafa, Managing Director, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), unveiled the project recently when he visited Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), in her office in Abuja.
Ashafa said the project, which is to be cited on 675 hectares of land in the Maitama area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), would create 3 million jobs as well as a “limitless value chain and opportunities”.
“Today is a historic day as we begin the process of having a Diaspora City within the Federal Capital Territory that Nigerians in the Diaspora wherever they are can be proud to own a home in their own country,” Ms Dabiri-Erewa remarked, adding that “the mega city project will make the Diaspora to invest wisely, get results and prevent them from the excessive loss and agony they usually experience through third party transactions.”
The plan for a Diaspora Village or Estate in Abuja was first mooted many years ago and application forms were even sold to Nigerians living abroad. However, nothing came out of the plan.
While the implementation details of the new plan, a tripartite agency collaboration comprising the FHA, NIDCOM and the FCT, have not been released, many are hopeful that the Diaspora city will at last become a reality.
Kola Tella
