A diaspora development intervention network

Earlier in the year Awareness for development a migrant community based forum in Ireland conceived an accident and emergency rescue project as part of its vision for Diaspora development intervention initiative. The project was rationalised by the virtual total absence of a coordinated accident and emergency structure in Nigeria since independence. It was also motivated by the increase in the harrowing experience in road traffic and work place accidents in Nigeria.

The project developed by a project team led by Son Gyoh, a consultant in development management, is the outcome of 5 months of consultations and research that engaged a range of stakeholder organisations in Nigeria as well as professionals in Ireland.  To increase awareness and educe support for the project, the group launched a web based signature petition as well as a manual signature campaign. The project was designed to be presented to the House committee on Diaspora to push as a supplementary bill to existing acts/decrees but also modelled with flexibility for an executive directive.

In the past few years now, the case for a stronger partnership between regional development organisations and the Africa Diaspora community has been gaining more ground. Although the debates have not gone ‘mainstream’, there is recognition that migrant led civil society groups can be enablers of institutional transformation necessary to steer development and reverse the trend of mass migration driven largely by the search for opportunities. At the EU/UN level especially, there is the belief that professionals and entrepreneurs from the Diaspora community can help drive development and institutional transformation in Africa.