Posted by By Charles Ozoemena, Habib Yakub & Luka Binniyat on
NINE African Presidents have lamented the biting effect of brain drain in the continent, asking Africans in the Diaspora to......
NINE African Presidents have lamented the biting effect of brain drain in the continent, asking Africans in the Diaspora to return home and invest their talents in her development.
The presidents who made the call in their addresses at the ongoing 7th Sullivan Summit in Abuja with 42 countries in Africa, the Caribbeans and the United States in attendance, noted that Africa has a lot of potentials which could be maximized if much was made by her citizens scattered around the world.
The Presidents were Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria; Yayi Boni, Benin; Mamadu Tanja, Niger; Faure Gnassimgbe, Togo; Abdoulahi Wade, Senegal; Paul Kagame, Rwanda; Sudan Omar Bashir, Sudan; Blaise Campraore, Burkina Faso; Themba Dlamini, Prime Minister of Swaziland; Yaya Djamme, The Gambia.
President Obasanjo said he appreciated the contributions of Africans in the Diaspora so far, 'despite those benefits of sizable diaspora, we have to contend with the absence of so many of our thinkers and doers from our economies and societies.
'We have to commit to creating conditions here on the continent that will help us retain our brightest. As we reform our governance structures and economies, promoting more transparency and economic opportunities, I think that we are on the way turning the so-called ‘‘brain drain'' in Africa into ‘‘brain gain''.
He said there was urgent need to promote the Disapora's involvement in the continent's economic and social development and the enabling enterprising spirit of Africans on the continent.
According to Tanzania President, Kikwete, the challenges for Africa is real development, adding that what the country needs is resources.
'We have people in the Diaspora who can help us a lot, and their voice and contribution can help make a difference", he said.
President of Senegal, Wade, said, there was need for African to build itself anew, adding that such mechanism has to be set up to realize this objective.
President Tanja of Niger called for concerted efforts among African countries to ensure participation of the people in the diaspora. He noted that Africa, particularly Niger was rich and not poor. All it needed, he argued, was for the resources to be well harnessed.