Over 5,000 Nigerian women are currently stranded in Iraq after being sent there as caregivers, according to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM).
The commission’s chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, shared this information during a seminar on “Sensitisation and Advocacy Program for Promoting Diaspora Investment Potentials in South-West Nigeria,” held in Lagos. The event was organized by NiDCOM in partnership with G-Consulting International Services Limited.
Dabiri-Erewa recounted a recent case involving a Nigerian woman who was sent to Iraq by her husband to work as a caregiver and died under mysterious circumstances. “As I speak with you today, there are about 5,000 women stranded in Iraq. I just dealt with a case last week. A husband sent his wife to Iraq to be a caregiver, and she’s dead,” she said.
The commission is now working to repatriate the woman’s body. “How do you bring the body back? That’s what is worrying the husband. He doesn’t know where to start. So we had to intervene. The mission had been able to intervene, and they will do an autopsy to determine how she died, as it was a mysterious death while working as a caregiver,” Dabiri-Erewa added.
She also stressed the importance of seeking local opportunities rather than risking dangerous migration. “There’s no point in seeking a better life and then dying in the process. This is our own way of saying there are opportunities in Nigeria,” she noted. Dabiri-Erewa also mentioned that similar workshops would be held across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones to highlight the country’s investment potential.
Additionally, she highlighted the increasing trend of African Americans and others in the diaspora tracing their roots to Nigeria. “We received about 14 people yesterday. They traced their roots, did their DNA, and discovered they are Nigerians. They are now finding out where they come from—some are Fulani, Igbo, Yoruba—and they want to return home to invest in Nigeria,” she said.
Dr. Godfrey Ajayi Sunday, Group Managing Director of G-Consulting, stated that the workshop aims to mobilize over $100 million in funding to support participants interested in partnering with the diaspora for business ventures. He identified real estate and agriculture as key investment sectors.
Other facilitators also urged participants to avoid irregular migration and explore Nigeria’s untapped potential. “While some people want to japa, many African Americans want to come back,” Dabiri-Erewa concluded, stressing the importance of encouraging diaspora investment in the country.
