Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chief executive officer, Pelican Valley LTD, Ambassador (Dr) Babatunde Adeyemo and other professionals have urged Nigerians in the diaspora to continue to establish and maintain strong investment ties with their home country.
They gave the advice at the Avenue Impact Winner Ball, an exclusive networking event for project professionals in the diaspora, which held in London on Sunday night.
Despite its inherent challenges, the NIDCOM chairman charged the diasporans to “continue to make us proud of being Nigerians.”
Speaking in the same vein, real estate expert and Chief Executive Officer of Pelican Valley Nigeria Limited, Dr Babatunde Adeyemo, urged the diasporans to only make strategic plans on their planned relocation back to Nigeria.
Adeyemo, who urged them not to wait until their retirement before making relocation plans back home, however, said such plans must be predicated on due diligence, particularly for those planning to invest in real estate.
He listed the factors to consider when making strategic exit plans from abroad into real estate in Nigeria including capital, due diligence, development and value-adding and goodwill.
“Due diligence is very key in a country like Nigeria because of its volatility and so that one would not fall into the hands of scammers or buy acquisition lands or a land that is on the right of ways. Ask for the government-approved layout. Once the land has a government-approved layout in Nigeria, you are safe.
“Research and check for reviews about the company online and offline. The world has become a global village. For example, I have been into this real estate business for over 14 years without a single dispute or court case. I have never been to the police for any land dispute. Those are some of the red flags you need to look out for.
“Another major red flag is aggressive marketing. When you see a real estate company doing aggressive marketing, you should know that something is chasing them. Real Estate is value driven and once you add values, you fly automatically,” he advised.
Earlier at the event, the organiser of the event and Director, Avenue Impact Limited, Funso Akinwunmi, said the event was part of the organisation’s contribution to the development of Nigeria, adding that “we have been contributing significantly to the economic growth of Nigeria through initiatives to empower Nigerians in the global diaspora, extending beyond the UK.”
