By Angela Atabo

The African Diaspora Union (AFRIDU), an International pan-African diplomatic organisation,  has expressed determination to pave the way for Africans living across the world to reunite with their ancestral homes.

King Alfred Diete Spiff, Chairman of AFRIDU-Nigeria and Special Envoy of the African Union 6th Region, said this in Abuja on Wednesday at a news briefing organised ahead of the International Conference of African Descents in Diaspora and Formal Launching of AFRIDU, Nigeria.

According to Spiff, the conference with the theme: “Fostering Global Partnership with African Descents in Diaspora for Economic and Infrastructural Development of Nigeria,” will lay the foundation for charting a way forward for African people whose great grandparents were taken away to foreign lands during the slave trade.

“These African descendants desire to return to their ancestral homes, especially those of Nigerian origin, for restoration, reconnection, and investment.

“AFRIDU was initiated as a civic organisation to propagate and work with various private organisations, institutions, and government agencies to mobilise African descents to return home for economic and infrastructural development of the continent.

“AFRIDU aims to foster unity, solidarity, and empowerment among the African descent in the Diaspora.

“The launching of AFRIDU Nigeria will serve as an important platform to bring together leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders from around the world to discuss and explore investment opportunities and partnerships in various sectors of our economy,” Spiff said.

African diaspora populations include but are not limited to African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latin Americans, and Black Canadians – descendants of enslaved Africans taken to the United States, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America during the Atlantic slave trade.

Spiff said that the conference would provide a unique networking environment for attendees to engage with potential investors, industry experts, and government officials.

He said that some of the African diasporas were well-to-do and successful people seeking to return home and establish a mega city in the likeness of the Vatican City in Rome, but not all African countries were open to the idea.

According to him, the idea of a mega city within a country in Africa is generating a lot of trepidation so much so that many consider yielding land for the project an impossibility perhaps out of fear of displacement.

He, however, said, “Nigeria is a big country. We are not afraid that anybody is going to come in with any amount of money and topple the government like some other countries are thinking would happen to them.

“Some countries have been very conservative and are not ready to receive them with open arms.

“They (diaspora population) feel a bit disappointed, but they are also very determined to return home.

“They have a group  – that calls itself `The Right to Return’. None of us can tell them they cannot come back to their roots.

“They feel they are part of us and want to come home.

“All they want is to come and give us all the expertise and the help that Africa needs to stand out in the world.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Bola Tinubu and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike are expected to grace the occasion as special guests.

Diplomats, some state governors, and heads of agencies saddled with the responsibility of catering to diaspora matters are also expected to attend the one-day international conference which will be held on Nov. 2 in Abuja. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
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(Edited by Emmanuel Yashim)