President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Nigerians in the diaspora to always contribute their quota to the development of the nation.
He made the call on Wednesday when he met with selected Nigerians in Lisbon, Portugal.
‘‘In every field of human endeavour, be it the creative industries, sports, health, academia, Nigerians in the diaspora have thrived and leveraged their skills to raise our country’s profile higher, economically, socially, technologically, and culturally,” Buhari said according to a statement issued by his media aide, Garba Shehu on Thursday.
‘‘It is for these reasons that this Government established the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) to facilitate and support your engagement with our country for a win-win outcome in our effort to keep Nigerians united at home and abroad.
‘‘You must continue to be our ambassadors-at-large in your comportment, actions, and character. You must excel and be the best in all your endeavours. While here, you must also not forget home as you are the example we want to project to the rest of the world.’’
Buhari also urged them to ensure they use social media platforms to promote unity in the country and not incite hate.
While these platforms have continued to reshape the world, he believes they have been used negatively.
‘‘Many countries, including our own, have had to take strong measures against some social media platforms to curb their excesses and prevent them from destabilizing our societies,” Buhari added.
‘‘I, therefore, call upon you to use social media responsibly. We all want the best for our country and people, so let us strive to build, unite and prosper our nation and people and not to insult and incite from a safe and anonymous distance.’’