My Question to Governors Soludo and Lawal During NiDEC 2026

During the NiDEC 2026 fireside conversation with Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of Anambra State and Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, I raised a simple but consequential question: Can Nigerian states create large, professionally managed investment vehicles that allow ordinary Nigerians in the diaspora to participate in building their economies?

I asked Governor Soludo whether we could expect something comparable to a Transcorp Plc at the state level in Anambra, a commercially driven investment vehicle capable of mobilizing capital and undertaking large industrial projects. Governor Soludo indicated that such a vehicle is being contemplated and that the components would be unveiled in due course, with opportunities for Nigerians in the diaspora to participate as investors. The idea is powerful: instead of expecting every diaspora investor to establish a factory or business independently, create an institutional vehicle through which thousands of people can pool capital to finance transformational projects. During lunch, Governor promised to launch this in the coming months.

I posed a similar question to Governor Lawal. Zamfara is richly endowed with minerals, but much of the activity involves artisanal mining. I asked whether the state would support the establishment of a fully private-sector-managed company focused on processing minerals produced by artisanal miners, with Nigerians in the diaspora able to invest in the enterprise. Governor Lawal was receptive to the concept. During lunch, he went deeper into the potential playbook: mobilize Nigerian capital, establish processing infrastructure within Nigeria, add value to the minerals locally, and ensure that Nigerians can participate in the ownership of those assets.

That was really the foundation of my questions to both governors. Not every Nigerian in the diaspora has millions of dollars to return home and build a factory from scratch. But someone may have $10,000, another $25,000, another $100,000, while institutional investors can provide much more. If states can facilitate credible investment vehicles that are professionally and independently managed by the private sector, with strong governance, transparency and accountability, those vehicles can be connected to the capital market so that diaspora investors can participate at different levels.

That is one of the great powers of the capital market: you do not need to be wealthy enough to build the whole factory; you only need enough capital to own a piece of it. Pool thousands of those pieces together, and factories, processing plants, infrastructure and great companies can emerge.

The opportunity is to move diaspora engagement from simply sending money home to owning productive assets at home. From $10,000 to whatever anyone can afford, aggregated capital can do big things. That is how Money becomes Capital, and when capital is pooled around credible visions, nations build.

After the conversation, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, joined us on stage for a group photograph.

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