President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians living in the United States to overcome failure by adopting a new mindset that will help them succeed in all of their endeavors.
At the Presidential Townhall Meeting with Nigerians in the Diaspora on Wednesday in New York, Tinubu offered the counsel and pointed out that there was no excuse for Nigerians to be impoverished.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission organized the Townhall Meeting in conjunction with the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.
Nigeria is a privileged nation, according to Tinubu, who praised efforts to educate out-of-school children, the healthcare program, and the need to alleviate poverty.
“Sincerely, we don’t have any reason to be poor, we are just poor in some leadership areas.
“That is what I harped on during my campaign. It was a very gruesome campaign but I won the election but if I didn’t thrown myself into it with strong determination and result, I wouldn’t have won.
“There were so many hurdles on my way that would have stopped me. I refused to be stopped, you can do the same as many of you here that are contesting elections”, the President said.
Speaking further, he said, “I want to give you a measure that will resonate with you. I was once a diaspora. What you have been through, I have been through it. A change of mindset is necessary.
“Take it this night that Nigeria is home for business opportunities.
“Also, anywhere you stay, there is always going to be an opportunity in, and in everything you do, there is always going to be an opportunity, if you know how to search and put your mind into it,’’ he said.
The president, however, expressed satisfaction with how Nigerians had behaved themselves and continued to perform admirably in their new country.
“You are lucky to be among those who are celebrated for good manners and behavior and are operating in an acceptable manner.
“I’m very proud of you; I have also been beneficial of inspiration, determination, commitment and perseverance and that is all you need to get to pull through.
“But, we need you back home, Nigeria has arrived; forget the frustration of the previous year’s leadership,’’ he said.
In addition, he urged the Nigerians to embrace one another and discourage animosity and discrimination among them.
Tinubu said: “You ought to embrace one another. No labeling, no identity, you should remove ethnic identify that tend to differentiate us.
“We are one single family, living in the same house but living in different rooms,.”
The president had earlier been introduced to a few Nigerians who were succeeding in their chosen sectors in the U.S. by NiDCOM Chairperson Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
Some of them pledged to continue to assist the president in his attempts to reform Nigeria after expressing their admiration for the president’s leadership and courage.
They pledged to continue representing Nigeria with pride in their host nation and to do their share to advance their home nation.
Oye Owolewa, the first Nigerian-American elected to the US Congress, stated in his remarks that 1.7% of businesses in the US received federal contracts, and 25% of business orders were made by people of color.
