Diaspora Nigerians send $21bn yearly but cannot vote — this is deliberate

Oluwatobi Odeyinka's piece on how diaspora Nigerians are shut out of voting despite sending $21.8 billion home in 2025 is the kind of story that should make every single person in power uncomfortable. 52-year-old Uchenna Pricilla, who moved to Canada a decade ago, told the reporter she follows Nigerian news religiously but the constant stories of abductions and insecurity depress her. She sold her house in Lagos, her family is settled in Ontario, and she desperately wants to vote from abroad — but our laws just will not allow it.

Omotayo Jemiluyi, a graduate fellow at the University of Missouri, put it even more bluntly. He said being denied the vote while his remittances are taxed is deliberate disenfranchisement by the Nigerian political class. In his own words, they want to exclude people like him who cannot be swayed by stomach infrastructure or ethnic and religious bigotry. Meanwhile Senegal, Benin, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon all allow their citizens abroad to vote. Senegal set up 809 polling stations across 51 countries for their last election. Nigeria with 17 million diasporans cannot manage the same?

Our diaspora remittance dwarfs foreign direct investment — FDI was a pathetic $923 million in 2025 while remittances hit $21.8 billion. That money rivals our total tax revenue of N28.29 trillion. So we collect the money but refuse the voice. Be honest — is this not just a calculated move by politicians who know diaspora voters would punish them for the insecurity and economic collapse they have caused?