Recommendation 16

HM Government Acknowledged

The Committee recommended (paragraph 12) that the FCDO make the most of the enthusiasm for engagement amongst the Nigerian community to test various ways of involving diaspora groups in diplomacy. For example: a) Ad-hoc focus groups should be convened for contextual input on UK Government policy relating to Nigeria, particularly those relating to issues such as support for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and those engaging in the creative arts space. b) A means be provided whereby Nigerians living in the UK can engage with the Strategic Communications Platform for peacebuilding in the North-East of Nigeria, and other such engagement platforms as they arise. We partially agree with this recommendation. As the Foreign Affairs Committee’s (FAC) report acknowledges, perceptions of the UK amongst Nigerians are generally very good. But we do not take this for granted. The British High Commission in Abuja and Deputy High Commission in Lagos regularly engage with members of the diaspora, and are active in ensuring HMG activity in, and with, Nigeria, is covered in news outlets that have recognised reach in the Nigerian diaspora in the UK. For example, we ensured that both the UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership Dialogues (SDP) and the 7th UK- Nigeria Economic Development Forum (EDF7), were covered by Arise TV and Channels TV – prominent media news outlets with a presence on UK satellite television. The British High Commission in Abuja has also increased its engagement with Nigerian social media influencers and online publications alongside maintaining strong ongoing engagement with traditional media outlets in Nigeria. This is also helping strengthen reach into diaspora audiences. In-country press releases are regularly shared with influencers and traditional media alike. We are increasing the range of our social media platforms (such as adding regular posts on Instagram and launching a LinkedIn channel in the Autumn of 2021), and the growth in followers of HMG’s in-country social media channels is up 20% in the last 6 months – at time of writing, the @UKinNigeria Twitter account has almost 190,000 followers. Figures indicated that over a quarter of engagements with the High Commission’s social media content comes from the UK and US, where there are large diaspora communities. We are actively engaging with members of the diaspora on supporting UK-Nigeria trade, including with the creative sector. We supported a creative sectors trade mission from the UK to Nigeria, which included members of the Nigerian diaspora keen to reconnect and do trade and investment in Nigeria in the music, film and arts sector. Our business and commercial engagement regularly includes Nigerian businesspeople and investors based in the UK doing business in Nigeria and across Africa. Specifically in the context of the EDF7 in London in April, we organised a business-to-business tech event, inviting Nigerian tech businesses (and Kenyan tech businesses) to meet with UK potential partners, the London Stock Exchange and industry and regulatory bodies in London. Again, participation from members of the Nigerian diaspora was specifically encouraged. There is no single Strategic Communications platform for peacebuilding in the North- East of Nigeria. Instead, strategic communications is integrated into a number of our programmes in support of peacebuilding. FCDO and some Ministry of Defence projects principally support the Nigerian government and Nigerian Armed Forces to develop capabilities in this area. Projects with civil society organisations like Centre for Democracy and Development also seek to foster improved social cohesion. We also have more sensitive areas of strategic communications programming in the Counter Terrorism space. Our activity is projected to increase with the decision of the FCDO-led Counter Daesh Coalition Comms Cell to pivot the focus of their activities to Africa. Participation by those who have direct knowledge of the impact of conflict and the context for peacebuilding is central to these programmes. However, there is no evidence to suggest that diaspora engagement in particular would make a more meaningful contribution than the participation of resident Nigerians on what is a dynamic, complex and highly localised conflict.