Nigeria’s Ambassador to Hungary, Abass Ogwime Braimah, has met with Nigerian professionals and members of the business community in Budapest as part of efforts to deepen engagement between the Nigerian diplomatic mission and citizens contributing to Hungary’s economy.
The meeting brought together Nigerian professionals and business leaders with extensive experience across different sectors, with discussions centred on how the skills and expertise of Nigerians in the diaspora can be harnessed for national development.
The delegation was led by Dr. John Sessi, a Chemical Engineering scholar with more than 42 years of professional experience and a prominent member of the Nigerian professional community in Hungary.
Participants stressed the need for Nigeria to tap into the knowledge, technical skills and international experience accumulated by its citizens abroad, particularly those who have spent decades building careers outside the country.
A notable moment at the meeting was the emotional reunion between Ambassador Braimah and Dr. Olu Owolabi, who taught the Ambassador Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics at the University of Benin in 1985.
The encounter highlighted the enduring connections between Nigerian academics and professionals and the important role such relationships continue to play within the country’s global community.
The professionals also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing Braimah as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Hungary. They welcomed the Ambassador’s efforts to engage Nigerians who have acquired between 25 and 30 years of professional experience abroad, with some possessing more than four decades of expertise.
They noted that such experience represents a valuable pool of human capital capable of contributing to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
The participants identified industrial development, technology, education, business and other strategic sectors as areas where the expertise of Nigerians in the diaspora could be deployed through knowledge transfer, investment and professional collaboration.
They described the engagement as an important step towards strengthening relations between the Nigerian Embassy and the Nigerian community in Hungary, while expressing hope that similar interactions would be sustained.
The meeting also reflected Ambassador Braimah’s commitment to maintaining close ties with Nigerians living and working in Hungary and creating stronger channels through which diaspora professionals can contribute to Nigeria’s development.
The initiative is expected to support broader efforts to mobilise Nigerian expertise abroad in line with the Federal Government’s development priorities and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu.
