CELEBRATION: Amadi Nwokocha, NIDO President, fifth right, with other officials of NIDO.     Photo by Umer Nangiana

The Independence Day ceremony was attended by members of diplomatic
corps, dignitaries and more than 700 members from the Nigerian community
By Umer Nangiana


A large number of expatriate Nigerian community members gathered here to celebrate the 55th National Day of their country that falls on  October 1 every year. Creating the typical Independence Day fervour, the men, women and children danced to the tunes of popular folk songs from their country provided by a live band.
Attired in traditional clothes representing the cultural diversity of their country, the participants were treated with cultural performances from different parts of Nigeria staged by the artists from the local Nigerian diaspora.
The celebrations, organised by Nigerians In Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), the only community organisation for Nigerians in Qatar, also witnessed the guests participating in lively games and lucky draws, grabbing bundles of gifts. Award-winning Nigerian standup comedians were at hand to amuse the audience with their lively jokes.
Besides the charge d’affaires of the Embassy of Nigeria and other officials, the ceremony was attended by diplomats from African countries, members of diplomatic corps among more than 700 members of Nigerian community.
“The 55th Independence Day is very important to us. We have a new government in Nigeria. There is a lot of progress in every facet because of the new regime. It has brought understanding, future and a promise to all Nigerians. It is worth celebrating,” Enoch Duchi, charge d’affaires of the Embassy of Nigeria Qatar, told Community.
Lauding the cultural performances and people’s participation, Duchi said the ceremony was fantastic. He also thanked the government and people of Qatar for their hospitality. “The people here are warm and I can assure you that the government of Qatar is progressing and I congratulate them on all the achievements they have made so far,” said Nigeria’s charge d’affaires.  
He said most Nigerians working in Qatar are professionals who are contributing to the national growth of Qatar. The Nigerian diplomat said his country has already signed well over five agreements with Qatar and in the next few days they were going to sign another bilateral agreement.
Amadi Nwokocha, NIDO President, said there were about 7,500 Nigerians living in Qatar and most of them were working in organisations like Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Foundation and other corporations. They are doing very well and are promoting the image of Nigeria.
NIDO is only community organisation recognised by the government and the embassy of Nigeria, working for the welfare of overseas Nigerians. It is an organisation for all Nigerians living outside of their country. The Qatar chapter is just one of the many world over.
“We have quite a lot of cultural activities that we organise throughout the year. The current leadership took office in June this year and since then we have started to organise a lot communication activities for Nigerian people here,” added Nwokocha.
“One of the things that we have done is to expand our registration and thus our mailing list by including many people who were previously not part of it. Our mailing list alone has expanded from 250 people to more than 1000 now,” said the NIDO president.
In the Nigerian elections earlier in April, he said, there were over a thousand Nigerians who came out to cast their votes from here. He said the organisation is currently rebranding and they were going to re-launch their new logo in the next few weeks. They were also rebranding their website which will be launched before the end of the year and it will be a highly interactive website.
The organisation’s social media platforms on Facebook, Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn, have also been activated, opening more ways for people to interact with Nigerians living in Qatar and elsewhere. “Whenever there is an issue concerning Nigerians, we quickly disseminate the information to the people through our mailing list. And if there are any issues with our Nigerian citizens, we immediately liaise with the embassy and try to get it resolved as soon as possible,” said Nwokocha.
He said an estimated 700 and more people participated in the ceremony. Most of the artists were locals from the Nigerian diaspora. “We try to encourage them so that whatever talents they have, they start to develop them. Whenever we have a social gathering we invite them and they come out to help us and entertain their compatriots,” NIDO president told Community.  
There were cultural shows representing Eastern, Western and Northern parts of Nigeria. The live band was totally made up of Nigerians. These are Nigerians who can stand the test of time anywhere in the world, said Nwokocha. “We are proud to have this band here in Qatar and we encourage them. They played the local cultural and folk music from Nigeria. Our DJ was also a Nigerian and all the music he played was the Nigerian music,” he added.
The president said it was a way of promoting their culture and their people. “Nigeria is a great country and the people are very good. Majority of Nigerians here are very hard working professionals who are well-paid and are working in senior management positions,” said Nwokocha.
NIDO, he said, is working towards promoting a good image of their people. And together they were working towards the development of Qatar.