Akintemi Challenges Nigerians Abroad Over Civic Engagement

News Central TV’s Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief Kayode Akintemi has challenged Nigerians in the diaspora to show greater commitment to issues affecting Nigeria.

Akintemi spoke on Saturday at the News Central TV Town Hall in New York, themed “Diaspora Voting: Promises, Politics and The Path Forward.”

He said Nigerians abroad often find it difficult to come together for issues that require serious civic action, even though they easily mobilise for social and political events.

“The diaspora Nigerians, it’s such a difficult thing to get them together to do the things that we know is absolutely important for them to do,” Akintemi said.

He noted that organising Nigerians in the diaspora for parties and social gatherings was much easier than bringing them together to address important national issues.

“It’s easy to get Nigerians and diaspora together for us to have a party. It’s so easy to get them together for us to enjoy ourselves together,” he said.

Akintemi referred to the large crowd that recently gathered at Nigeria House in New York to welcome Vice President Kashim Shettima, saying the turnout showed how easily Nigerians could mobilise for prominent political figures.

He compared the scene to the excitement around a major celebrity, joking that the crowd was so large people were fighting to get in.

“You would think Michael Jackson came back to life and everybody needed to get a little bit of that star dust,” he said.

However, Akintemi said the same level of energy was needed for issues that directly affect Nigerians, particularly the country’s economic and social challenges.

He said his work in the media reinforced the need to stay aware of the realities Nigerians face across the country.

Akintemi said News Central TV regularly reminds its staff that the station’s primary responsibility is to “have our finger on the pulse of the nation.”

“If the nation is living and breathing, the blood will be flowing and you feel the pulse. If it is fast or it is slow, you know,” he said.

He said this awareness showed that many Nigerians were struggling to afford basic healthcare, citing people who could not afford about N700 for common medicines such as Panadol.

Akintemi stressed that while such immediate challenges affected ordinary Nigerians, the broader economic situation also mattered because macroeconomic policies shaped the conditions under which people lived.

“But we know that the macroeconomics is important. That’s the foundation of the economy of the nation and this government is working on that,” he said.

His comments come during discussions on diaspora voting and the broader role Nigerians living abroad can play in the country’s political and economic development.