Benue scholar proposes $3.7bn diaspora investment trust

A United Kingdom based Benue scholar, Dr. Peter Atorough, has proposed the establishment of a Benue in Diaspora Investment Trust (BIDI Trust), a public-private partnership aimed at channeling the financial power, global expertise, and entrepreneurial capacity of Benue indigenes abroad into large-scale economic development in the state. Atorough in an open letter to Governor Hyacinth […]

A United Kingdom based Benue scholar, Dr. Peter Atorough, has proposed the establishment of a Benue in Diaspora Investment Trust (BIDI Trust), a public-private partnership aimed at channeling the financial power, global expertise, and entrepreneurial capacity of Benue indigenes abroad into large-scale economic development in the state.

Atorough in an open letter to Governor Hyacinth Alia, on Tuesday made this known while he commended the administration’s rapid transformation efforts and urged the government to consolidate gains through a formal investment structure that engages the estimated 250,000 Benue indigenes living in the diaspora.

He noted that the proposal, the BIDI Trust would serve as a structured investment platform enabling diaspora members to fund commercially viable and high-impact projects in collaboration with the state government.

 

 

 

The initiative, he said, could mobilise up to $250 million annually and, with government match funding, potentially exceed $3.75 billion over a decade.

 

 

 

He disclosed that the Trust designed around two investment models to include the SME Mini-Projects Model, allowing individuals and cooperatives to invest between $10,000 and $100,000, supported by government grants or low-interest loans.

 

 

 

He described the second model as the Large-Scale Projects Model, targeting high-net-worth investors and corporations with stakes from $100,000 to $10 million in major infrastructure, energy, and industrial ventures.

 

 

 

Atorough emphasised that the initiative would accelerate job creation, modernise agribusiness, and promote industrial growth, while operating through a robust governance framework that includes representatives of the government, diaspora organisations, and private sector experts.

 

 

 

He further drew inspiration from international success stories such as Kerala’s Pravasi Welfare Fund in India and Ethiopia’s Diaspora Bond, stressing that the BIDI Trust could position Benue as a model for diaspora-driven investment in Nigeria.

 

 

 

“The BIDI Trust offers a unique opportunity to integrate our global Benue community into the state’s development story. It will transform remittances into structured, transparent, and sustainable investments that secure a lasting economic legacy,” Atorough posited.