Members of the Nigerian community in Qatar gathered yesterday for the spring party of their organisation, Dohanaija.

DOHA: Nigerian expatriates in Qatar need to have a more constructive interaction with their home country, the head of Dohanaija, the Nigerian community organization here, said on the occasion of its spring party yesterday.

“It is encouraging to find Nigerians across the world creating a sense of home away from home, retaining their Nigerian-ness, and remaining in touch with their roots. What is required is a more constructive interaction with home,” Olu Jimoh Millar told The Peninsula.

“What we should work on now is maintaining perspective, relentless alertness and clarity in the association’s goals. There are still a lot of Nigerians who are not members, we should encourage them to join and share our vision.”

During an interactive session yesterday, a number of issues were raised by the community members, the most pertinent one being the absence of a Nigerian diplomatic post in Qatar.

Speaking to The Peninsula, Aderemi Ogunjobi, a Nigerian football player, expressed the views of many Nigerians when he said, “Nigerians in Qatar are affected by the absence of their country’s embassy. We need a place where we can go in times of difficulty. Both countries should consider establishing bilateral ties.”

Raymond Ume, Vice President of Dohanaija, thanked the members for their attendance and urged them to contribute their time, money and expertise for promoting the activities of the body.

Among those present at the event was Innocent Egbunike, a former sprinter from Nigeria who won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4x400 metres relay in 1984 at Los Angeles. He works as a consultant at Aspire Academy.

Dohanaija is a body of talented and highly skilled Nigerians formed out of nationalistic passion to help achieve the economic, educational, technological and democratic goals of Nigerians. While the body is not a political grouping, it has served in the recent past as a medium of conveying the opinions of Nigerians abroad to the country’s government.

The Nigerian Okpono soup and Semo were relished by everyone yesterday, including Ginka Yogakiever, a Bulgarian married to Nigerian Mike Elumeze.

The community outlined a number of projects for the year, including the launch of a website, celebration of Nigeria’s independence day, seminars and an end-of-year get-together.

THE PENINSULA