Beyond Cultural Association: Preparing for A Conversation We Can No Londer Postpone, By Collins Nweke

In a few days’ time, I will have the privilege of delivering the keynote address at the 2026 National Leadership and Membership Forum of the Plateau State Association USA (PSA-USA), under the theme Reflecting on Our Impact, Strengthening Our Relevance, Shaping Our Future. As I prepared my remarks, I discovered something unexpected.

The deeper I reflected on the assignment, the less I found myself thinking about one association in particular. Instead, my thoughts kept returning to a much larger question, one that concerns virtually every African diaspora organisation, whether it is a hometown association, a state union, an alumni network, a professional body or a national umbrella organisation.

Let me take Nigeria as a useful reference point. When the country returned to democratic rule in 1999, one of the wiser instincts of the new civilian dispensation was to seek a more formal relationship with Nigerians abroad. That instinct found early expression in the Diaspora Millennium Assemblies convened in Europe and the Americas in 2000. Those encounters confirmed what many had long known: Nigerians abroad were not merely citizens at a distance; they were a reservoir of goodwill, expertise, networks and commitment.

It was within that context that the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation, NIDO, was born. Its emergence raised an important organisational question. What then becomes of the hundreds of existing community, hometown, ethnic, professional and cultural associations already active across the diaspora? Over time, a broad understanding evolved. Community associations would continue to play their vital role in welfare, identity, culture, mutual support and host-country engagement, while NIDO would provide a more formal platform for development-facing engagement with Nigeria.

The record has not been perfect. Few institutional histories ever are. There have been successes, missed opportunities, tensions and occasional overlaps. Yet the larger point remains important: Nigeria’s diaspora architecture was built on the recognition that different organisations could serve different but complementary purposes with NIDO providing formal cover. The challenge today is whether that architecture is still adequate for the demands of a new era.

Yet history has a way of presenting institutions with moments that require them not merely to celebrate their achievements but to rethink their future. I wonder whether we have arrived at such a moment.

Over the past few months, much of my writing has explored the changing nature of development leadership in Africa. In a trilogy on subnational governance, I argued that governors can no longer think of themselves simply as administrators of their states. They must increasingly become chief economic diplomats. These are leaders who actively cultivate investment, partnerships, innovation and international relationships in pursuit of prosperity for their people.

Preparing for this keynote has led me to ask whether an equally important shift is required within the diaspora. Could it be that diaspora organisations must also redefine their purpose?

This question resonates deeply with another argument I explored in my recent book, Economic Diplomacy of the Diaspora. There, I challenged the long-standing tendency to measure the diaspora primarily by the volume of remittances it sends home. Financial contributions remain indispensable, but they are no longer the whole story. Increasingly, the diaspora’s greatest assets are knowledge, professional credibility, global networks, institutional experience and the ability to connect societies that might otherwise never collaborate. If that is true; and I believe it is; then another question naturally follows. Are our organisations structured to mobilise those assets? Or are we still organised primarily around the needs and priorities of an earlier era? I do not pretend to have all the answers. Nor do I intend to reveal in advance the substance of my keynote address. But I have become convinced that these are conversations we can no longer postpone.

Indeed, perhaps the measure of a diaspora organisation in the coming decade will no longer be how many people attend its annual convention or how successful its fundraising dinner proves to be. Perhaps the more important measure will be this: What measurable difference has the organisation made to the development of the community it claims to serve? That is a much harder question. It is also a far more exciting one. Imagine if our hometown and state associations became recognised not only for preserving culture but also for strengthening local governance, mentoring young entrepreneurs, facilitating investment, supporting innovation, connecting universities, promoting tourism, fostering skills transfer and helping subnational governments build international partnerships.

Imagine if governors, local government chairpersons, universities and investors increasingly saw diaspora organisations not simply as advocacy groups but as trusted strategic partners. Would that not represent an evolution worthy of the extraordinary talent and experience that reside within the African diaspora?

As I prepare to join the distinguished members of the Plateau State Association USA, these are some of the questions occupying my thoughts. I suspect that the conversation we begin will extend far beyond Plateau State. It speaks to every diaspora organisation that believes preserving identity is important. But it also senses that preserving identity alone is no longer enough. If this reflection succeeds in provoking more questions than answers, it will have served its purpose. Sometimes the most important conversations begin not with certainty, but with curiosity. I look forward to continuing that conversation after the convention.