Prominent Nigerian economist Kasirim Nwuke recently penned a thought-provoking opinion piece on the varying dispositions of three high-profile Nigerian women – each of whom has made a significant mark on the international stage – towards their country of origin or, in one case, her parents’ origin.

The first is Kemi Badenoch, who was born in the UK to Nigerian parents but spent part of her childhood in the West African country. In November, she was elected leader of the Conservative Party, which has alternated with the Labour Party at the helm of the British government since the early twentieth century. Its last stint ended in July, when voters rejected it at the polls. Badenoch rejects her Nigerian identity, arguing, for instance, she has nothing in common with Nigerians from the north of the country, but fully embraces her Yoruba ethnic roots.

The second is acclaimed writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who, while grudgingly accepting the Nigerian identity thrust upon her by colonial powers – who didn’t seek African input when partitioning Africa – proudly waves the flag of her Igbo heritage.

Then there is Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the current chief of the World Trade Organisation, who fully embraces both her Nigerian-ness and Igbo-ness.

Nwuke’s piece got me thinking about how the multifaceted identities espoused by the three women influence the impact successful Africans in the diaspora can have on the continent’s fortunes.

Clearly, the continent shouldn’t place much stock in the Badenochs of this world to help it tackle some of its challenges, including a slow average growth rate, estimated at 3% last year and projected by the World Bank to accelerate to 4% this year and in 2026.

I can understand Adichie’s rather lukewarm disposition towards her identity as a Nigerian. Her family, like others in south-east Nigeria, was on the receiving end of the Nigerian army’s brutal suppression of attempts by the people of that region, mostly Igbo-speakers, to secede from the federal State. That war, which raged from 1967 to 1970, claimed about one- million lives.

To her credit, despite her fraught attitude towards Nigerian-ness, Adichie spends half her time in Nigeria, where she teaches creative writing at the University of Lagos, and the other half in Baltimore, in the US. This suggests she has her country of birth at heart and can plausibly be expected to put in a good word for it when meeting potential investors during her travels around the world.

But what Africa really wants – nay, needs – are Okonjo-Iweala-type diasporans, those who fully embrace their countries of origin. One can count on them to always say positive things about their countries but also to criticise them “with the kind of hope you find in a parent’s criticism of their child” – to borrow from Nwuke, who has had more than 25 years’ national and international experience as an economist, including as the head of the green economy, technologies and innovation division at the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

Thankfully, we have a few highly successful African individuals who truly embrace the Zulu phrase, Khumbul’ekhaya (remember your roots). One such individual is Sudanese telecoms entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim, who, after working in the UK for British Telecom and later Cellnet, founded consulting and software company MSI. In 1998, MSI spun off MSI-Cellular Investments, later renamed Celtel, as a mobile phone operator in Africa. Before its purchase in 2005 by telecoms group Zain, it had 24- million subscribers in 14 African countries. We are talking about serious employment opportunities for Africans here.

Ibrahim currently chairs Satya Capital, a primarily Africa-focused private investment firm.

The continent needs more Mo Ibrahims – successful African diasporans who invest on the continent.

I’m glad Khumbul’ekhaya seems to be gaining traction with Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, who once said in a social media post when asked if he was South African: “I’m American, but born in South Africa.” His Starlink was reported last year to be in talks with the South African government to introduce its satellite service in this country. This would require the easing of the 30% black participation stipulation. As reported in the media, if the deal goes ahead, Musk’s Tesla could, in return, establish a battery factory in the country.