The rise of the flamboyant real estate in the village of Miziara in Lebanon has been attributed to the inflow of revenue from Lebanese citizens working in Nigeria. Many indigenes of Miziara work in Nigeria, become very successful and use a bulk of their fortune to develop real estate back home.

“Everything was built with money from Nigeria; our entire economy relies on emigration to Western Africa. Today, about 80 percent of the village works there because they make much more money there than here,” said Pierre Daaboul, deputy mayor of Miziara.

He further stated that Lebanese expatriates work in all kinds of sectors, including trade, telecommunications, hospitality, energy, and construction – even his son, daughter and three brothers are currently in Nigeria.

Billionaire Lebanese-Nigerian industrialist, Gilbert Chagoury, who heads a multi-faceted conglomerate that employs over 10,000 people is one of Miziara’s greatest export to Nigeria. The mogul, who has interests in real estate, telecommunications, healthcare and flour mills, was controversially linked with late Nigerian dictator, Sani Abacha which saw him return $65 million dollars to the Nigerian government after investigations into his business dealings.

Chagoury is like a god in his town, with a street named after him. He employs a sizeable population of the town and is the owner of an eye-catching piece of property. Reports say due to the current recession in Nigeria, construction of new buildings in Miziara has slowed.

Read more on the Nigerian Tribune

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