St. Maarten presence expected at GUCCAD Nigeria Homecoming Convention

GREAT BAY--“Later this year, history will be written in a way that bridges the Caribbean and Africa like never before. The GUCCAD Nigeria Homecoming Convention, set for October 2025 in Lagos and Calabar, is not just an event, it is a total experience.”

With these words, Leopold J. Merrick, member of the organizing committee from St. Maarten, underscored the significance of what promises to be a landmark occasion. For generations, people of the Caribbean have carried the burden of a fragmented heritage, often struggling for limited opportunities in a global system that rarely takes their interests into account. The GUCCAD Nigeria Homecoming Convention represents a turning point. It is about scale, vision, and reclaiming a rightful place in a much larger story that unites both sides of the Atlantic.

Rather than settling for scraps, the Caribbean is being invited to sit at Africa’s table. Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy and cultural powerhouse, is opening its doors not only for celebration but also for genuine collaboration.

The convention will provide a bigger stage, where the richness of Caribbean heritage meets the vastness of African opportunity. It recognizes that while political autonomy marked the beginning of independence in the Caribbean, true freedom can only come through economic empowerment. That empowerment requires integration, and GUCCAD offers a platform where leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries can come together to exchange ideas, establish businesses, and forge partnerships that will ensure prosperity across regions.

At the same time, the event is a pilgrimage, offering participants the chance to walk the soil of their ancestors and immerse themselves in the languages, rhythms, and traditions that echo through their DNA. Yet it looks to the future as well. Networking dinners, business forums, cultural festivals, and academic exchanges will allow participants to leave with tangible outcomes, partnerships, investments, and a renewed sense of identity.

According to Ambassador Felix Duke, President of Nigeria’s Creative Industry Group (CIG), more than 300 Africans from the diaspora are expected to take part in the two-week program, which will showcase investment opportunities while highlighting Nigeria’s cultural depth through tours of Lagos and Calabar in Cross River State. The delegation will include participants from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, St. Maarten, Belize, and the United States, alongside African Americans and others eager to reconnect with the continent.

CIG, which has been entrusted with local coordination, has pledged full logistical support for the historic gathering, covering transportation, hospitality, security, and cultural immersion. Through its extensive network across entertainment, media, tourism, and government, the group will also ensure widespread visibility, official goodwill, and meaningful engagement with Nigeria’s cultural and creative industries.

Duke noted that Lagos, as both the commercial nerve centre and cultural heartbeat of Nigeria, will host a special reception to welcome the delegation on home soil. Plans also include connecting the group with key stakeholders across multiple sectors of the economy, facilitating media coverage on national and international platforms, and coordinating with government institutions to extend official recognition and honorary citizenship to participating returnees.

"The GUCCAD Nigeria Homecoming Convention is more than travel, more than culture, and more than business. It is all of these combined, a movement of reconnection, empowerment, and growth. The organizers are extending the invitation to church leaders, business pioneers, young professionals, students, and every Caribbean citizen who feels the call of history to be part of this experience. Come for the culture. Stay for the connections. Leave with a legacy," Merrick said.