JAPA CULTURE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE FUTURE OF NIGERIA

Mar 31, 2023 02:00PM ● By Okechukwu Nzeribe

Vusi Thembekwayo, a South African Entrepreneur, during one of his interviews, where he was discussing the impact of talent in Africa leaving for other shores, made a very striking statement. He said, “What talent does when you distort the effort between talent and reward is that talent goes where it will be rewarded”.

As I write, there will likely be a long line of young, middle age and elderly persons queueing up at the passport office hoping to process their international passport to leave or what we would popularly refer to in the past as “the brain drain syndrome” but most recently referred to as “Japa” movement out of the country.

In Nigeria, the Japa exodus has been steadily rising. Due to the myriad socio-economic issues, inflation, few opportunities for young graduates and the middle class, and the apparent frustration from years of bad governance, many seek greener pastures where their talents would be appreciated and rewarded.

According to a report by the Leadership Newspaper as written by Victor Oluwole and published by Business Insider Africa in August 2022, “It was learned that about 500 software engineers have, since the beginning of this year, till now, secured better offers abroad, majorly in Canada and European countries where the emolument far outweighs what they are being paid in the Nigerian banking sector as they are paid in foreign currency at a time the nation’s Naira has seriously depreciated.”.

A large percentage of highly skilled bankers, engineers, doctors, and teachers are leaving overseas every year, with the most obvious consequence being a loss of professional human resources overall. The growth of society and Nigeria is threatened by the widespread resignation of skilled workforce for better opportunities overseas.

The official disclosure that the Nigeria Immigration Service (N.I.S.) issued 1,899,683 passports in 2022, probably the highest number in a single year, drew public attention to the growing tide of emigration of Nigerians abroad.

Image: Nigerian passport. Source: LinkedIn

Strangely, many of these persons leaving are unmoved by the possibility of not gaining immediate employment once successfully relocating overseas. They are willing to start from the bottom by engaging in menial jobs and working their way up.

While these host nations are losing sleep to make their economies attractive, the home country of the immigrants’ has continually refused to take a cursory look at the impact this exodus has created and has continued like it is business as usual.

This negligence is becoming evident as sectors like the banking industry, health sector, academics, etc., are gradually collapsing all around the nation. If care is not taken to address this movement of talent, then we might experience a total collapse.

With the strangulating and hostile environment that many Nigerians are saddled with, along with the long-entrenched and unyielding effects of bad leadership, which continually get reinforced, we might be seeing the Nigerian society degenerate into a brutal state where those who are unable to flee are faced with the option of survival by any means possible.

The best option would be for Nigeria’s elected representatives to take a cue from how other civilized societies have striven to be intentional about investing in their human capital development and building their communities, thereby attracting the best and brightest to further contribute to the growth of their economies.

Investing in your child only to watch them get adopted by another family while you are alive and breathing is foolhardy.

If Nigeria must compete, her children must see reasons not to leave home.