But why should anybody be worried about Nigerians leaving Nigeria in droves to develop other economies? No human loves pain. Nobody ignores honey for Bitrex. A fleeting life of sweetness is better than a forever of bitterness. Leaders should not bother about stopping Nigerians from escaping from the hell they turned Nigeria to. They should worry about making Nigeria a better place to live and thrive without stealing or cutting corners. They should ensure steady and regular power supply, a living wage not insufferable wage, provide potable water, build infrastructure and make sure that the laws of the land exist for everybody and not for the poor famished folk. If the leaders fail on these, they would have succeeded in chasing Nigerians to other lands where their skills are valued and adequately paid for.
Nigerians queueing for visa at an Embassy
By KEN UGBECHIE
One of the dumbest parliamentary exercises from Nigeria’s 9th National Assembly (NASS) was the debate on a bill seeking to stop medical professionals from emigrating to other lands. The bill was sponsored by Senator Ibikunle Amosun (APC – Ogun Central). On the face of it, the bill appeared to garb a garment of patriotism. You would think Amosun, a former governor of Ogun State, actually meant well for Nigerians.
On the contrary, the same Amosun who wants to stop others from travelling overseas for work which in most cases includes further studies and certifications, once left Ogun State and travelled to London to obtain his Masters of Arts Degree in International Finance in 2000. That’s a programme he could have done in any Nigerian university. But he opted to japa (a Yoruba word meaning to run away, escape or flee) to UK hence contributed in his own way to capital flight. You see, Amosun was not always a patriot in the sense he’s suddenly preaching it. His prescription through a rather primitive bill was a deadly disservice specifically to Nigerian medical professionals. I will explain why.
What the senator and his supporters wanted to achieve in the 21st Century is to halt labour movement. All the laws of nature are against such. The International Labour Organisation, ILO, supports the movement of labour. Labour is a service. Services migrate from where they are abused to where they are appreciated and valued. In Nigeria, we abuse labour. We debase the value of services. We rarely place premium on ideas. A Nigerian bank would rather finance importation of toothpick than finance an idea on paper.
In his argument to push through the bill, Amosun said “many reports suggest that the number of Doctors, Dentists, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, and Bachelor’s Degree-prepared Nurses in the country are just not adequate to deal with the increasing population growth and the healthcare needs of Nigerians.” Patriotic note!
He then added that “the rising wave of external migration of medical and allied health professionals seeking greener pastures in more developed countries further compounds the problem.” Just what can be more patriotic than this, that a senator loves his people so much that he offered to stop all medical workers from abandoning his own people. By this brainwave, Amosun simply acted Nigerian. Only Nigerian leaders would see the real substance staring at them, but would rather chase the shadow. The senator ought to address the substance, rather than this subterfuge. In this instance, the substance is why Nigerian medical professionals would prefer to travel abroad to render their service, the same service they could have rendered in Nigeria.
In case somebody is pretending not to know why, the reason is reward (remuneration, pay, worth, value etc). Labour is poorly rewarded in Nigeria. Whether you’re a teacher, medical personnel, technician, professional in any field or artisan, even a janitor, you are under-paid, under-valued and abused in Nigeria. That’s the reality. If you take your service to Europe, US, Canada, the Arab world, you will be rewarded better with the guarantee of a better life. This is what Amosun and his co-travellers ought to address: how to ensure that medical personnel, and any other professional, in Nigeria are adequately rewarded and not the wild goose chase of shackling them in slavish chains just to make sure they don’t japa to other countries.
But why should anybody be worried about Nigerians leaving Nigeria in droves to develop other economies? No human loves pain. Nobody ignores honey for Bitrex. A fleeting life of sweetness is better than a forever of bitterness. Leaders should not bother about stopping Nigerians from escaping from the hell they turned Nigeria to. They should worry about making Nigeria a better place to live and thrive without stealing or cutting corners. They should ensure steady and regular power supply, a living wage not insufferable wage, provide potable water, build infrastructure and make sure that the laws of the land exist for everybody and not for the poor famished folk. If the leaders fail on these, they would have succeeded in chasing Nigerians to other lands where their skills are valued and adequately paid for.
And who says having a strong Diaspora base is bad for the country? Development experts would argue that there is a strong correlation between development and Diaspora economy. Diasporans contribute to their home economies in two major ways: Remittances and knowledge (skill). The japa syndrome that is gaining momentum in Nigeria will, doubtless, pay off in the coming years. The two most populous countries in the world, India and China, have very strong Diaspora contingents. Aside helping them to contain their population overhang, they gain a lot from remittances.
In 2021-2022 financial year, India received foreign inward remittances of approximately $89 billion, the highest ever inward remittances received in a single year. In 2019-2020, it was $83 billion, it dipped to $80 billion in 2020-2021 before rocketing to an all-time high of $89 billion in 2021-2022.
Diaspora remittances to Nigeria in 2022 was $20 billion. This is a dip considering that Nigeria’s foreign remittances was $21billion in 2012, a decade ago. Studies have shown that highly populous countries in the world flaunt higher Diaspora remittances. India, China, Pakistan rank high in the remittances index. These are also countries with highly skilled-up human capital. Persons from all three nations are in high demand in the global tech space. Diaspora Nigerians are ranked as the most educated migrants in the United States. This also speaks to their knowledge fountain. Nigerians are naturally smart and hardworking. They only need the right ergonomics to ply their trade. Nigerians in the US, UK and Canada have been known to combine studies in the universities with multiple jobs and still top their classes. And this is largely because they found themselves in the right environment where they don’t have to study using candle light, torch light, phone light or rechargeable light; where they don’t have to worry about sourcing water to bathe and to cook because potable water is handy in every home; where they don’t have to spend much of their earnings commuting because public transportation system is efficient and cheap. These are basic amenities that leaders like Amosun have failed to provide in Nigeria, yet they cry that Nigerians are emigrating in droves to other lands.
Truth be told, you cannot stop the japa syndrome. It’s a response to a negative stimulus emitted by bad leadership at home. If a nurse with the NHS in UK could breeze into Nigeria and buy a house in Ikoyi at a time her counterpart in Nigeria with same number of years of experience cannot as much as buy a plot of land in Agege, then there is a problem at home. Until Nigerian leaders fix those problems and make Nigeria livable, the japa army will continue to grow exponentially. Fix Nigeria and the citizens will stay. Very simple.
