One of the trending stories in social media last week was that of a Nigerian who died in one of the shelters in Brampton, Canada. The story was very touching and pathetic.
It also exposed the unpleasant situation many Nigerians are going through daily in other countries.
The situation is very unfortunate that one begins to wonder whether the Nigerian government is really sensitive to the plights of their citizens abroad. The increasing number of Nigerians traveling abroad through the ‘Japa’ slogan should be of great concern to every serious administration. A country that loses many of its brilliant youths – men and women – to other countries will always find itself struggling for a position of reverence among other great nations.
Speaking on the situation last week, Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, urged Nigerians to stop traveling abroad without proper documentation. She admitted that the experiences of those that travelled abroad without proper documentation were nothing but unpleasant. Dabiri-Erewa also warned Nigerians who have the intent to travel to Canada without proper documentation or to seek asylum to desist as the situation over there is getting tougher by the day. The NIDCOM boss stated further that the foray is just not worth it, more often than not. She made this known during her visit to some Nigerians in one of the shelters in Brampton, Canada.
It is very unfortunate that Nigerians have been boxed to a tight corner by bad leadership, corruption and poor government policies. The ‘Japa’ trend is not limited to Canada alone. Nigerians are daily traveling to other countries such as the United Kingdom, United States of America, United Arab Emirates and all over the 28 countries in Europe. The trend is becoming too much, especially now that the economic situation in the country is biting hard on the Nigerian citizens.
Too disturbing was the report from the United Kingdom Office of the National Statistics that the UK net migration had hit a record high of 745,000 in 2022. This, according to the UK Office of the National Statistics, is also piling pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has vowed to reduce new arrivals. According to the ONS estimate, 1.2 million people came to Britain from across the world in the year ending June 2023, while 508,000 left.
Though the story of the Nigerian immigrant that died in Canada was very pathetic, it also showed the failures of the Nigerian government to stop the Japa syndrome that is gradually becoming an infectious disease affecting every Nigerian. To tell the truth, the last one decade has been very tough for Nigerians so much that the number of citizens leaving the country has multiplied.
Those that are traveling abroad saw the need to relocate and live the best of lives outside the country. And like the dreaded COVID-19 global disease, Japa has been so infectious in Nigeria that you can hardly figure out the number of Nigerians that leave the shores of this country on a daily basis. It is no doubt that one out of every family in Nigeria is now involved in the Japa trend. It is as bad as that.
And you cannot blame those that are trying their luck in foreign lands. The problem started several years back when Nigerians began to lose hope in the quality of leadership that emerged in our successive elections. What do say when a country that is supposed to be the leading black nation in the world is losing so many of her citizens to bad leadership and corruption? What do say when looters of our common heritage become leaders and remain the decider of our fates?
Not all Nigerians have the threshold to endure the lies and unpleasant stories that are emanating from those that are leading us. Many of those that had travelled out of this country left because they cannot continue to be a slave in their own land. Many left because there seems to be no hope for the country with the successive leaders and administrations losing touch with the citizens of the country.
Yes, migration is good when it is done legitimately and not irregularly. Traveling out of the country is also good when the intent is to change one’s environment, work diligently and bring about the exposures and experiences to help in transforming one’s life and that of the country.
But on the other hand, traveling is not too good when an immigrant becomes a super-burden to families and friends and to the government of the country. Such venture is but suicidal.
For instance, the brain-drain in the health sector is alarming with many of our doctors traveling abroad to seek better livelihood abroad. And this has affected the health sector in no small measure.
Also, the educational system is going down every day with some of our university graduates turning out to be nothing but half-baked individuals. It is also very unfortunate that the prospects of getting a job in the country are very low. You cannot but wonder how Nigeria has become so rotten that it cannot take care of the future of its citizens.
For Nigeria to stop this ugly trend, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must be ready to address the Japa trend holistically. The promise of ‘Japada’ is not enough. Nigerians are becoming wiser to the promise made by our politicians.
There is an urgent need for the Federal government to make the country better for investors. Businesses are dying daily in Nigeria and nothing is really working in the country at the moment. The only business that thrives in the country is politics. And politics is very attractive to the extent politicians are busy outsmarting one another and they are very desperate to kill themselves to get to power.
The future of a country lies in the quality of services rendered to her citizens across the board. Nigerian youths deserve to be in a country that places much premium on good and qualitative education, good health services, effective security, good business opportunities and hope for the future.
Also Read:
- I now know why Gov. Uba has been praising Tinubu — El-Rufai
- Surviving abroad marriage: My observations, by Tunde Asaju
- Why I dumped PDP – Nwoko; We won’t miss him — Commissioner
- Anambra: Three siblings killed, bodies dumped in deep freezer
- Telecom Tariff Hike: NLC suspends planned nationwide protest
But the irony of the Nigerian system is that the country places much respect on wealth (whether sincerely or ill-gotten wealth) rather than hard work or respect for the elders.
As good as the NIDCOM boss advice was, it is not enough to advise Nigerians to stay back and build the country. The government must play its role by stopping the ugly trend, by restoring the hope of the people in this country. Nigeria cannot continue to lose our best brains to other countries and expect the country will grow and fulfill her lofty dreams of becoming the leading country on the African continent.
. Aderemi writes from Lagos.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
