By Francis Ewherido
By now the word Japa needs no explanation. Nigerians are leaving our shores in droves for other African countries, Europe and America. The medical profession is hit below the belt. Thousands of our best doctors and other medical personnel have left the country for greener pastures in other countries, including the Middle East. It is not only the teaching hospitals and big hospitals that are hit, clinics are not left out. A friend, who had gone on semi-retirement, is back fully at his clinic. More than half of his doctors have gone abroad. He has the option of continuing his semi-retirement and watch over three decades of hard work fade away or come out of retirement and keep his clinic alive. He chose the latter. If you go to any hospital in the UK, at least one of the medical personnel, who will attend to you, is a Nigerian. Igbo, Yoruba and Pidgin English are widely spoken because of the large number of medical personnel working there.
The financial industry is also terribly affected. A friend spent four hours in the bank last week because the system was down and the staff who used to fix the problem have all relocated. Those of us in the insurance sector are also affected by the brain drain. Other sectors that require technical skills have been affected. The immediate impact is devastating. Many years were spent to train and groom these professionals. We are losing them in a twinkle of an eye. It will take a long time to train new people to replace them. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that those we are training now will not also japa after being trained. The only solution to stem the brain drain is to fix our country and make it liveable and citizens-friendly. That is largely why the 2023 election is everybody’s business. More than half of the Nigerians I meet in the UK and the US want to come back home permanently or regularly. The major culprits scaring them away are insecurity and poor infrastructure, especially unstable power supply and bad roads. It is not rocket science to fix Nigeria. Lack of the ease of doing business and the prevailing corruption are two other major problems. No society is free of corruption, but corruption has crippled Nigeria, and at its present rate, the prospects are very bleak.
If we fix our nation, the brain drain would yield one major advantage despite its many disadvantages. Nigeria can benefit from the return of many of these Nigerians in diaspora if they come back home with their expertise. I spent three months in India for medical reasons about 10 years ago. Some of the doctors who attended to me were returnees from the UK. One was still in the UK and travels between India and the UK to perform surgeries.
It is every one’s right to live wherever s/he wants to live in this global village called the world. But I believe that it should be a matter of choice, not out of compulsion to escape from insecurity and economic hardship as is currently the case. But let me quickly add that some of the japa are borne out of me-tooism (herd mentality), peer pressure and ignorance. Deciding where you want to live or relocate to should start with a journey of self-discovery. You must know who you are, thoroughly investigate and understand the place you want to move to and if you can thrive in that environment. That done, you will know what will work for you, where and how. Many Nigerians in the US and the UK have no business remaining there. They are stuck, but home does not offer an attractive alternative to them. I have met some in the UK and the US. A cab driver I met in Chicago lamented that he was doing very well before the wife pressured him to relocate to America. But there are many Nigerians also doing very well.
I first thought of relocating to the UK in the nineties without a well thought out plan of what I wanted to do, besides becoming a chartered insurance practitioner. I did not think about how I was going to survive, where to stay and many other critical factors. Then I got married, and before I knew it, two children came in quick succession. Relocation got complicated and I jettisoned the idea. I studied here and became a chartered insurance practitioner.
I have since realised that I cannot live abroad. I struggle with the food, weather, culture, etc. I am fully settled with all the challenges of living in Nigeria. I will continue to travel, but my home remains Nigeria. My children will make their own decisions. I have had one on one discussions with them, pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. People who want to Japa must have an idea of what they want, plan, get expert advice, understand the country to which they are going and have enough money to survive before they stabilise. True, it is easier to get a job in the UK and US as long as you are not picky, but the system has inherent ways of making you take what is available, not what you want to do. You have to put aside your certificates, qualifications and pride at the beginning. Europe and America are levellers. Also, go through legal channels. Travelling via the Libyan route is madness and foolishness put together. Get the right visa. Desperation is not a good reason to Japa. Not everyone is meant to Japa or live abroad. Get that into your skull.
AFTER THE FLOOD, WHAT NEXT?
The annual flooding in many parts of the south reached an epidemic proportion this year. That is not the first time it is happening. Many are homeless and in IDP camps, including my village, Egwhu-Urhobo. The remains of dead people have been flushed into the open from cemeteries in Bayelsa. My father’s house, where he was buried, was spared because it is on high ground, but my late brother’s house was not spared. Meanwhile, some state governments and local governments are busy politicking. Some are just waking up from their slumber. The federal government’s reaction is also not swift and good enough, in my estimation.
But my real question is: “after this year, what next?” Wait for another flood next year? Absolutely not! We were initially told that the opening of a dam in Cameroun causes the annual flooding in Nigeria, but government officials said that is not the case. So what causes the annual flooding that has claimed over 600 lives this year alone? What are the solutions? The major oil producing states of Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa are badly affected. States like Anambra and Kogi are also badly affected. We cannot continue like this. Incidentally, the tenure of the current government terminates on May 29, 2023. We need the presidential candidates of all the parties to come out and tell us how they intend to stop the annual flooding. Any candidate without a concrete plan does not deserve the votes of voters from the affected states and all Nigerians for that matter.