The sustained migration of people, especially essential human assets from the African continent in general and Nigeria in particular to other African nations, Europe, Asia and the Americas seeking asylum to enhance opportunities in recent times should be a real source of concern. for any responsible government, companies and citizens in general.
Although, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has divided international migrants into two groups: those who migrate of their own free will, leaving for studies, work or to reunite with their families, repression or natural disaster. However, the two categories have quickly become interdependent due to their rather interrelated motivation to seek “better job opportunities” abroad, while contributing greatly to the success of economies other than their own.
However, this objectionable trend invariably becomes more worrisome in relation to the far-reaching effects of these mass movements abroad on the nation’s socioeconomic, political, educational, and human capital growth and development and on the country’s economic fortunes.
Furthermore, it has been observed that as a result of the ongoing but unwanted mismanagement in the country, the overwhelming adverse effects of this apparent lapse are real in dilapidated infrastructure, acute brain drain syndrome, low capacity utilization in local industries , low productivity, collapse of the social value system, systemic mediocrity in national affairs, widespread youth unemployment, armed banditry, kidnapping, growing despair, among other debilitating vices. Scores of Nigerians, old and young, are driven daily to explore all sorts of travel arrangements, legal and illegal, in order to leave Nigerian shores for other countries at all costs.
Expressing concern about the approach that many Africans, including Nigerians, are migrating abroad in search of the proverbial Golden Fleece, Nigerian-born, US-based Phillip Emeagwali in his article titled: “Africa: Innovative Thinking in an In-the-Box World”, years ago, warned thus: “If ideas are really capital, then Africa should stop its brain drain and promote the African Renaissance, which will lead to the rebirth of the continent. After all, an the renaissance is a renaissance of ideas. And knowledge and ideas are the engines that drive economic growth.”
After what many have described as the aftermath of sheer frustration at the system, forcing many to emigrate to foreign lands, such a desperate move to leave the country by illegal immigrants by land or air has undoubtedly led to experiences and dire consequences.
For most of these relentless illegal immigrants who have continued to embark on an adventure to Eldorado at the risk of their lives in sometimes inhumane conditions, while making frantic attempts to cross into foreign lands through the bottom of a ship’s hold, the train landing of an airplane, or in the cold of refrigerated trucks.
Unfortunately, many have perished on journeys between the African continent and Europe when sharks reportedly tear up capsized boats and the bodies of migrants. Some who, perhaps by providence, have survived long and tedious journeys through the deserts, having traveled from Nigeria via the Republic of Niger, especially to Libya or Morocco, have returned to relive their harrowing near-death experiences. in the dusty and cold deserts. .
And, for most Nigerians who have arrived in foreign lands perhaps illegally, it is no longer news that practically every fortnight these days, batches of Nigerian deportees are flown back home from abroad, allegedly for having committed crimes ranging from delinquency, prostitution, street fights, vandalism, human trafficking, drug trafficking and forged travel documents, among others.
Of course, a good number of Nigerians who even legitimately emigrated to other countries on the African continent have had a difficult time of late. A very useful example is the recent unpleasant experiences of the majority of Nigerians residing in Egypt, Libya and the Ivory Coast at the hands of armed forces loyal to discredited administrations in these countries.
Their laments of suffering and abandonment upon arrival, especially at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, in fact, should be food for thought for Nigerian leaders to do well at home. Many of these Nigerians wish they had not left the country to go to such politically unstable nations in search of the proverbial “Golden Fleece.” Sadly, many have lost everything they have worked for in the pandemonium in the troubled regions.
Persistent migration is invariably stripping Nigeria of the cream of its society, as most immigrants are usually regarded as the most energetic, enterprising and enterprising citizens of the nation. Now the phenomenon of the brain drain is experienced in all sectors of the national economy.
Many students who genuinely traveled for education abroad have refused to return home to help deploy their acquired skills in different fields of human endeavors for the good of the country due to the comparatively harsh economic environment in their homeland.
Now, how do Nigeria and other African nations encourage their citizens, who are professionals in various sectors, to come home to help lift the black continent out of festering poverty? Emeagwali, again, laments the fate of the continent, as he said: “When the African men and women of ideas, who will give birth to new ideas, have fled to Europe and the United States, then the so-called African Renaissance cannot in Africa. It can only happen in Paris, London and New York. There are more Soukous musicians in Paris than in Kinshasa; more African professional footballers in Europe than in Africa. African literature is more at home abroad than in Africa.”
“Africans in Europe are alleviating poverty in Europe, not in Africa. Until the men and women of ideas – Africa’s true healers – begin to return home, the African Renaissance and poverty alleviation will remain empty slogans “, he declared.
That’s not to mention the thousands of Nigerian doctors, information and communication technology professionals and professors, to name a few, who make waves in foreign lands, just as their homeland continues to suffer under the dead weight of bad governance, corruption, armed robbery, ineptitude. , mediocrity, and rising cases of kidnapping, a hitherto nebulous criminal act that now threatens the social fabric of the nation.
While appreciating the beauty of living abroad and earning a living there, Gbenga Badejo sounds like a prophet in his article “Six Things Africans Living Abroad Should Consider!” He stated some time ago that, although it was not an attempt at alarmism, it is important that Africans living abroad reflect on certain questions that make them reflect and motivate themselves to rebuild their countries of origin.
He had asked such critical questions as: “What if Africans or most immigrants are repatriated en masse to Africa? What if EU (European Union) enlargement means mass unemployment for African immigrants in Europe?” What if citizenship is redefined and differentiation introduced even to Western-born citizens?In the case of any of the above scenarios, what will be the fate of the children of Africans abroad, many of whom have little knowledge of their ethnicity, let alone speak or understand the language?
So, how can those Nigerians who already reside abroad but are willing to return home to join forces with their compatriots men and women at home to raise the fortunes of the people and achieve remarkable improvement in the key indices of human development? What about measures to encourage more Nigerians who strive daily to get out of the country at every opportunity and offer the nation so much time until God knows when to reconsider their decision?
The clear propensity for both legal and illegal migration among large numbers of Nigerians today should serve as a strong wake-up call to the nation’s leaders. This is about institutionalizing determined, values-based leadership, not only to formulate credible policies, but also to institute people-oriented programs and projects that alleviate poverty and promise hope and a new face lift.
With greatly improved enlightenment programs and strategies for people’s participation, there is indeed no better time for the Federal Ministries of Information and Communications, Culture and National Guidance, Foreign Affairs and other related government agencies, in particular, to take home the central message of the Re-branding Nigeria Project to the generality of the people at home and abroad that now, bearing in mind that the nation’s image remains the beacon in the community of nations.
It should be noted that most Africans in general and Nigerians in particular are suffering efficiently due to the effects of dishonesty, corruption and greed identified in the character of leadership and the unwillingness of those in power to improve the luck of the people.
This is the time for everyone to choose the fulfillment of their conscience over the fulfillment of self-centered personal interests rooted in the affairs of the nation. In this way, we can give posterity the opportunity to experience true humanism and enhance our common good.