THE local slang japa has gained a momentum among Nigerians. It has not only dominated the tongue of young frustrated Nigerians but has successfully colonised every dispirited Nigerian adult’s mouth. There is a Japa People Society of Nigeria (JPSN) with people of common ideology. ‘Leaving is a Must,’ says their motto. Penetratingly, it found its way into Nigeria’s entertainment industry. From there, it got unpaid promotion, infiltrating households across the nation. The word japa connotes a strong desire to emigrate from the country without a future plan of returning. The youth see this permanent relocation as a progressive exit to break away from the shackles of man-made poverty, unemployment and all sorts of manufactured deprivations. For the average Nigerian, their heart has deserted the country, but visible to spectators is their physique, which is unavoidably loitering within the Niger area. In their brain, escape from a land that forsakes them is processing. For the land hatches nothing except suffering upon affliction. It stings in the morning and then bites in the evening. To many, this has been an unpalatable and undeserved situation. To reverse the situation that preys on their destiny, cutting ties with the country is the only solution.
Following the trend of galloping unemployment rate, the explosion of Nigeria’s labour market has flooded the scholarship court of countries with the primary goal of harvesting brilliant and potential seeds of the country. Academic scholarship serves as the best route for plebeian Nigerians seeking greener pastures. A brain gain to the host countries, with a debit entry—a brain drain to my country. Yet, the government is unperturbed, a loud silence depicting I don’t care. Attesting to this issue is the statistical distribution of Nigerians opting for scholarships. In the 2018 and 2019 winners statistics of Erasmus Mundus scholarship—a scholarship programme largely funded by European Commission— Nigeria, Egypt and Ethiopia were the only African countries that made the list. In the recent release of Erasmus 2020 winners’, Nigeria defeated Egypt and Ethiopia, taking the sixth position with 88 winners while Egypt and Ethiopia took the eleventh and seventeenth places with 62 and 49 winners respectively.
Climbing up the ladder further in this year’s winners’ statistics, as of June 18th 2021, Nigerians have accounted for 106 awardees. Nothing warrants the yearly increase except the unrewarding environment that gave an engineering graduate a sales marketing ticket, luring innocent job seekers into white-collar slavery. Can the innocence of banks, insurance firms, etc, be proven beyond doubt in the court of law in this case? The late Akwa-Ibom job-seeker, Miss Iniobong Umoren, was raped and murdered by a serial rapist, Uduak Akpan. He lured the deceased with the offer of a job and got her killed. We heard this because it got media attention: several unreported cases must have happened with no media coverage. Unfortunately, situations like this show that Nigeria’s job market is saturated, and fake employers take advantage of job seekers, with no respite coming forth from the government.
Nigerians repeated the same zeal in the 2019 Chevening Scholarship application by topping the table of countries with the highest applications. The country recorded 8000 applications, followed by Pakistan, 3600, Indonesia 3300, Kenya 2900 and Egypt 2800. This is the same development with some prestigious scholarships such as the commonwealth, DAAD Germany, MasterCard foundation, NAWA, MEXT Japan, Chinese and Korean government scholarship and other unpopular fellowship and assistantship position. Nigerians are not only talking the talk of japa; they’re painstakingly walking it. I hope the government could imbibe the trait of talk-and-do from the youth. In the past, many thought scholarships were for first-class and best graduating students but thanks to ‘the change government’, they shelved the primitive thinking. All have one goal: leave the country for good.
Nigerians trooping out in thousands for opportunities and to break free from the country is a big blow to the leaders of today. It is saddening, difficult to comprehend because of the stories we heard from the same beneficiaries of the old good days who are now at the helm of affairs, unfairly hoarding the public resources for their cronies and those that belong to their inner-circle. Back then, in the glorious days, Nigerians didn’t think of schooling outside the country or leaving the country for a job. The economy was afloat and tertiary institutions were on a par with global institutions. Can the golden days be brought back when the greatly prestigious institution, the University of Ibadan, attracts the best faculty members across the globe? Nigeria’s wobbling economy characterised by high inflation and snowballing unemployment continuously rekindles a strong desire in Nigerians to leave the country. There was a viral social media dialogue between two Nigerians when a Twitter user tweeted: “Can someone who studied chemistry or biology in the university also struggle to find a job?” In reply, another user responded: “If you like, study employment; you will still be unemployed”. This conversation shows the gloomy state of the country’s economy.
The statement that Nigerians should have a Plan B got publicity through Pastor Paul Adefarasin. Many Nigerians are already in their Japa Dream Studio plotting their way out of the country. Those that are already living comfortable lives, having escaped from the country that lost her compass to good governance, guide young Nigerians on how to flee from the country. This leads to growth in the membership of JPSN. The Plan B option became a required course for all Nigerians having tasted poverty, unemployment cemented by insecurity. What we thought was a child’s play mutated into an unpalatable development: Japa Global People Society (JGPS) in Nigeria. Shockingly, members snowball as medical personnel pick up the membership form of Japa People Society of Nigeria (JPSN), moving out in droves to secure better lives and handsome pay that match their professionalism. If the problem of mass movement of professionals is not swiftly addressed and reversed with good governance, it will morph into full-blown crisis.
- Taoheed writes in from Ibadan via dawood.taoheed94@gmail.com
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