According to an African Polling Institute survey, more than 7 out of 10 Nigerians would leave the nation if given the opportunity. Nigerians are increasingly leaving the country in search of a better life. More heartbreaking is that most Nigerians in the diaspora and those currently processing their visa to leave did that because of police brutality and harassment, lack of stable electricity supply, poor healthcare system, insecurity, bad Governance and underemployment.
Popular Nigerian tech YouTuber and visual storyteller Fisayo Fosudo posted on his timeline on Sunday, “People who left Nigeria, what was the thing that made you finally decide to leave?” He received many replies and quotes, which took the post to millions of impressions.
Suppose you go through the quotes and replies. In that case, you will notice that most of the techies popularly known as “Tech bro” in Nigeria moved to another country due to police brutality, underemployment and lack of power supply, which affected their growth. Most workers based in Nigeria complained about being underpaid for the remote work they are engaged in.
This article aims to share reasons why Nigerians are migrating in droves and offer the Nigerian Government some insights on how it can curb the migration of its citizens.
Reasons why Nigerians are Migrating
Tech entrepreneur Osaretin Victor Asemota, with the handle @asemota, said he left Nigeria because of the bad healthcare system. He tweeted, “I had kidney stones in December 2008, and at that time, there was no lithotripsy machine in Nigeria to break the stones. This was a simple outpatient procedure elsewhere. I had hydronephrosis as my kidney was blocked. Facing renal failure, I left. Found Ghana 2009. To clarify, I went to the UK first before Ghana. From the UK, I found a saner African country where a doctor wouldn’t risk my life to do a procedure I didn’t need. In Nigeria, they collected $1200 for appendectomy without doing a CT scan first. In Ghana, they investigated.“
Ameen, a certified Cloud security and DevSecOps based in the United Kingdom with the handle @ALOFFAWY, posted that “During the #EndSARS protest, @YomiBanqx and I were in front of the police headquarters in Abuja when they sprayed us with hot water. We ran so fast that we got separated. We probably met each other in Lugbe later in the evening. I got home, packed my kaya (meaning luggage), and ran so fast I saw myself in the UK.“
Uchenna S.Osuchukwu @Uchez2 explained how he was kidnapped and extorted by the Nigerian police, which made him decide it was time to leave the country.
I was kidnapped, they emptied my bank account, and my people still paid a ransom. They took my car and damaged it. One transferred money from my account to his and bought airtime from my bank. I took all the evidence to the police and was asked to pay 200,000 naira, but I let it slide.
A month after that, police at Enugu stopped me while driving back to Abuja, planted a dirty panty in my luggage while searching it and threatened to shoot me right there if I argued and did not cooperate with them. They labelled me a Yahoo boy.
In Abuja the next week, a police lady slapped me for nothing. I slapped back, and her colleagues, who were men, attacked me. One wanted to stab me with a dagger.
The last thing that made me say, “fuck it”, was the day Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) personnel in Abuja attacked me. One entered my car and nearly made me crash into a fence at Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre. @whitenigerian witnessed this one. Right there, I realized Nigeria seriously wanted to kill me by all means. The next day, my wife and I started the process of leaving.
A tech bro and managing partner at Spire Africa with the handle @madebycharles stated, “No one event, to be honest. Since I was a kid, I have always wanted to see the world. My family does not have the money. I used to print embassy requirements to qualify for the International Young Physicists’ Tournament (IYPT) or International Olympiads in 2010. I was always finding a way. Thank God for Tech Nation.“
Another user with the Twitter handle @karigwe tweeted, “I joined Nigerian politics and became the treasurer of the DA in Enugu. Later, I became the Enugu state chapter chairman of PCP. However, according to him, the national chairman later removed me as the chapter chairman because I refused to play ball.
My mentor and boss later called me and told me that if I wanted to go far in politics, I had better learn to let go of my values and compromise with corruption sometimes. According to him, when you become a successful politician and attain power, you can use your values to bring about change. “Values no de put food for the table.” He said
The things I witnessed as a politician in Nigeria, especially among the youths, made me lose hope entirely in Nigeria.
We can’t list all the reasons because there are a thousand more reasons a lot of Nigerians in the diaspora left the country, posted and quoted on this thread. You can follow the post outlined to read more:
Why Some Nigerians in Diaspora are Returning?
Even though there has been a significant increase in the number of Nigerians migrating abroad, some Nigerians in the diaspora who have schooled and lived are returning to the country primarily due to economic reasons.
Tobi Ogunlesi, Marketing and Communications Manager, Junior Achievement Nigeria, also posted about people who returned to Nigeria. This did not get much attention, as many didn’t have a good reason to return, but few Nigerians abroad posted why they were moving back.
Steps the Nigerian Government can take to Reduce the Rates of Emigration
The majority of Nigerians, in general, are unhappy with the country’s current state, which has continued to be the top reason why Nigerians in the diaspora leave the country in large numbers in search of better opportunities out of concern that the situation will continue to harm their socioeconomic well-being. Here are a few steps the Government can take to reduce the emigration of Nigerians:
- The level of poverty and hardship in Nigeria today is disturbing. Therefore, all levels of government must collaborate to stop it and offer better solutions that will lessen people’s suffering.
- The Government must prioritise funding for the education sector to give individuals access to free education and professional degrees and to support the healthcare industry with the required infrastructure and resources.
- Educating Nigerians, particularly the youth, about contemporary agricultural practices and the use of technology can assist in boosting productivity and creating more business and employment opportunities.
- Improving the nation’s security sector and recruiting more security personnel is crucial.
- Regular power supply should be offered to boost small businesses and production. This will also be beneficial for most Nigerian youths working remotely.
- Providing basic amenities such as provision of good drinking water, food supply, affordable houses and transportation to the citizens
