The Office of the Presidency has disclosed that it is not worried about skilled Nigerian workers leaving the country, stating that for every Nigerian that wants to leave, hundreds want to stay.
This was disclosed by Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity in an interview with Channels TV on Sunday evening.
This comes as the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Health Ministry have warned about the rising rate of Nigerian health workers leaving, which is causing a strain on Nigeria’s healthcare value chain.
Adesina, addressing the ‘japa’ trend, noted that despite data of more Nigerian skilled professionals leaving for the UK for the first time in ten years, this is not the first time Nigerians have left.
- He said, “The average Nigerian has always wanted to leave, and it’s not just in Nigeria; in most countries, they always believe the grass is greener out there.
- ” The truth is that if you have an opportunity to better your life, there is nothing wrong with it. But you can’t now say because people are leaving there is a sign something is fundamentally wrong. There are Nigerians who would never leave,” citing that “for every person that leaves, there are hundreds that want to stay.”
On the Buhari administration’s scorecard, he said he believes Buhari has fulfilled his promises to Nigerians as there is no single president that can solve all the problems of a country.
On security, he noted that Nigeria is safer than when Muhammadu Buhari assumed office, stating that when Buhari came, nobody was sure Nigeria could exist in one month.
- “He came and took the battle to the insurgents; then it became hydra-headed through banditry; how many challenges can one administration confront?” he asked.
For the record: Nigerian student visa approvals to the United Kingdom rose from 8,384 to 65,929 from the year ending 2019 to June 2022, a 686% increase, as Nigerian nationals saw the largest relative increase in sponsored study visa grants (nearly eight-fold increase), making them the third largest nationality in that country.
This was disclosed by the UK Home Office in its National Statistics Report titled, “Why Do People Come to the UK To Work?”, published on Thursday, August 25, 2022.
The report also added that India and China had 117,965 and 115,056 students as of June 2022, with a growth rate of 215% for India and -4% for China during the same period.
Nairametrics reported that the Nigerian Society of Anesthetists (NSA) expressed concern over the rising wave of Nigerian health workers leaving the Nigerian health system to work abroad.
- They said, “Government is concerned about the rising tide of brain drain, and suggestions on ways to mitigate the exodus of the health workforce, especially young anesthetists are welcome.
- “We note the fewer number of members of the profession that are currently in the country and I can assure you that the ministry is looking into it.”
The special adviser to the president on media and publicity got this one wrong. In the 60s and early 70s when the Nigerian economy was relatively good and currency stronger than the dollar, the tendency to “japa” wasn’t there. Saying that the presidency isn’t worried about the japa trend shows that there’s something fundamentally wrong with the Nigerian leadership. No sane leadership in any country in the world will not be worried about losing skilled manpower. I don’t know why these people play politics with everything. In Nigeria, a minister of information or special adviser on media and publicity is a propaganda tool. They end up doing damage to the image of Mr. President.
The man is living in denial. In his arrogance, he forgot that the Nigerians who are leaving are not just those you find on the streets. These are highly skilled people – Doctors, Engineers, IT professionals, academics trained with huge national resources are the ones leaving. Many institutions, especially the banks are struggling – mass exodus of their IT staff to greener pastures has virtually crippled the banking/fintech sector. The money used to train these people? No need to worry, we have so much money, we are the giant of Africa. Sickening. The UK and many western countries who used to be stingy with their visas. have thrown their doors wide open. Think they don’t know what they are doing? And who says the people who are leaving actually want to leave? Many consider life to be suffocating in Nigeria and have no choice but leave. Many do not want to be knapped for ransom. Those staying do so because they have no choice. Society gets increasingly composed of the rougher elements of us, life becomes more and more short, nasty and brutish. I guess the man himself needs a bullet proof car to get to his village. The chicken will soon come home to roost: