Japa, a term in Nigeria’s national lingo that roughly translates to citizens leaving the country without any intention to return, is reflective of our failings as a nation. As some data show, about 3,679,496 Nigerians have left the country in the last two years.
The International Organisation for Migration puts the population of Nigerians in diaspora at about 17 million as of 2024!
Strangely, in spite of the tortuous process of visa procurement, the dangers some of the journeys entail, and the inhuman treatment Nigerians are subjected to abroad, Nigerians have continued to leave their country in droves. Nigerians are tolerant and tenacious abroad, working themselves to the bones and clinging to the hope for a future they know does not exist back home.
Why are Nigerians so inclined to work under harsh environmental conditions in other places, but do not like to do same in their own country which has better weather conditions? What manner of allure do other countries hold for Nigerians that make us to dispose of our belongings, deploy all our resources and heartily embark on journeys to places we will be regarded as second-class citizens?
Surely, Nigerians see greener pastures beyond the shores. People there, irrespective of their immigration status, live relatively decent lives unlike the life back home. When they pay tax, they see the results. The hospitals there are not death chambers. The roads are not death traps. There is security of life and property, making the future predictable.
That the overwhelming majority of the citizens are patriotic abroad is a response to what the country is doing for them. Back home, however, numerous factors combine to hurt patriotism. For instance, it has become unacceptable for politicians to ask people to make sacrifices while the politicians live in opulence and vulgarly display wealth stolen from the public till.
Why should citizens endure hunger in a country where N57.6 billion of taxpayer’s money was used to purchase SUVs for lawmakers and unnecessary aircraft were added to the presidential fleet at hair-raising costs? No wonder John Campbell, a former US ambassador to Nigeria, and Matthew Page, in their book, said Nigeria operates a system of kleptocracy.
With a paltry N70,000 minimum wage grudgingly offered by the Federal Government, it is clear that government is unwilling to waste much sympathy on the plight of the citizens. Why shouldn’t Nigerians look for greener pastures abroad?
Nigerians want to see what government is doing with the taxes they pay. Nigerians hate to see their leaders who ought to provide them with functional healthcare embarking on medical tourism each time they fall sick.
Nigerians need good roads and regular supply of electricity at home. Nobody likes to live in a country without security of lives and property. Without providing these barest minimum of social amenities at home, the ‘japa’ syndrome will continue until the entire country’s manpower is completely depleted!
RC: VANGUARD
