On The Way Out
By Tunji Ola
Monday, July 09, 2007
For many Nigerian youths, the temptation to go abroad in search of greener pastures is gradually getting stronger
M onday mornings at the United Kingdom, UK, visa application office in Oregun is always a busy day. Cars litter the front of the expansive office. Young people clutching files and giant-sized envelopes scamper around to put various documents together, and several hours before the office opens for the day's business, they form a long queue in front of the gate.
These young people, whose age bracket range between 18 and 40 have only one dream - to get a visa and leave the country to seek greener pastures abroad. Technically, this mass exodus of the vibrant young workforce of a nation is called brain drain and it is a disturbing phenomenon in the country today.
Bunmi Ogunlesi, 27, a graduate of Economics from the University of Lagos is one of the young people processing her visa in order to leave the country. She told Newswatch that she wants to leave the country because the economic situation in the country is bad and no longer conducive for her. "I have suffered enough in this country. Before I got a job it was trouble and even with the job, the working condition is not too good. I have friends abroad and they tell me about the opportunities out there and I can't just wait to experience it," she said.
Zainab Elebute, a part-time student of Lagos State University, LASU, is also dreaming of leaving the country soon after her studies. When Newswatch met her, she was sharing flyers for a travel agency she works for. She also blamed the exodus of young people from the country on the harsh economic condition in the country. "Many graduates are roaming the streets of the country in futile search for jobs. The jobs are not there. The government does not seem to care about the lot of graduates and year after year, the number of jobless graduates increase. Also, the political situation is bad and no young person will want to remain in the country when the golden fleece is abroad," she said.
Adeniyi Olatunde works with a law firm that deals with immigration matters. He told Newswatch that youths are leaving the country for many reasons. The first is the ailing educational system. "Imagine, ASUU just called off a four-month old strike. Students were bored-stiff at home. These days, when you gain admission into higher institution, you are not sure of when you will graduate. Parents who can afford it prefer to send their children abroad to school," he said.
Apart from schooling, Olatunde believes many youths are also leaving because they want to escape the harsh economic realities of the country. Olatunde said many young people believe that once they step out of the shores of the country to America or Europe, they are made, because the economic conditions there are favourable. "Nigerians are hardworking people but here in the country; they work and work without getting good value for their efforts. Abroad, you work and earn good money and there are better social amenities and infrastructure." Olatunde said. He, however, agreed that the mass exodus of young people who contribute to the nation's workforce is not good for the country.
Wale Raheem has a lucrative job with Exxon-Mobil, a foremost oil company in Nigeria. He told Newswatch that he was not planning to leave the country because he has a good job, however, he cannot blame other young people leaving because the socio-economic climate in the country is not conducive. "It is true that this brain-drain is not good for the nation, but if the government is concerned, it should revamp the economy, create job opportunities and a friendly atmosphere as derivable in other countries," he said.
Kunle Adebayo, a graduate of architecture from the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, had despair written all over him when Newswatch encountered him. He teaches technical drawing in a private secondary school in Lagos and his take home pay is just N12,000 per month. He had tried the American Visa lottery many times but luck has not smiled on him. "I keep on hoping and praying and I know one day, I will bid this country goodbye. It will take a long time before I come back because I have suffered too much," he said.
Joseph Olagunju, an economist and social commentator, explained that the mass exodus of young people from the country was a dangerous trend. "These are the workforce of the nation. These are sound, vibrant minds who should contribute their quota to the countries GNP. It is not a good thing that the nation is losing its human capital," Olagunju said.
He noted that the government cannot force these youths to stay but the only way they could be discouraged from traveling abroad is to create a secure and friendly environment. He said the recent move of the federal government to register unemployed youths in the country is not enough. The youths should be offered well-paid jobs in their various fields of interest. "The government must stop paying lip-service to socio-economic and infrastructural development. We must create the kind of atmosphere these young people crave for in other to arrest this human capital flight," Olagunju said.
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