Can Japa land Nigeria in Japan? By Simon Kolawole
If you spend too much time on social media, you would swear that emigration, also known as “japa”, is new and peculiar to Nigeria. No, it isn’t. “Japa”, a Yoruba slang that roughly means “to cut loose”. For four decades, Nigerians have been “cutting loose” for economic reasons. The current wave is reminiscent of the exodus of medical personnel to Saudi Arabia in the mid-1980s. That, I should think, was the first mass movement of Nigerians abroad that gained media attention. The naira had fallen from N1/$ to N4/$, making forex earnings juicy and attractive-and, good enough, Saudi badly needed doctors and nurses. As I recall, we used “brain drain” to describe the phenomenon.
Before the economic crisis, “japa” was not a big thing. Nigerians could travel to several countries without needing a visa and most always returned home. Nigerian footballers were comfortable with plying their trade at home. Greats like Segun Odegbami, Christian Chukwu and Adokiye Amiesimaka did not have any compelling economic reasons to play abroad. The fall in the value of the naira in the mid-1980s also changed the fortune of our football for good. Belgium became the magnet for Nigerian players — thanks largely to the legendary Stephen Keshi who pioneered a wave of emigration that rewrote the history and redrew the geography of our football. A new era was born.
With foreign-based Nigerian doctors, nurses, lecturers and footballers sending life-changing remittances and setting up businesses back home, the “japa” phenomenon began to explode. But along with regular immigration came the irregular one: people started overstaying their visas — after going for studies or attending international events — and most were content with taking up odd jobs. Nigerians became notorious for criminal activities. Through drug trafficking and credit card fraud, some would buy cars and computers and ship them home to launder the proceeds of crime. Our ladies started flooding Italy for sex work. The “success stories” pulled more Nigerians in.
On a positive side, regular immigration became easier. The US Visa Lottery was very popular among Nigerians in the 1990s and 2000s before we were no longer eligible. Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland, was a popular destination before the rules were tightened — apparently to curb abuse. Because it was an English-speaking EU country with the UK just next door, Ireland offered a comfortable new home for Nigerians. Any child born there automatically became a citizen, along with other benefits. Having seen enough of us, the Irish authorities changed the rules in the mid-2000s and made it difficult for both the child and the parents to become citizens or claim benefits.
Western countries started introducing schemes for professionals and investors, basically to attract quality migrants to fill their own manpower needs. Nigerians took advantage. The UK had the highly skilled migrant worker scheme. Canada has been a good spot for long, the only complaint being about the weather. Nigerians have been braving the cold all the same. With the new study and work opportunities, Canada has become a No 1 pick for young Nigerians. It is easier to relocate to Canada than the US, although the Americans are also coming up with immigration-friendly programmes (programs, lol). The UK has also opened a new big gate, particularly for students, doctors and nurses.
In sum, there is nothing new about “japa”. There is no official data to capture the number of Nigerians living abroad as well as the historical trend from the 1980s, but it is safe to say that there will be more as people keep searching for better opportunities. In a country of 200 million people with lean economic opportunities, inadequate infrastructure, high unemployment and serious security challenges, it is only logical for the citizens to seek better life elsewhere — even in Togo, which is not as big as Lagos, or Equatorial Guinea, where they speak Spanish. In the end, survival is a basic human instinct and the Nigerian dire situation is enough for people to seek solace abroad.
Citizens of countries with large populations often seek opportunities abroad. Nigerians are not alone. According to a UN report, the ten countries with the highest number of emigrants in 2021 were India (17.9 million), Mexico (11.1 million), Russia (10.8 million), China (10.5 million), Syria (8.5 million), Bangladesh (7.4 million), Pakistan (6.3 million), Ukraine (6.1 million), Philippines (6.1 million) and Afghanistan (5.9 million). Nigeria is ranked No 45 with 1.7 million. Given the number of Nigerians who have migrated legally and illegally in the last few years, we will move up the chart very soon. We should also bear in mind that many more are waiting to leave at the next opportunity.
By the way, I am not against emigration. I have several reasons to back my position, as I have said at different forums recently. One, leaving your job allows others to move up. It is also going to take many people off the job market. More talents will be uncovered and discovered. The downside is that in our case, it is the skilled ones that are leaving in droves and most have no plans to return. Losing those whose skills and knowledge are difficult to replace, especially medical doctors. Government at all levels must do everything possible to reverse this trend in the medical position through the provision of incentives, including the necessary equipment, facilities and remuneration.
Two, when Nigerians study or work in advanced societies, they are in a good stead to learn new things about the world, about work ethic, about critical thinking, about global best practices. Our medical personnel cannot attend to patients in Europe with the same contempt they mete out to Nigerians back home. They cannot get away with negligence as they easily do here. Also, lecturers cannot dictate to their employers what payment software to use. They cannot go on total strike for eight months over a matter that will take years to address. They will also get to understand what “autonomy” means and how universities are funded in the US, the UK, Canada and similar countries.
Three, when Nigerians study or live abroad, they will unlearn many things. It is very easy to evade or underpay tax in Nigeria but if you try that in the US, you will face the music. They will also understand the dignity of labour: a Nigerian student would be more willing to serve as a waiter at a restaurant in the UK or as a security guard in the US to pay his bills. Back home in Nigeria, he would probably look up to his uncle for bailout. There is no uncle or aunty in Canada. It is everyman for himself and God for us all. You are forced to understand prudential use of resources, to practise orderliness and respect for the rules, regulations and laws. For me, this is worth the adventure.
Four, and quite importantly, I am of the strong conviction that the diaspora can play a major role in the transformation of Nigeria. With the right leadership in place, some of our best brains in the diaspora who still love this country can return home to be part of the process of rebuilding our land. They can transfer or deploy the knowledge and experience they have acquired to help the rebuilding project. We saw glimpses of this possibility when President Olusegun Obasanjo was in office. He tapped talents from the diaspora. I have also noticed that many hospitals, schools and businesses established or run by those who came from the diaspora are always a notch more professional.
As we know, modern economies are powered by the knowledge industry. In the 20th century, Japan sent the world alight when it developed without natural resources. It was the quality of human resources that took the country to the top of the ladder. They are now global leaders in the automotive, robotics and electronics industries, but they started by copying America. The knowledge transfer did wonders. This fuels my optimism that Nigerians who are accumulating skills and knowledge abroad can return someday to team up the home-based talents and help re-engineer our development. Through brain drain gain, “japa” may galvanise Nigeria into becoming a type of Japan.
First published in Thisday Newspaper
