Economy

The skilled Nigerian manpower, especially medical doctors and nurses leaving the country in their thousands yearly is enough signal that efforts should be made to improve the working environment of these professionals in order to check this unnecessary trend and save the country the huge financial loss associated with it.

By Kennedy Nnamani

THE exodus of middle-class and highly skilled productive Nigerians, which has been occurring en mass for decades now is a major concern for the country. This trend was initially restricted to certain professions, but with the introduction of some visa programmes in order to fill some workforce gaps in a number of Western nations, it has now become a free for all affair. Recently, it was reported that more than 9,000 medical practitioners have left the country for Europe, Canada and the US, which have better working environments.

The African Polling Institute, API, noted in the #CanadaRush that “Nigeria’s poor economic performance, lack of security of lives and property and the poor leadership are the ultimate ‘push factors’ and driver of recent emigration pattern to Canada.” But Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, prefers to see it as export of skills and expertise in his recent allusion that the brain drain in the health sector is as a result of “having excess doctors”.

Although the Nigerian government seems to have noticed this inclination, when it seeks partnership with the UK to stop the mass movement of its employable experts from the country, the people still prefer to leave the country even if their survival is not guaranteed.

Kim Egwuchim, a medical doctor noted that “If someone is trying to run from a place where he is, to a place where he knows that tomorrow he could be killed and is still saying that I want to go and people are saying no, we don’t trust you, you’re joining this war because you want to escape your country, that shows you how bad that country is.”

In the entertainment industry, some sport and other professionals like Regina Askia, Doris Simeon, Opeyemi Aiyeola, eLdee, Lara George and Bayo Bankole have abandoned the country for safety and to seek better offer in other countries where they will be given the chance to showcase their skills without political influence.

To some, like a young entrepreneur and critical analyst who simply identified as Aaron, the emigration is a very good and profiting step to liberate technocrats from all form of slavery that they undergo in the country where after studying and making good results from their own pockets, it becomes impossible to get a good job and a good environment to grow and develop.

“We practically pay for everything that we get in this country, so should we call this brain drain? Should one feel emotional for leaving the country for a better place?

“The emigrating citizens have the opportunity to work in a free, fair and conducive environment,” he added

Studies have also identified poor salaries/remuneration, poor working conditions, communal, religious and political crises, mass unemployment, poverty and lack of quality education as some of the causes of brain drain in the country. However these factors can be attributed to poor leadership, which has made Nigerians to be reluctant in growing and developing in the country, so the students have interests in travelling to Europe and other developed countries after their university education.

Reacting to the result of the study, Aaron noted that the leaders have a huge role to play in checking this trend in the country.

 “If today, Nigerians are emigrating, it is as a result of the lacuna that exists in the country.  Those who are supposed to stay back and be the starlight in the country are leaving because other countries are offering them better chances and opportunities to grow and develop themselves,” he said.

He therefore called on leaders at all levels to strive in creating a good working environment that will not only stop this movement, but will also attract other nations to seek refuge in Nigeria as the country has all it takes to lead.

Speaking to some young Nigerians on the issue of brain drain, they said that they were willing to emigrate if they find the slightest chance to do so.

“If I see an opportunity to go to America, even if it is to go and clean the gutter, I will never think twice,” a cyclist said.

“I prefer to go there and be washing corpse than for me to stay here and be suffering like this in this country where you are not even sure of seeing tomorrow because if hunger no kill you, terrorists go kill you, if terrorists no kill you, even police fit kill you; everything is just working against us in this country,” a shop owner said.

Frank, a young computer science graduate, who claimed to be unemployed for over five years simply said: “How do you expect me to stay back and serve the nation that has failed me for five good years? Where was my nation when I was sponsoring myself for my degree?”

“If this movement is not tackled, it could cause the country to lose its best hands while the economy suffers as those who could have contributed to its growth are leaving the country,” he said

Meanwhile, it is difficult to reconcile the poor rating of the products of Nigerian universities and the current demand for them by many European countries and their Canadian and US counterparts.

KN

First published April 11, 2022 @ 11:26 GMT |

Tags: Bayo Bankole Doris Simeon eLdee Kennedy Nnamani Kim Egwuchim Lara George Opeyemi Aiyeola Regina Askia