By; OLIVIA NNOROM
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of people from Nigerians leaving the country, in search of better opportunities, higher salaries, and more favourable working conditions.
For many, the mention of emigration sparks brain drains thoughts. In this conversation, let’s see what population statistics is saying and how we can cushion the effect of a possible brain drains in the future.
Early this week, data published by the EU Commission showed that Nigeria was ranked 4th on the list of African countries with the highest spending on applications for schengen visas in 2022, coming behind Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.
According to the report, Nigerians spent $344,863 on Schengen Visa application, an analysis of visa expenditures by SchengenVisaInfo reveals that out of 86, 815 visa applications by Nigerians, 39,189 representing 45.1 percent were rejected.
Also, Techpoint reported that the US issued 2,274 immigration visas to Nigerians in the first half of 2022.
Kevin Urama, Chief economist and vice-president of the economic governance and knowledge management, African development bank, said that as of 2020, there will be a total number of one million Nigerians living in diaspora, representing 0.5 percent of Nigerians abroad.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs put Nigeria’s diaspora population at 1.7 million in 2020, while Reuters news agency put Nigeria’s population at 5 million, citing money transfer service western union data.
Abike Dabiri-erawa, head of the Nigerians in diaspora commission claimed that Nigerians living abroad as of 2019, is 20 million.
Considering that “brain drains” as a result of emigration has been raised by the government as a major contributor of reduced skilled labour in Nigeria, these numbers do not suggest so.
As at July 1, 2023, projections of the United Nations data estimated Nigeria’s population to be at 223, 499, 836. Also, the worldometer on July 23, 2023 reported Nigeria’s population to be at 221, 308, 126, representing about 2.64 percent of the total world population.
Of these numbers, the median age is 18. 1 year, representing a higher percentage of youths in the country.
This is to say that Nigeria still has 200 million more of its citizens in the country, in addition to immigrants from other countries. For a country with a fast-growing unemployment rate, 20 million and more emigrants is okay and is not enough to constitute a brain drain.
“We can’t claim to be experiencing an exodus because the migration frequency is not significant enough” Olawale Osabo, an economist and management consultant said in an interview with Techpoint Africa. He then noted that Nigeria does not have a brain drain problem.
What then is the problem?
Nigeria’s system lacks the capacity to effectively develop afresh, sustain and further develop talents. And I say this in terms of salary, research, infrastructural support, industrial support, adequate funding, government trust, mental calmness, consistent economy and many more, that are core necessities for individual and communal growth.
On the other hand, the EU and the US, which are major migration areas, provide better job prospects and higher salaries, quality of life with access to healthcare, education, and societal welfare than what may be available in Nigeria, where little or no attention is paid to almost everything.
What should be done?
There is an urgent need for the Nigerian government, individuals and organisations to go back to the drawing board to resurrect the altar on which hunger for national and individual educational growth died.
The first step is for the government to acknowledge that education in tertiary institutions and beyond is a critical component of a country’s development and economic growth. An educated population is better equipped to contribute to the workforce and innovate various fields, which can lead to the creation of new businesses, industries, and jobs, while mitigating the effects of” brain drains”
In conclusion, Nigerians are leaving the country in numbers, however, there are more people in the country who could fill up positions and cushion the effect of a vacant position due to immigration, if Nigeria’s educational sector can be developed up to standard.
The government should also engage with the Nigerian diaspora and create a platform for them to contribute to the development of the country.
