Nigerians and the Japa Syndrome:Slave trade or Self-trade ?By: Waheed Ogunjobi

Nigerians and the Japa Syndrome:Slave trade or Self-trade ?

By: Waheed Ogunjobi 

The social media was recently awashed with comments, counter-comments, reactions as well as counter-reactions concerning a controversial comment by a Nigerian Professor  based in the United States of America, Uju Anya who expressed disgust  through her tweet that the late Queen Elizabeth II was the one who supervised the colonisation of her people, the aftermath of  which is still hunting the people till the present moments.

The likes of Jeff Bezos, one of the  richest men in the world had since responded to that tweet and was caught up in the web of arguments that follow, and the rest as they say is history even as the  debate is still on, on almost all platforms as people continued to share their views based on their personal convictions and sentiments. 

Apparently, that outburst was a sad reminder of the era of colonisation of the African nations by the British empire who trampled on African citizens and ended up putting us under the commonwealth of nations with no less  than 56 member countries or  nations being under the cloak of the British Empire. The Commonwealth  of nations is no doubt an appellation and a nomenclature  that kept reminding the nations that they were once a subject of the British Empire and they are still indirectly tied to the apron string of the United Kingdom. 

Thus, between the 16th to 19th Centuries known as the "Big Scramble", when the British empire and other European warlords were scrambling for the soul of Africans, African were made to go through excruciating forced labour. Estimates have it  that about 12 million to 12.8 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic over a span of 400 years.

That was history and it was supposed to be in the past. Queen Elizabeth  did not start it, neither  did  her father George Vl. They all inherited the practice and chose  to preserve it. 

However, while the scars of the colonial rule is yet indelible, such that the likes of Uju Anya are still embittered to the point of calling for compensation or justice, a new wave  of colonialisation is brewing and the fear in this case is that Africans may have no one to blame but herself , if and when  the latest trend later became a major issue of global concern in the future. This current trend is no longer related  to slave trade but can justifiably be termed, " Self-trade"

This is due to the rate at which Nigerians, especially  the youths are leaving for the foreign lands in droves. A friend simply described such as " human flight". Of course, we have heard of brain drains and all such issues in the past , but recent events of exodus of  people  and the reasons behind it are worrisome.

 A Chattered Accountant, Dr. Gbenga Adeoye recently painted the gory picture of what he noticed abroad, when he lamented the fact that most Nigerians  who were albeit  living  a better life back home have now seen the urge to sell off their property and relocate abroad. This exodus of individuals to foreign lands of a fact has its downsides and the brightsides.

According  to The Guardian of  September , 10 2022" the mass exit from Nigeria, tagged Japa, caused by high level of insecurity, unemployment, infrastructural deficit, hunger and failure of the various levels of government to provide opportunities for the youths to live their desired life and achieve their dreams, is becoming a social epidemic"

Matter of factly, this is not the first time such scenario is playing out. The first of the  wave of ‘’japa’’ (Nigerian slang for emigration) in Nigeria was said to be  in the ‘70s/’80s, according  to findings.

Faced with an uncertain future owing to military interregnums and a volatile economy, then, the Nigerian young  were said to have  to journeyed to   the West — the US and UK. 

On the recent phenomenon, the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs had observed that the number of international migrants from Nigeria in 2020, the latest year for which figures are available, was 1.7 million, up from 990,000 a decade earlier.

Nigerians, again especially the youths  have every reasons to rethink their destinies. Some of them reckoned that if they had missed it, their children must  not miss it. Their children  must get good education, quality health, live a healthy and fruitfulled life. Those in this line of thoughts are absolutely correct. They are sure on point, owing to prevailing situation and circumstances.

Periscoping  into the future however,  not many people who are scrambling by themselves to join the "Japa train ", stopped to have a rethink of what becomes of their children after their demise. Such  children after acquiring the British Green Card may not be able to trace  their roots back home.Some of their grand children  will automatically become nationals of other countries and the trends will surely continue.  Again, is this slave trade or self-trade?

Let us then stop ro think.Is this trend a bad omen in all entirety? No! Expert say it could be a major boost to the economy of the nation's involved.

According to nairametrics in a recent report,  amongst the benefits highlighted by the experts include, increased diaspora remittances, an upgrade in remuneration for loyal employees, decline in the level of unemployment in the source country among others. 

The report however, on the  downsides says skill gap and decline in productivity were some of the  possible outcomes.

Again, still on the good side, some of these Diaspora Nigerians are said to have distinguished themselves in different human enterprises and  they constitute a financial bulwark for the country, reportedly remitting about $25 billion annually. Isn't this cheering ?

The story of Tobi Amusan, Nigerian  born British national who pulled the string by clinching world record in athletic activity recently  is still very fresh. Another good news is that of Kemi  Badenoch who was recently appointed  by the Prime Minister  of the United Kingdom (UK), Liz Truss as the new Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade.

All said and done, the bottomline whether Nigerians chose to relocate abroad or not is to ensure that they are leaving with the right mindset  and they must not loose focus of what their purpose  is in a foreign land might be. Nigerians should go with the mindset of service and not servitude.The reverse however  is the case as most Nigerians youths just wants to get out of the system without much ado and they openly confessed that they can do any job. Sad! 

The sad reality again, however is that most Nigerian youths do not clearly define their paths and the reasons for taking such routes. Most people are just reactionaries  who are jumping on the bandwagon  of the phenomenon- Japa.

In several  decades to come, when perhaps there may be  too many Africans for instance  in Europe willing to work without being granted the permission to do so; when perhaps the table turned the other way and most people  do not actualize or meet their expectations  or at best realize their potentials , I hope the likes of Uju Anya, would not still blame the Queen who would have long gone into the grave beyond. 

God forbid, if such situation eventually turned out to be the case, no one should blame the Queen or her successor  King Charles III or any British royalties or Oligarchies; we should rather blame ourselves, our stars are apparently not to blame even in this case.

Who then is to blame ? We should blame our leaders who have refused to provide the necessary ambience  in terms of security, good business atmosphere and a a sense of self- worth; we should blame ourselves the followers who still sing praises of politicians after being handed the crunch; we should  blame everyone who has a voice for keeping quiet  or  silent in the face or tyranny by either being a coward or a traitor; we should blame ourselves for refusing to stay back and rebuild Nigeria together, against the odds. 

Truth may be bitter, but it has no colouration. No foreigners will build Nigeria for us, foreigners will hop in and out to get what they needed. When we continue to loose our best brains to the foreign lands, when every Nigerians opting out see Nigeria as never-do-well and pray never to return to what they usually term "God forsaken country,  I wonder if angels would be sent to rebuild the nation and right all the wrongs ?  The Americans will continually say" God bless America", the Chinese despite also witnessing  serious migration in the past still find a way of repatriating their proceeds from foreign land back home. For them, home is still home. Home, sweet home..

The task of rebuilding Nigeria is a collective task. This is the time for all hands to be on deck.The likes of Uju Anya who after acquiring the needed skill abroad prefers the dollars  to the naira should stop passing  the buck.

Sure, the gods  are not  to blame, the Queen is not to blame. We are our own enemies. May God heal our lands. 

Waheed Ogunjobi, journalist, writer and Public Affairs Analyst writes from Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital and can be reached on 08035004741or through waheedogunjobi@gmail.com.