For a while now I’ve been meaning to do a long post about Nigeria's ‘Japa’ phenomenon. And then it occurred to me that I could simply collect all my tweets on the matter, from the last few years. It has been a recurring Twitter theme for me, and it does seem that most of what I have to say on it, I’ve tweeted already.
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Let’s start with definitions:
Japa: Leaving Nigeria for greener pastures abroad. The general usage of Japa restricts it to formal / legal migration, not the illegal version.
Japada: Returning to Nigeria, after a period of Japa, which can be any length of time.
JapaCa: Japa from Canada to another country, after Japa to Canada from Nigeria. To represent a growing form of “onward or serial migration”, where Nigerians emigrate to one country, and then from there to yet another country.
Japspiration: The Japa dream/aspiration (Not to be confused with the Nigerian dream, which is to “beta pass my neighbours.”)
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So, here we go, in 30 short points/sections:
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1
I’m an Apostle of Japa-if-you-need-to (but of course don’t burn your Naija bridges; keep your options open, etc). But I also think there’s a disturbing new trend of ‘Japa Consultants’ making money off the Japspirations of Nigerians, without providing nuanced/full-picture guidance.
Not all Japa Consultants of course! Truly professional folks exist! Problem is a preyers-on-legit-Japspirations strain. Mixed up with the SEEMINGLY free, well-meaning advice being offered on social media is the commercially-oriented hustle that earns fees from promising to turn all Japa dreams into reality. Some of it is downright fraudulent.
2
“Japa” doesn’t have to be across national borders. There’s domestic Japa as well. In Nigeria it’s (for example) people flocking into Lagos from all over the country, in search of better economic opportunities. Also (some) people leaving Lagos for quieter lives elsewhere in-country.
3
In response to a tweet about “the crippling loneliness of the abroad”:
True this. For context, it’s the Social Media Chapter of the Japa Movement that tries to ignore/downplay this. In contrast, generations of writing by emigrant Nigerian/African writers have explored these themes in detail. The psychic and cultural costs/toll of emigration.
When a Nigerian living abroad comes to Twitter to talk about the relative loneliness of life, there’s any number of people in comments saying stuff like: Oya come back let another person go, and other silly stuff like that. Social media people for whom everything is bants and vibes.
Also,the people who treat Japa strictly as a ‘neck-pressing’ endeavor are very unlikely to be openly honest about the challenges / ‘cost’ of it. If all it is to you is ‘Nigeria the evil you’ve done is enough’, you‘ll be stuck with trying to keep up illusions and appearances forever.
4
A made-up quote:
“One person’s Japa destination is another person’s take-off point.” — Hippocrates, 1987
5
Livetweeting from an edition of the State House Briefing, in August 2022, that featured the Chair of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri, I posted:
We speak of “Japa” as a one-way phenomenon, but we also have Nigerians constantly returning home. Madam Abike Dabiri is citing examples of Nigerians returning home, occasionally or permanently, to do interesting things, in Agriculture, Healthcare, etc. #StateHouseBriefing
One takeaway from Abike Dabiri’s #StateHouseBriefing today is that we CANNOT allow the Nigerian narrative to be defined ONLY by emigration, or "Japa". Yes, there's plenty Japa happening, but there's also people returning home to do interesting stuff. We must spotlight them too!
6
My thoughts on Japa are very clear. But in the light of that BBC ‘doctors exploitation’ story, this is worth repeating: Be CAREFUL about the advice you take from people who are in a position to benefit financially from your Japa decision. Never assume they’re (by default) on your side!
7
Another day to ask people to do their due diligence about ‘Japa Consultants’ before giving them your money. It’s an unregulated space, with big potential to become next MMM. A lot of the ability to collect money from you turns on painting rosier-than-reality pictures of Japalands.
This is the worst part - that there’s every incentive for victims to stay silent forever. Nobody wants to be known as the person scammed for Japa. Also, the scam is not only in you ending up not being able to travel — it can also be in traveling and then realizing you were given wrong/misleading info.
8
Japa is real, no doubt. But the dominant narratives of it are too one-sided, managing to obscure the fact that at any point in time over the last 20 years, fairly substantial numbers of Nigerians are/have been returning home to build new stuff and to follow their dreams.
Reasons for returning are varied, no doubt. Some are push factors (2008 global recession was a big driver, as will be the ongoing decline in econ conditions in the West); others are pull —homesickness, desire to do stuff you don’t think you can do elsewhere (e.g. certain startup ideas)
There are people who will spend a decade or two — or four — abroad, and then suddenly decide that they are done with that life, and want to give what’s left to Nigeria. There are also people who see very interesting opportunities from the vantage point of diaspora.
9
If you’re considering Japa, please try and learn how to make hair, asap. This PSA is for y’all Naija men as well, thanks. What a woman can do, a man can also do, Kings!
10
There’s such a thing as “serial Japa.” Where people emigrate from Nigeria to the UK, and then years later from the UK to the US, or Canada. Or from Nigeria to Canada, and then on to the US. I don’t know the volume yet but apparently it’s not at all unusual. It’s also intriguing.
11
Responding to a tweet about “the urge to relocate abroad [not biting] as much if you live in Abuja” vs Lagos:
The view from Abuja is generally very different. A lot of it is to do with Abuja being less stressful, but I think a big part of it is also that generally Northerners are less likely than Southerners to do the Japa thing. (We can debate the reasons why).
12
#Japada is not (yet) anywhere near the level of #Japa, but it’s a real thing. And it’ll intensify as more people get their foreign passports and realize that their tolerance level for Naija life has been recharged. Also, there are some opportunities that can only be pursued here
13
Anybody that pays for and follows immigration advice from someone whose only 'qualification' is that they have Japa'd—without being certified by a relevant authority to dispense such advice—whatever their eyes see, they should take it like that.
14
I keep saying contemporary Nigerian healthcare is NOT ONLY about dysfunction & Japa, as some would like you to believe. Always be wary of the 'danger of a single story'. Some really impressive things happening, a significant part driven by doctors RETURNING from the diaspora.
15
There's such a thing as Serial Japa. It refers to the phenomenon of Japa-ing from Nigeria to Country A, and then further Japa-ing from Country A to Country B. For example, there's a trend of Nigerian emigrants moving from the UK to Canada. No idea, though, what the numbers are.
16
Best thing I've read on "Japa". Captures the nuances and contexts, the very personalized nature of it. You can't do it or not do it simply because others are doing or not doing it. And every decision comes with its pros and cons. Because that's how life really works!
17
I want to write something about the contemporary ‘mobility’ of Nigerian talent. The sheer number of young people on the way to someplace else. This age of Japa being very different from the ones that preceded it. (Beneath it all, also, the tragic specter of ‘illegal’ migration).
18
a. Every act of relocation should be approached with seriousness & soberness, a full mental accounting of all costs & benefits. It’s really not about becoming a Japa influencer, or creating pepper-dem content for Instagram. It’s never about what other people think! Selah.
b. That’s what irks me about this [Japa] thing - people using emigration stories to do drama king/queen. People should feel free to travel, and celebrate the opportunity to emigrate, without making it seem like without ‘em Nigeria will collapse; or that the best are gone and the rest are hopeless.
19
There’s a sizable domestic Nigerian Japa that happens inward-Abuja. People leaving to take up public sector opportunities (and—if you’re coming from Lagos—discovering the bonus that is Abuja’s chilled vibe, and finding your blood purged of Lagos, eventually).
20
What I Learned Recently: A century ago, there was a wave of Japa from the UK to Canada and Australia. World War 1 was over, ex-servicemen returned home to massive unemployment and housing shortages. Many people turned to emigration. Also at same time, radio was the Hot NEW Tech, like how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is today.
21
I keep thinking about the many layers to this 'Japa' thing. Stumbled today on a Facebook post lamenting “the migration of our (best) talents and capital out of the (South) East into Lagos and elsewhere even in greater West Africa.”
I've tweeted before about this phenomenon of “internal” Japa (which, by the way, happens in every country). It was ‘Japa’ that took (and keeps taking) multitudes of young people to Lagos, from various cities around Nigeria.
A lot of the young people I grew up with in Abeokuta and Ibadan moved, first to Lagos, and then possibly elsewhere. Just as we agonise over how to make Nigeria more attractive for people to stay in and move to, similar conversations are happening—or have to happen—at subnational level about how to keep more talent “at home.” That's where projects like the US$80m Ekiti Knowledge Zone (EKZ) come in.
Another angle to the story is how to maximise the benefits derivable from those who have Japa'd. So that even if you can't immediately bring them back, you can at least ensure they're encouraged to contribute significantly to the local economies they left behind. (This is where I'll mention, as an example, how impressed I am by how [Suraj Oyewale] is always talking about Offa, traveling there, and now investing there).
22
“We are always talking about Japa. But we have also seen a lot of Japada, and the Japada isn’t being recognized.” — Dr Festus Oshoba, speaking at the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) 2024 Annual Conference. HFN is trying to change this. A Conference panel today featured 5 Nigerian doctors who’ve moved back from the US and UK. Very very inspiring and illuminating.
23
A most heartwarming story that I heard yesterday, at the Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) 2024 Annual Conference. A Nigerian neonatologist moved back to Nigeria from the UK four months ago to set up a Neonatal intensive care facility in Lagos.
Her first patient: a premature baby who weighed 620 grams. Yes. Grams. Less than 1kg. Born to a woman who’d been trying for a baby for very many years. Four months later, baby now weighs 2.27kg, and is doing well.
She shared this story on a panel with 4 other Nigerian doctors who’ve moved back home over the last decade. Every single of them spoke about how fulfilling it has been, even while acknowledging the challenges of life and business in Nigeria. Nobody downplayed the very real issues — electricity was high on their lists, for example.
But they all spoke with first-hand experience of how, even amidst the challenges, there are opportunities, and vistas of hope. Listening to that discussion is one of the best things I’ve experienced this year.
For me it’s a constant reminder that we just have to get things right as a country. We don’t have a choice!
A day before, I sat on a panel at BRF’s book launch, and shared my vision of a Nigeria as a medical tourism destination (we already have a medical tourism visa, by the way!). the Deputy Governor of Lagos (who was present) to please work to fast-track the planned Lagos Medical City, as part of the things governments are doing to support private enterprise in healthcare.
There’s of course A LOT that governments can and should be doing, that’s a topic for another post.
We must share the stories of everything that’s going on. We cannot focus ONLY on what’s not working. We must give equal (if not more!) energy to what’s working, as well. What’s changing for the better. The people making heroic moves and investments. There’s a lot more to the story of healthcare in Nigeria, than failure and Japa.
God bless Nigeria.
24
Emigration of Nigerian healthcare workers is a big story. But it's not the only one: there are also medical professionals returning home, after years of practising abroad. Dr Benjamin Anyanwu came back to set up Regions Stroke and Neuroscience Hospital in Imo State. (He was one of the doctors on the discussion panel in No. 22, above).
(In 2023, he opened “the first comprehensive private sector Emergency Acute Stroke and Rapid Evaluation Center” in Nigeria).
25
Also learnt something important: Medical Japa is not 100% negative. It does have potential upsides. It brings exposure: added skills, standards and learning, that, when converted to Japada, multiply the positive impact. Folks are literally bringing magic back home, and raising the quality of the game.
The best Stroke hospital in Nigeria today (possibly in West Africa!) is in Southeastern Nigeria. It was founded by a doctor (1994 UNN graduate)—Benjamin Anyanwu (above, No. 24)—who used to chair one of the largest neuroscience programs in the USA. He moved back to Nigeria in 2016 to set up this hospital. Now employs more than 200 persons. Everything he learnt abroad is now being deployed for the benefit of Nigeria.
26
Highlighting a tweet (with attached video) by Channels Television in August 2023, that said: “Tristate Hospital Conducts First Minimally Invasive Open Heart Surgery in Nigeria”, I posted:
Last week, March 18, 2024, Tristate College of Health and Medical Sciences—a new Medical School in Nigeria, affiliated with Hillside University of Science and Technology, Okemesi-Ekiti—opened its doors, in Ekiti, admitting its first batch of students. Guess who the College Provost is? Yes, Prof Kamar Adeleke, the US-trained cardiologist who led the team in the video below. Yet another fine example of Nigeria's burgeoning medical 'Japada' revolution.
27
I've been following stories of new investments in the medical sciences in Nigeria, and the return of Nigerian doctors from the diaspora, for a while now. Here's something new and heartwarming, from Ekiti State: Tristate College of Health and Medical Sciences is admitting its first batch of students today, March 18, 2024.
The Provost of the College is Professor Kamar Adeleke, an Interventional Cardiologist; former Chair of the Division of Cardiology at St. Francis Hospital, and former Chief of Cardiology at ChristianaCare Health Systems (both in Delaware, USA). The College is part of the Hillside University of Science and Technology, in Oke Mesi, Ekiti State.
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“After over 30 years of practising in the UK, Dr Elebute has recently taken the bold step to return to Lagos to open an ultra-modern specialist hospital, the Marcelle Ruth Cancer Centre & Specialist Hospital.” https://businessday.ng/interview/article/modupe-elebute-odunsi-returns-to-specifically-contribute-to-nigerias-health-sector/
29
On a per-capita basis, in 2021, more Indians, French and Filipinos emigrated to Canada, than Nigerians. (Yes, France too). More than 120,000 Indians became permanent residents of Canada in 2021 (32% of the 400,000 total), vs ~15,000 Nigerians (3.8%).
2020 data: Nigeria accounted for 3% of Permanent Residents admitted to Canada in 2020. Way behind India and China. And same numbers as the US. (Yes, just as many Americans are japa-ing to Canada as Nigerians). That's what the data shows.
30
Fascinating data:
1.2 million people immigrated to the UK between July 2022 and June 2023, and 508,000 people emigrated in same period (“long term” emigration), as follows:
Emigrants:
Non-EU nationals: 200,000 (39%)
EU nationals: 215,000 (42%)
British nationals: 93,000 (18%)
Source: UK Office for National Statistics (ONS)