Former Nigerian Senator, Ibikunle Amosun has kicked against the japa trend that has seen millions of Nigerians leave the country for greener pastures.
Amosun, a former Ogun State Governor, said this in a sit-down interview with BBC Yoruba.
According to data obtained by Sahara Reporters, over 15, 000 Nigerians were given permanent residence in 2021 in Canada alone.
Data from the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs shows about 1.7 million Nigerians have left the country between 2020 and now, which is up from 990,000 a decade earlier.
Amosun said, “I have heard about it and the reports are scary. All our youths and young talents are travelling out of Nigeria, seeking greener pastures, and the prospective countries are deliberately giving them visas to leave the country, without putting the origin country into consideration.
“What scares me most in all this is the proliferation of emigration. Foreigners will not fix our nation for us if all our citizens should leave the country. I am seeing the countries granting visas to our youths as wicked because they are not considering the origin nation, from which their prospective labour force is coming from.
“If you ask our people leaving the nation for greener pastures, they will tell you that they are not planning to return to Nigeria. If you look closely at the situation, you would see that all our lawyers, accountants and most especially medical practitioners make up the largest chunk of the people leaving the country. We cannot blame them however; insecurity is one of the major problems pushing our people out of the country.
“You will agree with me that our people are not lazy and are always willing and ready to work diligently. Most of the migrants are forced to leave the country as a result of bad governance, unstable economy, insecurity and other challenges. I am sure Nigeria will be great again, but the reports of migration recently have been disheartening for me.”
