Japa: Skilled manpower shortage hits banks

PUNCH

The spate of migration among bankers in the country is giving stakeholders reasons to worry. DEBORAH DAN-AWOH writes on how japa has worsened the skilled manpower gap in the banking industry

A former teller at Sterling Bank, Gift Akpan, left the shores of Nigeria for the United States to pursue her dreams. Gift told The PUNCH that she had always wanted to travel but decided to gain hands-on experience in the local job market first and raise money to facilitate her migration.

“I graduated from the University of Ibadan as the best student in my set. I had always wanted to pursue my graduate studies abroad. So, immediately after my bachelor’s degree, I planned to travel, but I wanted to get some industry experience for a year or two before furthering my studies abroad. After university, I applied for many jobs and wrote tests.”

Akpan eventually became a teller with Sterling Bank as an outsourced member of staff. It meant that she had to earn lower than other tellers who had regular employment with the bank.

“This was a role that the bank employed National Diploma graduates and IT students for, so when a bachelor’s degree holder like me got in, there was segregation. As tellers, we had to work from 7:30 am to 9:00 pm.

She explained that the working conditions were terrible. “I had colleagues who would come to the office and not eat for the whole day because they couldn’t get up for a break. Because we were tellers, we received bad treatment. They use you so much and pay very little.”

After battling the challenges that came with the job, Akpan said she finally gave in and left the country.

Similarly, the head of the Brand and Communication Department of one of tier two banks who does not want his name mentioned in print resigned and relocated with his family to one of the European countries.

He had spent over 15 years as a banker and attended much training in the course of his job in the bank.

He pointed to the state of the country’s economy and security situation as reasons for his migration.

Akpan’s story reflects what many young people working in the banking sector go through, which has been the reason they decided to migrate to Western countries for greener pastures. Many of them have cited meagre salaries, poor working conditions, inflation and insecurity as reasons for relocating out of the country.

Japa, the slang for migration in Nigeria, which literally means escape, has seen the country many of its skilled manpower to countries such as the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, etc.

The banking sector has been one of the most hit by the japa syndrome, as many bankers have left the country in recent times.

In June, a report by the United Kingdom Home office stated that Nigeria recorded the highest number of migrants to the United Kingdom, thus becoming the third largest nationality group in the country.