DAILY TRUST
A recent visit to the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos was a beehive of activities with thousands of Nigerians leaving the country. From findings, majority of them were going with a one-way ticket, which means that they have no intention of coming back soon, if at all they would return.
This is the reality of the moment as the japa syndrome that has hit the country’s fabric has continued unabated, with thousands of Nigerians leaving the country on a daily basis in search of what is usually known as the greener pastures in Europe, America and other countries, where they believe there are opportunities.
The founder of a medical facility in Lagos recently complained how he lost virtually all his personnel (doctors and nurses) to the Japa syndrome, leaving him virtually stranded and unable to cope with the number of patients trooping to his clinic. This is the case in other sectors as citizens flee the country while the country’s human resource is badly depleted.
In the first half of 2023, the United Kingdom, which is unarguably the first country of destination by many Nigerians, especially those going for further studies with their dependents, said it issued some 132,000 visas to Nigerians.
According to Jonny Baxter, British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, “In the first half of the year we granted approximately 132,000 visas, which include visit, work and study.
“In the previous full year before that, we issued about 324,000. In that year, the United Kingdom issued about three million visas, and of the number, 324,000 were issued to Nigerians, which is about 10 per cent.”
Apart from the United Kingdom, those going on irregular migration through the Sahara desert are also in thousands despite the risk involved as shown in the figure of evacuation. In the first half of 2023, no fewer than 4,000 Nigerians were stranded in different countries, especially the Middle East and were evacuated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in different exercises.
The IOM, through its Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programme, also repatriated over 3,000 Nigerians from Libya alone in 2023, with majority of the returnees languishing in Libyan detention camps before the help of the IOM came. They were arrested after failed attempts to cross to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea.
While this migration, whether regularly or irregularly, otherwise known as Japa, has continued, some foreigners are not seeing an entirely hopeless situation in Nigeria as many of them also troop to the country on a daily basis for businesses.
Foreigners find solace in Nigeria
Findings by Daily Trust on Sunday indicate that many foreigners from China, India, Lebanon, United Kingdom, among others, have also found Nigerians as home, leveraging on opportunities in the country in oil and gas, construction, telecommunication sector, among others.
Our correspondent gathered that foreigners trooping into the country for businesses have virtually tripled in recent times, with China leading. Also, Indians, Lebanese, among other nationals have made Nigeria their homes, working in various sectors.
From Ikeja GRA to Victoria Island, the Lebanese community in Nigeria has grown over time, becoming one of the largest diaspora communities in Nigeria with about 75,000 people. The existence of blue chip companies owned by Lebanese, as well as construction sites belonging to their nationals, has seen some of their kinsmen playing significant roles in their operation.
Similarly, the Chinese community has grown in leaps and bounds owing to the various construction projects handled by Chinese construction giants in Nigeria like the China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC) handling various railway projects. The CCECC constructed the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway, Abuja-Kaduna rail, Kaduna-Kano rail, the four new international airport terminals, among other projects.
In addition, findings by our correspondent showed that many Chinese are working at various quarry sites across Nigeria.
Our correspondent recently visited the popular Chinese Village in Lagos, which has become a marketplace for their nationals in the state, where they live and ply their trade.
According to an official of the village, more Chinese nationals troop into the village on a daily basis.
“If you need any special Chinese attire or product, you see hundreds of China Town vendors in this village. They are here making a living and contributing to the economy of the state and Nigeria in general,” the manager said.
India is another big community in Nigeria spread across the South and northern part of the country. According to India’s High Commissioner in Nigeria, Gangadharan Balasubramanian, there are no fewer than 60,000 Indians who have made Nigeria their home. In all, there are estimated 90,000 Indians in Nigeria working in various industries, especially the manufacturing sector.
In most cases, they are filling vacancies in management and technical positions, especially where the expertise is lacking in Nigeria. But many Nigerians have also raised questions about the abuse of expatriate quota.
Daily Trust on Sunday reports that expatriate quota policy enables foreign companies to recruit foreign employees to work legitimately in Nigeria.
“In Nigeria, we have about 60,000 Indians who have made Nigeria their home for the last three to four decades. There are more than 135 Indian companies manufacturing and working here in Nigeria for the past three to four decades, just to mention a little more about Indians in Nigeria,” the Higher Commissioner said in an interview earlier this year.
Recently, there was a report alleging that Dangote Refinery neglected Nigerians and other African youths and employed more foreigners, especially Indians and Chinese, to build the complex.
Refuting the report, the management of the refinery clarified that over 30,000 Nigerians were employed while 11,000 foreigners worked on the site.
READ THE FULL STORY IN DAILY TRUST
