Why japa?

The Japa syndrome has of course eaten so low into the mind of an average young African. By extension, there is mass exodus of even older people. Then, Why Japa? Greater percentage of people in this category seem to point at the economic situation in Africa as there major reason. While Smaller percentage believe that it is for global exploration and internationalization.

Whatever is the reason for such exodus, life at home has become so difficult with the rising cost of living. Aside this, what is the situation with the welfare of our labor force?

On average the take home of about 95% of Nigerian workers cannot take them home. In fact the minimum wage in Nigeria today is not up to 20 USD. As though this is not enough, cost of living is on geometric rise. You can imagine someone who earns about 50,000 naira in in 2012 when dollar trades below 160 against the naira. The same person is being paid 50,000 naira in 2024 when dollar trades above 1,500 naira. This is indeed the true situation of the country. Do you blame people who are hell bent on relocating abroad? I do not blame them entirely. At the end, it is whether you can responsibly take care of yourself and family.

In this same vein, we have had a lot of our relatives in diaspora say that life abroad is so beautiful. While this might be true, a lot of our diaspora relatives are lost abroad. Some have become so useless that their families have forgotten about them.

Sometimes in 2021, there was this Nigerian guy who walks the street of Balashika, Moscow. Aside being homeless, he was running mad. I met a similar experience here in Italy. While waiting to catch up with my train, a guy walked up to me with his clothes thorn. Not just his look, he was complete lost in the thing of life. I am sure he does not have a good taste of what abroad is. ‘Give me money for food’ he uttered. This was a guy who left ‘home to feed home’. Does he still feed home? the answer is left for you to answer.

I gave these two illustrations not to ridicule them. It is to illustrate the situations of some of our family members who Japa. Igbo people would say ‘it’s better to die in ones homestead than, suffering in another man’s land’. Difficult as it may be for these guys, they had prefer dying in their various countries than facing such terrible situations abroad. May God help them!

Essentially, the degree with which everyone seeks to Japa is just something I personally do not understand. It is not entirely bad for one to travel. I am not in any way against anyone traveling. As a matter of fact, I have traveled to three countries within the last four years. For me, purpose is what defines travel. However, I am not in a position to say whether your reason for traveling is mundane or not.

First thing First

1. Why must I travel?
2. What am I going to do when I travel?
3. what global skill do I have to be able to fit in?
4. what country can support my growth as a foreigner?

These and many more questions need to be answered by anyone who wants to Japa. A lot of the times, young people travel not to impact their communities but to make beautiful pictures of winter and skyscrapers all over Europe. This is a pure misrepresentation of Japa. I know a lot of our friends in the diaspora making great strides and meaningful impacts in their communities.

Needed skills

What defines your success abroad is the requisite skill you have to be able to navigate the job market. I have always advised our younger generation to go for some of the tech skills like, Data analytics, programming, SEO optimization, cybersecurity etc. Then, a good hand work is a great step too. Maybe you are a motor mechanic of any kind, carpenter, barber, or even tailor, the future and what you can achieve will marvel you.