When hope fades, japa is game [OPINION]

By Fola Ojo

It now presents itself as a perennial voguish frenzy in Nigeria. And mark you, the frenzy is age-friendly. It’s japa. The colloquial term means mass out-migration from Nigeria. Among the young and the old, the japa singsong is a mellifluous melodic rendition in the ears of the frustrated and miserable, and a sigh of relief for the smothered who can’t wait to exhale. I heard a few people call it a syndrome. A syndrome? I will not join their band. A syndrome is an abnormality. Japa is not abnormal.

The outbreak of mass out-migration out of Naija has always swept through crevices of generations before now. In my teenage years, it was “Andrew, I’m checking out”; a semblance of japa outcry bellowed by many young people in that season of life. So, please don’t call it a syndrome. It is not an abnormality. It is a normal reaction of people whose backs are against the wall in their own country where there is no wall of protection put in place for their upkeeps.

Japa is pulling the plug on a system that has pulled the plugs on lofty dreams and virtuous visions of men and women. Please don’t call this mass movement of a people a syndrome. It’s not. As long as the earth remains, japa outcry will never cease. When a man’s hope fades, japa becomes a necessary game to consider for succour.

I heard the story of a Nigerian youth responding to a French Ambassador who sought to know the contextual interpretations of japa. The young Nigerian reportedly described the word as the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians who desire to export their contents, gifts, skills, and products, including themselves. This young man’s submission is slam-dunk and smackdown intelligent.

Nigeria, without a doubt, is an island of wealth, a trough of treasures, a penstock of prosperity, and a depository of resources natural. If the country works for the little man as it does for big boys with monopolised access to wealth and bright future, why will any Nigerian choose to japa to South Africa or South Sudan? Nigeria is the home of innumerable sages, arsenal of intellectuals, harbour of highbrows, human gathering of geeks and deft double-domes. If the ‘giant’ can boast of a functional and thriving economic system that puts food on the table with ease, and a bright hope for the future of men and women in business, why must people abandon the beauty of Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Ibadan with the accompanying serenity of my hometown of Imesi-Ile and head out to America?

But when citizens feel strangulated by any system, they resort to exploring outlets for comfort. Don’t blame the japa adherents. When your nation does not fight for you, you fight for yourself. If our youths are gainfully employed with robust opportunities to build their businesses and future, why will they itch to abandon what works? If our educational system is not crippled and paraplegic, why will parents take their children abroad to learn Zulu and Xhosa in Cape Town? A disabled and demobilised environment is the justifiable reason men are fleeing Nigeria in droves. It is the reason for the japa. And it is why they get caught up in ugly and irascible xenophobia in a place like South Africa.

If Nigerians are most likely to become what they desire to become, they will not leave Nigeria for a place like Czech Republic where the government offered to pay €4,000 to immigrants from Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Mongolia, Russia, and Vietnam, with a warning that they should never consider coming back. Except for politicians who have easy access to cash and comfort, there is no cohort of professionals who don’t consider japa as the necessary escape vault from misery and terror. University lecturers are leaving Nigeria in droves! Doctors are leaving. Lawyers are leaving. Bank professionals are leaving. Footballers and other sports professionals are leaving. But politicians? They only go on holidays and return. Politicians are the most ‘patriotic’ Nigerians. They aren’t leaving.

A friend of mine who once worked in the Nigerian presidency under Muhammadu Buhari before the tenure was over, was already making inquiries how he could settle his wife and kids in the United States. Out of curiosity, I asked him why. Uncertainty for the future of his family, especially his children after he left office, was the main reason. My friend is financially comfortable. But I guess living in Nigeria today is beyond money. It is about the quality of life and a bright hope for our children’s tomorrow.

These necessary guardrails have not been provided by government after government. A famous anchor on a major Nigerian television station also told me his wife and kids had already left for a southern state in the US. He confirmed that he would be out to join them toward 2023 Christmas. You may have heard the story of a very popular pastor in Lagos who also not too long ago relocated to Atlanta, Georgia with his wife and kids. Why are Nigerians, big and little, abandoning their country for the unknown? The answer is simple. When hope fades, japa is game.

In conclusion of this part of my expression, I ask this question. Are you in the league of men who think japa is wrong and thus shouldn’t be encouraged? Are you a crusader against mass out-migration of our young and talented Nigerians who feel asphyxiated in their own country? I know the patriotism bubble firing inside of you when you rake and rail against Nigerians leaving Nigeria for better life elsewhere. I understand that if the good ones leave, if the medical professionals and finance connoisseurs abandon Nigeria because things aren’t working, how will a rebuild and reshaping of the nation envisaged by the new government become a reality?

I feel you if your thought process bends in this direction. But take a pause and slide into the shoes of the young man who graduated from the university, after 10 years he is still without a job. Think about the young woman whose parents auctioned their properties to put their daughter through school. But today she is coerced into prostitution just to provide for her aged parents after fruitless search for a decent job upon graduation from university. A few days ago, President Bola Tinubu expressed his concern about the asphyxiating exodus of Nigerian health workers from Nigeria in search of greener pastures abroad. This president, who himself was once a japa candidate for many years in America, vows to reverse the trend. I wish Mr President all the best. If you blame those who are running away for dear lives, in my next submission, I’ll tell you more why I believe you are wrong.

X (Formerly Twitter): @FolaOjotweet