Many young Nigerians ‘dey para’ over our first lady’s recent comments on the ‘japa’ syndrome, but her remarks have reflamed my thoughts on this matter.

In an interview with Arise News, First Lady Remi Tinubu said that Nigerians who japa take on jobs they refuse to do at home.

According to her, even though she believes in social development, she believes that help should be rendered to those who truly need it, as the government cannot feed the whole nation.

Video: Nigerians relocating abroad to take up jobs they reject at home – Remi Tinubu

First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has criticised Nigerians migrating to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada among other developed countries to engage in jobs they have refused to… pic.twitter.com/1LbR1X9KHz

— Vanguard Newspapers (@vanguardngrnews) March 21, 2024

But many ‘japanese’, those aspiring to japa, and pro–japa are having none of Mummy’s thoughts on this matter.

Madam First Lady……The answer is is very simple:

If Nigeria has a good economy, ample job opportunities, and a conducive business environment, it will be optional for Nigerians to travel abroad for menial.

— ꧁༺Omo Iya Teacher ༻꧂ (@ajaGunSEgun_) March 21, 2024

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 63 percent of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor; that is, anyhow you want to define poverty in Nigeria, we dey there, so no be house and car be the problem.

Mummy, many Nigerians are seeking a better life abroad. Dem want security. Dem want beta job. Dem want ogbonge education. Light issue nko? That one is another unending problem. 

If everything works well, at least to a reasonable extent, who go wan japa na? Even in Nigeria, graduates are doing honest jobs, though menial, just to make ends meet and have a decent life.

The difference is that Nigerians want institutions that work! They want to be able to trust their government and its intentions towards citizens. That is not too much to ask!

So, Mummy, please take this japa syndrome as a challenge to support efforts to improve the livelihoods of the suffering Nigerians. In fact, japa should trigger a social development response from the Nigerian government. No bi so?