Mass exodus of Nigerians from their country spotted
By Daily Tab24. Updated: 3: 37 pm. Aug 12. 2023.
Amidst the worsening economy of Nigeria; its citizens face mass exodus to other countries of the world in search of security, greener pastures and leisure. A video that trended online showed a massive number of Nigerians at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, waiting to exit the country. While the video showed strange number of exits; it didn’t attain the reason for the respective exits.
The word ‘japa’ became a popular slang after it was used in a music lyric by a homegrown music artiste. The word translates ‘run away’ or ‘exit’. The slang became popular due to the worsening economic situation of the country, as friends urged each other to exit the country for survival.
Nigerians see ‘japa’ as the solution to their problem, as such, every effort is focused towards leaving the country.
“I spent more than Fifteen Million Naira to leave that country, I used to love Nigeria but that country is no longer my country” a lawful migrant who traveled to UK with his family said. When asked about the cost of his trip; with a reminder that such amount of money could open a company for him in Nigeria.
“My life is important; they are killing people every day, people are kidnapped for ransom, police kill citizens for no reason and when you look at the whole thing, safety was my driving force. I resigned my job of Nine Hundred Thousand Naira salary to make the trip” he added.
Nigeria’s economy began to nosedive under the regime of Muhammadu Buhari, who took over from the ruling party, PDP. The situation deteriorated until President Tinubu, who came from the same party as the former President Buhari took over.
President Tinubu’s policies may have largely contributed to the mass exodus as the exchange rate reflects what is frankly wrong with the African most populous country. The removal of fuel subsidy had massive impact in the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Wondering what to do; Nigerians embraced exit, but who would they leave their country for?
“The people are leaving because an unpopular candidate won the election with the power of incumbency. APC won the election that is being challenged at the tribunal, with massive riggings witnessed across the country. EU even had to emphatically state that the election was below the standard” our senior correspondent said.
“Nigerians are not ready to help; they simply want to abandon their country. The new government even though unpopular has made good steps, although those steps demand sacrifice and endurance, but they are not ready to wait or give the new government time to recover or show what they can do. More exits will happen, because they feel they weren’t responsible for the government ruling them”
The government is mute and mass migration of its citizens seem not be a concern yet. While it cost huge amount of money one could use to live a stable life in Nigeria to travel, the country’s senate has not deem it necessary to address the mass exodus of citizens.
