The current trend in Nigeria, especially amongst youths is to elope and start a new life outside of the country, a term that has been christened “Japa”. This reflects the economical state of the country where an average person struggles to live their normal daily life. Reflecting within my circle, I will say more than seventy percent of my friends, family members, work colleagues, and acquittances have taken the Japa route within the last four years and this brings to the fore the unanswered question “What are the prospects of living and working in Nigeria for the next few years?”
Some of the critical issues I have identified are:
Insecurity– The security situation in Nigeria today calls for serious alarm. A lot has happened and is still happening. The few scenarios made it to the news, while I believe that a lot more is happening which are not captured. Where are the Chibok girls? Does the Kano train hijack victims have hope of returning home? and what exactly is going on in the eastern parts where you dare not commute from one city to another without employing services of the armed policemen?
Inflation and Devaluation of the Naira – So the official exchange rate for our currency is about N450 per US Dollar (depending on which platform you purchase from) and the open market exchange rate is as high as N730 per USD! You will get this drift when you convert your income to foreign currencies, little wonder prices of virtually everything have skyrocketed. Nigerians I hail our tenacity!
Infrastructure – Infrastructures are in a sorry state. Roads are almost becoming death traps and traffic congestion simply because we have too many cars on the road rather than developing and using other forms of transportation like water and rail services.
Theft of the national treasures – This happens by way of bunkering of the petroleum products, or even diversion by the stakeholders.
In the face of the fast-approaching elections and other political activities, in my opinion, the next president of the country will have the above issues to deal with and expectations are already very high. It is also not expected that the problems will be solved instantly, hence a gradual process which some economists estimated to take up to a presidential term. The question is, are Nigerians patient enough to have the required solution to the woes that affect our country?
Do not get me wrong, there are still a few reasons to cherish living in Nigeria, and we all must strive to restore the lost glory of our fatherland, one reason I have found is schooling at the prestigious Lagos Business School, the experience of which compares favorably and curriculum which equates reasonably with those of the Ivy leagues.
However, amid the above factors and more that plague us as a nation and continues to at an increasing rate daily, I cannot discourage anyone who wishes to elope in a bid to find greener pastures for himself, his family, and/or dependents; by all means, please do. However before eloping you need to calculate, plan, and consider all options carefully so you do not go from the frying pan to the fire!
Some factors should be considered before you elope, and I will deal with them in my next post on this subject.
Cheers!
# MEMBA 11
Impromptu Presentations