September 23, 2022/CSL Research
A recent Bloomberg report highlighted the devastating effects of the new wave of migration on the economy, especially the financial services sector. According to the report, Banks, already suffering from rising funding costs, higher operating expenses, and threats of a spike in non-performing loans, are being forced to increase spending on training and recruitment, and in many cases, lower their standards for new hires. Many Nigerian skilled workers are migrating to bigger western economies particularly Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Recent UK Visa laws have also made it easy for many Nigerians to migrate to the United Kingdom with dependents.
The Bloomberg report, quoting a report by the UK Home Office released last month, stated that the number of Nigerians who received UK work visas,rose to 15,772 for the year through June, from 3,918 in the year through December 2019, the last full year prior to the pandemic.
The Yoruba word ‘Japa’, which means to run away quickly from a bad situation, has become a popular word amongst many middle aged and young Nigerians. Immigration is the movement of people across national borders. About 272 million people are immigrants (International Organization for Migration, 2019). This is equivalent to one in every 29 people, or 3.5% of the world’s population. Though Immigration is a global concept— virtually every country in the world continually experiences both inflows and outflows of people, it may have adverse effects, particularly if it results in a brain drain. A brain drain occurs if migrants are disproportionately comprised of high- skilled workers from the source country, which is the case with Nigeria. The current state of the Nigerian economy, characterized by high inflation, poor growth, FX devaluation, worsening insecurity, etc. is a major factor influencing the decisions of many Nigerians to flee the country.
Sadly, the financial services sector is not the only one affected. The healthcare sector, which has always operated below capacity is also experiencing a more severe brain drain. Based on an FITC report, in January 2022, the Nursing and Midwifery Council of the United Kingdom reported that in 2021, a total of 3,782 Nigeria-trained nurses were granted licenses to operate in England and Scotland. Also, not less than 5,407 Nigerian doctors currently work with the British National Health Service. In addition, the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria reported that between 2020 & 2021, Nigeria lost over 100 consultants.
These statistics present a very alarming situation that should be at the front burner of emergencies for the government to deal with. Most recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO) puts the Nigeria’s doctors to patients ratio at 4:10,000 compared to a global standard of 1:600. One can safely assume that the statistic has worsened in the past year.
That said, emigration is not always totally bad news for the source country. There may be some positive effects such as higher wages and higher employment rate for those left behind. Emigration may also relieve economic pressures created by a fast-growing population, asNigerian emigrants typically send back remittances to help their families and communities.
