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Brain Drain: The Nigerian Experience

Human capital flight, commonly known as Brain drain is an international transfer of resources in the form of human capital that is not recorded in any official balance of payments statistics. Brain drain is a big threat to the nation’s economy, causing many people to leave the country and in some cases, they don’t return, causing underdevelopment, loss of task revenue and lack of skilled workers in Nigeria.

Apparently, brain drain has gotten to its apex in Nigeria. In African countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria have lost more than $2.0 billion since 2010 from training doctors who then migrated. There are less than 4 skilled medical professionals per 10,000 people in Nigeria. This huge gap means millions of people go without the care they need.

Brain drain in Nigeria is not a recent phenomenon. Migrating for greener pastures’ has been a recurrent clause in Nigerians’ daily conversations since the turn of the 1970’s when the culture of military impunity and bastardization of the economy forced citizens to seek better opportunities and prosperity elsewhere due to excessive pressure to be successful among the young. Nigeria started to experience a significant brain drain in the 1980s.

Doctors, teachers, lectures and engineers emigrate in search of higher pay, better working condition and the necessary capital equipment to work with, are almost on a daily basis, leaving the shores of the country for Europe, America and Canada among other developed countries in the world in search of greener pastures. Between ten and twenty thousand of these Nigerian-Americans are said to be medical doctors. In 2018, Nigeria has about 72 000 medical doctors, registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, with only approximately 35,000 practicing in Nigeria.

The middle-class guarantee

Nigeria sends students abroad more than any other African country. The UNESCO Institute of Statistics Data on Nigeria Brain Drain states that between 2012-2017, Nigerians studying abroad increased from 57,298 to 89,094 representing a 55% increase, while in 2018, 9.7% of foreign students in the US are Nigerians.

The West African nation has one of the largest stocks of human resources for health (HRH) in Africa but, like the other 57 HRH crisis countries, has densities of nurses, midwives and doctors that are still too low to effectively deliver essential health services (1.95 per 1,000). Nigeria is one of nine countries who have lost more than $2bn since 2010 training doctors who then migrate. In recent years migration to foreign countries has declined and the primary challenge for Nigeria is inadequate production and inequitable distribution of health workers. The health workforce is concentrated in urban tertiary health care service delivery in the southern part of the country, particularly in Lagos.

Though, it is generally agreed that the prime cause is that of self-fulfilment. This goes beyond financial reasons, though a major determining factor. However, this syndrome undoubtedly has a negative impact on the countries that individuals leave behind, however, those that choose to make the move should not be criticised for their decision. It’s adversely affects both parts of the GDP equation by diminishing the size of the labour force likewise the most intelligent and capable are being lured away to the developed nations for these greater opportunities and/or higher after-tax incomes.

Brain drain is not always negative

It is important to understand that brain drain can only tell part of the story about the migration’s overall impact on an economy or society. When all the other impacts of migration, such as inward investment, technology transfer, increased trade flows, charitable activities of diaspora communities and remittances from emigrants can improve the current account position of a country’s balance of payments and increase the living standards of relatives.

It is worth noting that some of the simplistic assumptions made about brain drain may not actually hold. For instance, some of those who migrate return, often with greater skills. While in some cases, those who leave have been unemployed or underemployed at home, so their departure may not actually result in a huge loss to the sending country.

Some of those who move from a developing country have received an education elsewhere, subsidized by the host country or private means. By staying away after they finish studying, these students may not fulfil the potential contribution they could make to their countries of origin. However, the cost of their departure, at least in terms of the public purse in the sending country, may not have been large.

Reducing brain drain

As Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, with over 200 million inhabitants and more than 250 ethnic groups, talk has been of reversing the ‘brain drain’ but there were no practical steps laid down for accomplishing that objective. By reversing the brain drain, most people were thinking about attracting back the people who had left the country and retaining others so that they too do not find it more attractive to emigrate. But without dramatic and rapid economic and social transformation of the country for the better, that dream of reversing the brain drain was nigh impossible to realize.

There had to be a new way of reversing the ‘brain-drain’. And so the idea became to find a way to turn the drain into a ‘brain gain’ without requiring the expatriates to physically relocate back to Nigeria.

This new understanding of the brain drain situation led to the formation of two new organizations in 2000. Nigerians in the Diaspora Organization (NIDO) was formed following meetings between the Nigerian president and members of the Nigerian Diaspora in North America and Europe after Obasanjo’s election as president in May 1999. NIDO was meant to provide a critical mass to ignite conscious participation by the Diaspora in Nigeria’s development. Also in 2000, the government established the Nigerian National Volunteer Service (NNVS) to harness the services of Nigerian experts, both retirees and active agents at home and abroad, for the development of the nation. These two organizations are the focal points for the national ‘brain gain’ project.

If Nigeria must attain at least 60% Universal Health Coverage by 2030, the government through the Federal Ministry of health must be more innovative and find a way to lure these Nigerians back home. Returning home to Nigeria is one way of turning brain drain into brain gain. Unfortunately, many Nigerian professionals can not take such giant leaps for fear of failure, insecurity, and an unfriendly practice environment that does not engender professional satisfaction and fulfilment.

Increase in investment in education, health care and the power system would lead to more job opportunities, raise labour productivity, increase the reliability of power, reduce costs and improving the standard of living of Nigerians, hereby reducing the citizens’ preference for moving abroad.

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