Former Member of the House of Representatives, Nkoyo Toyo, has identified the lack of employment opportunities as the main driver behind the ‘Japa’ syndrome in Nigeria.
Japa syndrome is a popular Nigerian expression referring to the growing trend of mass emigration, especially among young professionals, graduates, and skilled workers who are leaving the country in search of better opportunities abroad.
The lack of work is a major crisis and this is the most driving force of Nigerians going on Japa, Toyo said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday.
It is the most driving force of Nigerians going on Japa. You know, people are leaving the country wanting to seek better fortunes outside the country, she added.
Toyo, who once represented the Calabar-Odukpani Federal Constituency of Cross River State, noted that in the 1980s, students would often get jobs immediately after graduating from university — a stark contrast to the current situation.
When we graduated from the university back in the early 80s, we left straight from the university and we got jobs. But today, you can tell very easily that the lack of work is a major crisis, she said.
She further lamented that Nigerians who relocate abroad often face various forms of indignity.
In those countries they go to, they are being subjected to all sorts of indignity, which we see in South Africa and in different parts of the world, she said.
The former lawmaker also pointed out that many Nigerians are tired of repeated promises and being told to wait, stressing that what people truly want is a country that works for them.
Nigerians are tired of being told that they should wait, they should give us time, they should also look at the future and the prospect that this comes with.
I think what increasingly Nigerians want to see is a country that works for them. And right now, we can raise a lot of questions about whether the country, and the policies of the country, the economic policies, do work for the people, she concluded.
