Travel News
Being Nigerian Outside Nigeria: An Extra Burden - P.M.NEWS
BY Dare Babarinsa
Visiting Austria for the first time and realizing that the police officers are particularly interested in the same set of people: The Nigerians.
I’ve been in and out of South Africa for the last five years. On my first arrival in Johannesburg, January 2014, I was welcomed at the airport by Fr. Terry Nash. He was smiling, I was smiling, too. I was in the company of six other guys who introduced themselves – from Delta State, Akwa-Ibom, Benue, Anambra, etc.
It got to my turn and I said IMO. Fr. Nash’s smile ripened into a giggle, “I have heard about Imo, I met many people from Imo State because I’ve been in prison ministry. Nigerians generally make up a high population in the prison here. And the Imo guys make the church in prison so vibrant, those guys are great”, he said, still smiling.
My own smile had left me. Years later I would find myself suffering what seems like a stigma that comes with being Nigerian. Every time I found myself in the airport, my identity as a Nigerian is a source of worry: being asked to step aside for extra questions, being delayed by extra protocol because I’m Nigerian.
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Three years ago I was returning to Nigeria on holiday. There was small chaos at the airport: the noise of police whistles and the barking of police dogs filled the air, “get that man”, a chubby white policeman was screaming. “Somebody has been caught with drugs again”, an unknown Black man quickly hinted me, “it is these Nigerians”. I quickly became furious.
“You can’t be sure it’s a Nigerian”, I retorted. Well, the guy was caught. Behold, he had a strong Nigerian accent while he was begging the policemen, and had the angled shape of my head: Igbo, with a rosary on his neck. I gave up on defending Nigerians’ reputation.
I gave up because shortly after a Nigerian family volunteered to do clean up in a certain Catholic parish in Johannesburg, the police stormed into the church one day and found drugs hiding behind the terbanacle. I gave up when a Nigerian asked by an immigration officer to step aside, was scolding the officer for delaying him and raining legal threats, “I know my rights, you can’t keep me this long”, only for the immigration officer to find that his documents had all been forged.
Once, on returning to South Africa from Nigeria I was with an old Yoruba woman who couldn’t speak or read English, her son in Pretoria had a newborn baby. She had been invited, they somehow succeeded in making her a passport and got her a visa. She couldn’t read anything or understand any information at the airport, so I helped her because my Yoruba is fluent.
When finally we reached Johannesburg the immigration officers had questions about some “strange” things in her bag. I told them those were cooking ingredients, I was the translator between her and the officers. Soon she became worried and whispered into my ear, “Eyi n di isoro. Fun won ni five hundred naira” (this is becoming a problem, give them five hundred).
“Won o kiin gba five hundred (they don’t accept N500”, I replied.
“Oya fun won ni one thousand” (then give them one thousand). She squeezed a wrinkled one thousand naira note into my hand. I told her they do not use naira here. “haaaaaah” her mouth opened. I expected that, I smiled.
Bribe is a Nigerian culture, even our old people believe it works, and that there is no other way of moving past an obstacle aside from bribe, there is no other means of progress asides bribe. Bribe is a Nigerian salvation.
Weeks later I had a Nigerian friend who was in dire need. He lived with me, he talked about his two million naira which he was expecting from Nigeria, with many proves of the availability of the money. So he borrowed six thousand rand from me. My friend, it’s now more than two years, he never paid. He fled to someplace else and never returned my calls. I learned later he had borrowed also from a Kenyan who was our neighbor, and this neighbor kept asking where my ‘brother’ was. Until today he never paid, and it doesn’t prick his conscience.
It’s important for we Nigerians to ask ourselves serious questions. What is the most important thing to a Nigerian? What kind of factors in our childhood makes us desperate and dangerously competitive? Sometimes we are under the pressure of our parents and peers to “prove ourselves”.
When the average Nigerian travels abroad he doesn’t travel to merely make a livelihood. His plan is to outshine his peers. I do not find this common among South Africans. They’re usually satisfied, they just want to have what they need, they don’t kill themselves over what is beyond them.
The first time I had a drive to Durban with a senior brother from Mariannhill we saw a Nigerian suspiciously passing a tightly-folded bag from under the counter, then they made signs to each other, then he sneaked out. Another man entered and sneakily collected it.
The Zambian brother tapped my back, “drugs, they are your brothers”. The saddest thing is that those who choose to talk about this are attacked and bullied on social media, they are regarded as unpatriotic citizens. Because Nigerian morality ends with sex and marriage. Finished. Talk about issues on human sexuality and you’ll see the bible-thumping Nigeria saying, “hellfire, Adam and Steve, weapons of the devil, it is not our culture”, but bribery is our culture. Everything else asides from sexual activity is survival, so it’s unofficially acceptable. Our mouths are sharp when HIV is mentioned, we often think we are very moral. What shall it profit a virgin who is a thief? Nigerian morality is faux.
“What is your brother doing in Malaysia?”
“He is hustling”, that is all you can say. He’s just hustling. He comes back to Nigeria and does Thanksgiving and the priest blesses him with chasuble spread out. He pays his tithes and gives huge offerings, and his name is announced in church. But nobody notices that poor man at the corner of the church who is a gateman and gives his offering from the little he earned through honest work.
What is your brother doing in Dubai? You give random and vague answers: He’s trying to find something, we are praying he succeeds, please put him in prayer. You know that kind of prayer, right?
A South African Bishop once made a joke, “it is easier to trust a stone than to trust a Nigerian. You keep a stone on this table, you’ll still find the stone when you come back. Keep a Nigerian and come back later, the Nigerian is gone”. And yet we wonder why religious orders outside Africa are afraid of considering Nigerian applications. Our brothers who were admitted into American dioceses arrived at the airport and then ran away.
I visited a church in Johannesburg where I heard during the announcements that the guy who teaches the altar servers had been shot dead. A Nigerian. Later the circumstances surrounding his death did not match with a person who would teach mass servers how to serve Holy Mass.
It should make us ask questions about what we value the most as Nigerians: religion or integrity? Perhaps something is wrong with how we have been evangelized.
Back home in Nigeria, Nigerians who are not corrupt are seen as fools by their fellow Nigerians. Their wives mock them. Those Nigerians who studied abroad and now see the world differently, hardly ever come close to political offices in Nigeria, they just won’t fit in. And yet we love Jesus the most, we are the bastion of faith in Africa. Do you know why your visa has been rejected many times? It’s because your passport is a Nigerian passport. Ask your friend from Tanzania, he’ll tell you how easy it is for him to get a visa.
Do you know why your admission into that European University is taking long? It’s because they’re still investigating your documents to be sure that they’re not fake. Ask your South African friend, he already got an admission.
Now that a new word has been added into the Oxford Dictionary “Nigerian Scam” (please google it) we can be sure that our position in the world is in the first place. Think Nigerian, but let it be that your reputation is important.
Identify as Nigerian, but make sure those who come after you are not denied privileges because of you. Because of those who represent us positively around the globe, because of the many Nigerians who work to earn their living, I am proudly Nigerian. I am proudly Nigerian, because Pius Adesanmi was, Chinua Achebe was, because Anthony Cardinal Okogie is, because Chimamanda Adichie is, because Fela Kuti was, because of people such as Flora Nwapa, Ben Okri, Dora Akunyuli, Bishop Hassan Kukah, etc. There are many models you could choose from instead of adding to our dirty script. Save other Nigerians from stigma, be true.
*Dare Babarinsa is a Renowned Journalist, Columnist, Historian, and Author.
Airline refunds: What are your rights as a consumer?' - YAHOO FINANCE
Travel refunds are at the front of many people’s mind in the COVID era — but what are your rights?
Receiving a full refund within 14 days is your right as a consumer if significant parts of the package have to be changed. You also have the right to cancel your holiday if the government warns against travelling to that destination and the surrounding area, even if the organisers don’t cancel the trip.
The regulator says passengers should have reasonable expectation of safety, enjoyment and freedom from anxiety, which they would not fully get if government advice changed. Since March last year, the Competition and Markets Authority has received over 23,000 complaints about cancelled flights and holidays.
The CMA is now investigating whether British Airways and Ryan Air broke consumer law for failing to refund passengers for flights they could not legally take. Your rights must be clearly set out to you by organisers of package holidays, because you are entitled to cancel without a termination fee if there are unavoidable circumstances at what would have been your destination.
Asia’s Air Travel May Take Three Years to Recover From Pandemic - BLOOMBERG
(Bloomberg) -- Asian air travel may take another three years to recover fully from the devastation wrought by the pandemic, lagging behind rebounds in other regions and offering a stern headwind for refiners making jet fuel.
It’ll take until 2024 for international air travel across the region to reach pre-virus levels, a year after global traffic hits that milestone, according to the International Air Transport Association. Similarly, consultancy Energy Aspects says jet fuel consumption will reach pre-pandemic volumes only in 2023-2024.
The drawn-out timelines highlight the difficulties facing Asia and the likely consequences for jet fuel, a traditionally prized part of the oil-products market. Low rates of vaccination in many countries, the challenge posed by the fast-spreading delta variant, and persistent lockdowns have all set back the recovery even as the U.S. and Europe press on. All that means Asia’s aviation industry is unlikely to offer significant support to the region’s hard-pressed refineries, which process crude from the Middle East and elsewhere into fuels.
Both North America and Europe have seen strong demand during the holidays, with the European Union relaxing quarantine and lockdown requirements, according to Mayur Patel, regional sales director for Japan and Asia Pacific at OAG, an aviation analytics firm. “Sadly, the same cannot be said for Asia, where the low level of vaccination rates, sudden and sharp lockdowns, and inconsistent regulations frustrate any real attempt at a recovery,” he said.
Just this week, Indonesia -- the largest economy in Southeast Asia -- surpassed India’s tally of daily cases, marking a new center for the highly-contagious delta variant. Elsewhere, Malaysia has been struggling to contain a recent outbreak, Seoul in South Korea has imposed its toughest restrictions yet, and Japan is preparing to host the Olympic Games without spectators.
Bubble Trouble
While there have been signs some countries including Singapore are rethinking their Covid-zero stance to open up, it’s likely international travel will still take longer than the rest of the world to restart. Australia’s plan to launch a quarantine-free travel bubble with the city-state is now more likely to occur only by the end of the year, according to an Australian diplomat.
“We expect passenger traffic for international Asia-Pacific to restart in early 2022 at the earliest,” an IATA spokesperson said in an email interview. “We don’t think that the variant situation will improve, so governments are unlikely to start lifting controls before vaccination becomes sufficiently widespread to limit community contagion.”
That means a longer struggle for Asian refiners. Given the differentiated recovery, some processors have been looking to Europe and the U.S. as outlets for jet fuel, shipping more to both regions. With lackluster demand, the margin for making jet fuel in Asia has sunk to $5.99 a barrel at Wednesday’s close compared with $15.54 in December 2019, Bloomberg Fair Value data show.
Asia’s jet fuel usage accounted for a third of global consumption in 2019, according to Energy Aspects. Right now, the region’s overall flight numbers -- domestic and international -- are 70% of pre-virus levels, but if China is excluded are only 40%, according to George Dix, an analyst. “We currently expect Asian jet demand will not reach pre-pandemic levels until 2023-2024, although domestic travel will have largely recovered by the end of 2022.”
Given the challenges, regional refiners will continue to redirect kerosene, which includes jet fuel, into the gasoil pool this quarter, aiming to tap into winter fuel heating demand the following quarter, according to Sri Paravaikkarasu at energy consultancy FGE. “The full recovery of international air travel has a long way to go,” she said.
Three more Thai islands open to vaccinated travellers - AFP
Three more Thai islands opened to vaccinated foreign tourists on Thursday despite a nationwide surge in Covid-19 cases propelled by the Delta variant.
The islands -- Samui, Tao and Phangan -- welcomed visitors as part of the kingdom's push to revive its battered tourism industry.
Thailand launched its "sandbox" scheme on July 1, allowing vaccinated travellers to visit Phuket island. Tourists do not have to quarantine in a hotel but can not leave Phuket for two weeks.
Under Thursday's expansion, tourists must stay at an approved hotel on Samui for a week and can leave their accommodation on day four.
They will have to produce a negative Covid-19 test before being allowed to venture to Tao or Phangan after their first week.
The rest of the country is struggling to rein in infections from the Delta variant, which authorities say now makes up nearly 80 percent of its caseload.
Virus hotspot Bangkok and nine provinces are under tightened restrictions, including a night-time curfew and a ban on gatherings of more than five people.
Thailand recorded almost 9,200 new infections and a record daily high of 98 deaths on Thursday.
- 'Don't want to rush' -
Phuket has received 5,000 foreign tourists since its reopening, 10 of whom have tested positive for Covid-19.
Authorities are not expecting a big influx of tourists immediately to Samui and the other two islands.
Tourism Association of Koh Samui president Ratchaporn Poolsawadee described Thursday's start of the "Samui Plus" scheme as a soft opening.
He said 75 percent of residents on the three islands were vaccinated.
"It is expected that arrivals will improve after tourists learn the rules and regulations. And then some rules and regulations could be tweaked," Ratchaporn told AFP.
"We don't want to rush (Samui Plus)."
Tourism makes up one fifth of Thailand's national income and the economy is suffering its worst performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Ratchaporn said tourism was worth $918 million to Samui before the pandemic but the virus had cut turnover to $88 million last year.
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Stakeholders Tackle FAAN over Security Tax - THISDAY
BY Chinedu Eze
of international airlines that operate in Nigeria have alleged that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had diverted the multibillion-naira security tax it collected from passengers for the provision of facilities at the airports.
But FAAN has denied the allegation, saying it was false. Every passenger traveling to international destination pays $20 security tax to FAAN. It was introduced in 2010 to provide infrastructure that would further fortify the airports against terror attacks. FAAN recorded 323,751 international passengers at the Lagos and Abuja airports in the first quarter of 2021, that paid $6, 475, 020 (N2, 661, 233, 2020) security fee of $20 each.
One of the officials who spoke to THISDAY, on condition of anonymity, explained that every passenger travelling out of the country pays $20 security tax and FAAN has been collecting the money since 2010, but so far security infrastructure and other facilities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), which is the major gateway have not improved.
The official lamented that even Aviation Security (AVSEC) personnel are inadequate most times the x-ray machines at the airport are not manned. Also, the source alleged that AVSEC workers at the terminal gates are not enough and were being complemented by Nigeria police.
The official told THISDAY that if the huge revenues accruing from security tax were used for the airport maintenance and provision of security equipment, the international airports in Lagos and Abuja would become more functional with modern facilities.
“Besides, when the tax was introduced it was meant to be for a period of time but it has become permanent which every passenger travelling out of the country must pay,” the source said. “FAAN has been recruiting new personnel lately but there are still paucity of aviation security personnel so police have to complement them and police have brought their ways in the streets into the airport.
“Every day you notice that passengers are being extorted. Sometimes AVSEC officials would stop a passenger, accuse him of not having one document or another and after he would tell the passenger to go and meet the police officer, who will ask him to pay some money.
“The police should not be permanently stationed at the airport, but should be called up when the need arises. So FAAN need to train more aviation security personnel.
“If you go to FAAN headquarters or even at international terminal you will see so many workers who are not doing anything, just idling away but there are not enough Aviation Security officials. I was told that it is not easy to train AVSEC officials because they have to be profiled and their names must be sent to DSS, which would vet the names and investigate and profile them,” he further alleged.
To the President of Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria and the Managing Director/CEO of Merchant Express, a cargo company, Kingsley Nwokoma, revenues from the security tax was meant to provide facilities to alleviate the rigour of passenger processing at the airports.
“Passengers suffer a lot of delays because the needed equipment or personnel are inadequate. Travel is supposed to be great experience for passengers but the airports in Nigeria give you bad experience, where you can wait for a long time before you board you flights because there are inadequate and outmoded equipment. “It is unfortunate that we are where we are, but FAAN has to improve its system, it is not about collecting revenue. It should provide efficient service,” Nwokoma said.
When contacted, the Regional Manager in charge of MMIA, Mrs. Victoria Shin-Abbah, said she would not comment on the issue. But the General Manager, Public Affairs, FAAN, told THISDAY that the allegations were not true. “We have ICAO approved training centre, which caters for the whole of West Africa and I can tell you that AVSEC and Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Services personnel are the most trained in FAAN,” she said.
Foreign airlines seek new risk-based guidelines for travel - THE GUARDIAN
Foreign airlines have urged governments to follow new guidelines initiated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to encourage safe travels across borders.
The airlines, under the aegis of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), sought a “risk-based approach” that reduces the emphasis on testing and quarantine.
Specifically, the new proposal deemphasizes proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a mandatory condition for entry or exit. Relaxes measures such as testing and quarantine requirements for travellers, who are fully vaccinated or have had a confirmed previous COVID-19 infection within the past six months and are no longer infectious.
The recommendation ensures alternative pathways for unvaccinated individuals through testing so that they are able to travel internationally. The WHO recommends rRT-PCR tests, or antigen detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) followed by confirmatory rRT-PCR tests of positive samples, for this purpose.
Also, the WHO asked airlines to implement tests and quarantine measures for international travellers “on a risk-based manner” with policies on testing and quarantine regularly reviewed to ensure they are lifted when no longer necessary.
IATA’s Director-General, Willie Walsh, said these “commonsense, risk-based recommendations” from WHO if followed by states will allow for international air travel to resume while minimising the chance of importing COVID-19.
“As WHO notes—and as the latest UK testing data proves—international travellers are not a high-risk group in terms of COVID-19. Out of 1.65 million tests carried out on arriving international passengers in the UK since February, only 1.4 per cent were positive for COVID-19. It’s long past time for governments to incorporate data into risk-based decision-making processes for re-opening borders,” Walsh said.
WHO also called on states to communicate “in a timely and adequate manner”, any changes to international health-related measures and requirements.
“Consumers face a maze of confusing, uncoordinated and fast-changing border entry rules that discourage them from travelling, causing economic hardship across those employed in the travel and tourism sector. According to our latest passenger survey, 70 per cent of recent travellers thought the rules were a challenge to understand,” said Walsh.
Additionally, WHO encouraged states to look at bilateral, multilateral, and regional agreements, particularly among neighbouring counties, “with the aim of facilitating the recovery of key socioeconomic activities” including tourism, for which international travel plays a vital role.
“The pandemic has put more than 46 million jobs, normally supported by aviation, at risk. By incorporating these latest WHO recommendations into their border opening strategies, states can begin to reverse the economic damage of the past 18 months and put the world on the road to recovery,“ said Walsh.
Flag carrier reopens W’Coast operations - THE GUARDIAN
Nigerian flag carrier, Air Peace, has set July 23 date for the resumption of flight operations into Banjul in Gambia and Dakar in Senegal.
Spokesperson of the airline, Stanley Olisa, yesterday said the operation will provide more options for regional connectivity, beginning with three weekly flights.
Olisa said the Dakar and Banjul routes will be operated with the ultramodern Embraer 195-E2 aircraft, “and we shall resume more routes and increase frequencies to other destinations as we take delivery of more brand new E195-E2s as well as other aircraft undergoing maintenance abroad.”
Air Peace suspended its regional routes following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the lockdown that ensued last year. But the airline is now resuming these routes, the first being Accra, which was restored in March, 2021.
Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, earlier said that the West Coast operation is among the 26 destinations expected to begin soon.
He said: “We are still processing documents for the London route. Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will help us push further. We have also applied for China and India too. We have already had seven flights to China and 22 to India already. All of these are markets waiting for Air Peace,” Onyema said.
Air Peace currently services 17 domestic routes, five regional routes and two international destinations, including Johannesburg, while it boasts of a mixed fleet of 28 aircraft, the latest being three brand new 124-seat capacity E195-E2 jets.
NAHCON cautions pilgrims on fake entry visa for hajj - THE GUARDIAN
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has warned intending pilgrims against patronising fake tour agencies in a bid to cut corners to go to Saudi Arabia.
The commission urged the general public to report to NAHCON, any person collecting money and giving assurance of securing 2021 Hajj slot under the entry visa, stating that such arrangement does not emanate from the commission, nor from the Saudi authorities.
In a statement signed by the Head, Public Affairs division of the commission, Hajia Fatima Sanda Usara, it warned intending pilgrims not to fall victims to fraudsters in the name Hajj travels.
The statement reads: “It has come to the attention of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) that some travel agencies are collecting Hajj fares from intending pilgrims with the assurance of securing Hajj slots for them under the entry visa category. It is alleged that such agents attribute their claims to NAHCON’s permission.
“In a warning first issued on Friday, May 28th 2021, NAHCON had dissociated itself from any agent claiming to transport pilgrims to 2021 Hajj without Saudi Arabia’s clearance. Thereafter, the Kingdom had categorically stated that only the 60,000 selected to perform Hajj from within Saudi Arabia shall be allowed access into the holy sites where the Hajj rites take place.
“Anyone caught at the vicinity without a legal permit shall be fined 10,000 Saudi Riyals equivalent to over a million Naira. Saudi Press Agency has already informed of arrests due to violation of this restriction.
“NAHCON is reiterating the warning to the general public to be cautious of falling victims to fraudsters in the name of Hajj travel agents. Such persons are preying on the desperation of some intending pilgrims to perform Hajj at all costs, which in itself violates the Islamic principle of pilgrimage for the sake of Allah.
Of course with an entry visa, an individual can travel only as far as into Saudi Arabia but not near the holy sites without the Hajj permit, whose issuance has long been closed.
“No foreign pilgrim was allowed to access the application website, talk little of registering.
“It is also alleged that the so-called Hajj agents connive with some Saudi legal residents through whose residential licenses (igama) they would secure the Hajj permit for their clients. The warning here is that the system is biometrical with the original owners’ data fully computed. Therefore the mismatch would be automatically detected once subjected to screening. No one should fall victim to detention and embarrassment for the sake of performing Hajj 2021.
“NAHCON urges all intending pilgrims to bear the Hajj restriction with patience until the situation is reversed. This patience will itself earn one handsome reward. Anyone who does contrary does so at his own peril.
“The general public is kindly invited to report to the Commission, any person collecting money and giving assurance of securing 2021 Hajj slot under the entry visa.”
COVID-19: Eiffel Tower to reopen after nine-month closure - PUNCH
The Eiffel Tower is to reopen to visitors on Friday for the first time in nine months following its longest closure since World War II.
The lifts of the “Iron Lady” are set to whir back into life, transporting tourists to its 300-metre (1,000-foot) summit, ending a long period of inactivity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Daily capacity is set to be restricted to 13,000 people, however, about half of the normal level, in order to respect social distancing.
And from Wednesday next week, visitors will need to show either proof of vaccination or a negative test, in line with recent government-imposed requirements.
“Obviously it’s an additional operational complication, but it’s manageable,” the head of the operating company, Jean-François Martins, told AFP.
After a final round of safety checks by staff, he announced that the “lady is ready”.
Early reservations for tickets during the summer holiday period underline how the tourism industry in Paris has changed due to travel restrictions.
Martins said there was an “almost total absence” of British ticket holders, while only 15 per cent were Americans and very few are from Asia.
Half of visitors are expected to be French, while Italians and Spanish make up a higher proportion than usual.
The long closure has caused havoc with the finances of the operating company, Sete, which runs the monument on behalf of Paris city authorities.
It is set to seek additional government aid and a fresh 60-million-euro cash injection to stay afloat, having seen its revenues fall by 75 per cent to 25 million euros in 2020.
The masterpiece by architect Gustave Eiffel has also been hit by problems linked to its latest paint job, the 20th time it has been repainted since its construction in 1889.
Work was halted in February because of high levels of lead detected on the site, which poses a health risk to labourers.
Tests are still underway and painting is set to resume only in the autumn, meaning a part of the facade is obscured by scaffolding and safety nets.
Keeping Nigeria’s best brains in the country - VANGUARD
WHILE we rejoice at the “good news” of the British Government’s approval of work permits for Nigerian international students who wish to work in Britain after the completion of a UK degree at bachelor’s degree level or above, we must also consider the disadvantage – brain drain.
For 2020 alone, out of 13, 000 young Nigerians educated at home and who travelled to the UK for their university education or PhDs, the UK government offers to “retain the brightest and the best students to continue to contribute to the UK post-study.’’
When we compute the number of students who will benefit from such work permit in 10 years and the number of Nigerians in other countries like the US where bright Nigerians are retained or induced to contribute to the development of the host countries, we will see why our country is failing.
It bears noting that human resource remains the most valued of all the resources and other means of production.
Any country that cannot provide a conducive environment at home for its best brains to thrive and contribute to the development of that country is dying.
For Catriona Laing, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, the approval of work permit for Nigerian international students may be “a testament to the strengthening of educational relationship between the UK and Nigeria”, but we must not be blind to the corresponding huge loss it is to the development of Nigeria.
As at today, most of Nigeria’s best brains are either in the US, UK or other developed or developing countries, making scientific inventions and other landmark achievements for their host countries.
To be able to practice medicine in the US, one has to be among the best physicians in the world.
In August 2010, Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Dr. Onyebuchi Chukwu, revealed that a research found that more than 5,000 Nigerian-trained medical doctors were practising in the US alone. That figure must have increased today. It is estimated that 77 per cent of Black doctors in the US are Nigerians. In December 2017, Vanguard reported that 35, 000 doctors left Nigeria for the UK and the USA!
One of the ways to halt this mass exodus of our best brains to foreign countries is to strive to replicate here at home the conditions that lure them to other countries, especially steady power supply, quality educational and professional training, gainful employment opportunities, conducive working environment and security of lives and property.
Government must also show that it is sincere in its quest for technological breakthrough in the country by investing in research and functional education. Unfortunately, it seems a lost battle as government officials are at the forefront of sending their children and wards to schools abroad with public funds!
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