Introduction
The Federal Republic of Nigeria situated on the west coast of Africa, is commonly referred to as the 'Giant of Africa'. Nigeria operates a federal system of government comprising 36 states with a Federal Capital Territory located in Abuja. It is a country made up of over 250 different ethnic groups with the major ethnicities of Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa extraction. The country boasts of a vast array of natural resources like crude oil, gold, tin, bauxite, iron ore, limestone, zinc, bentonite, lignite, gypsum, bitumen, natural gas, and precious stones etc. Nigeria is Africa's most populated country and the world's sixth most populous country,2 with a relatively high educated population who are mostly Muslims, Christians or traditionalists.
Although Nigeria gained its independence on 1st October 1960 from Great Britain (its erstwhile colonial master), with a stable and growing economy, the country is currently faced with diverse challenges including economic hardship, environmental deterioration, political crises, insecurity, kidnapping, and mass killing of innocent people have become the order of the day particularly in the northern part of Nigeria.3
These problems have persisted for over two decades and have negatively impacted the youths who make up the working class, instilling fear and trepidation and leaving most of them with little or no alternatives than to seek refuge elsewhere. This tendency to relocate to foreign lands in search for safe and peaceful environment and better socio-economic prospects has added a new lexicon to the local parlance termed "Jaa pa". Life in Nigeria has become so difficult and unbearable for the average Nigerian to meet basic survival needs. The masses are frustrated and professionals like doctors, nurses, lawyers, accountants, engineers are resigning in droves from their various places of work to seek greener pastures in other developed and developing countries.
The rate of migration to other countries in search of better prospects is at its peak, as almost 15% of the working-class leave the country every week in search of better opportunities elsewhere. There are long queues at the foreign embassies to acquire travel visas as well as international passports from the immigration offices. This paper will examine the underlying causes for this desperate situation and the reasons Nigerians are vacating their motherland for other countries.
Reasons Why Paralegals and Other Professionals are Migrating to Other Countries
1. Problems of Leadership: - Since 1999 when Nigeria migrated from Military Rule to a Democratic System of Government, there have been several changes of leadership with the citizens voting every four (4) years for new set of representatives.4 Unfortunately, this search for credible and effective representation through the democratic process has proved elusive and apparently out of reach. Poor leadership is probably the bane of the country's inability to leverage on its vast human and material resources to improve the wellbeing of its peoples. Political leaders voted into power by the masses do not perform or meet the expectations of the masses based on campaign promises. Most of the leaders misuse the country funds, and valuable resources to enrich themselves with no regard for the consequences on the country's bottom line.
High Level of Corruption: Corruption is a serious issue in Nigeria and is closely associated with bad leadership. While corruption exists everywhere, the peculiarity of Nigeria is a distinct failure to address it with the sincerity and decisiveness that it deserves. There are various laws and institutions of government established to fight corruption at all levels,5 however, endemic corruption persists due primarily to the lack of political will to effectively prosecute and punish offenders. With a compromised police force and law enforcement agencies and a weakened judiciary, it is no wonder that grappling with the menace of corruption has become intractable.6 As an example, the country has three refineries which are not functioning, or barely functioning far below capacity. Huge amounts of money have been allocated under different administrations to restore these refineries to full capacity to no avail. In the interim, crude oil is being exported outside the country to be refined and later imported back to the country at great cost, depleting scarce foreign exchange reserves and escalating the cost of petroleum products sold locally.7
2. Abuse of Power: The term 'Democracy' is considered to be government of the people, by the people and for the people,8 but apparently not the case with Nigeria. In Nigeria, we simply have what appears to be a democratic government elected by the people to pursue programmes for their social and economic progress. Sadly, in Nigeria, even the electoral process is challenged by sharp practices that bring into question the integrity of the voting process through which the country's leaders are elected. The recent elections which held on 25th February and March 18th 2023, is a historical case in point and captures vividly everything that is amiss with Nigeria.9 The democratic process is abused in Nigeria, and successive governments in power have little or no respect for the basic principles of democracy, due process, or the rule of law. Power abuse may be found in practically every branch of the Federal, State and Local Government.
3. Mismanagement of Natural Resources: The country's resources are not well managed causing tensions with local and indigenous communities when it comes to the control of the country's natural resources. Across the country, militant groups have emerged to compete for control of resources located on their lands.
In expressing their grievances, these groups from the Niger-Delta region have sometimes taken violent action to convey their complaints, resulting in loss of lives and property. Some of them have filed lawsuits against the government for control of monies derived from the sale of crude oil produced in their territory. They claim that despite being the goose laying the golden egg, their territory is severely undeveloped and devastated by environmental degradation. The inability of various governments to properly manage this festering problem has contributed to the high level of insecurity in the affected parts and to political instability and avoidable bloodshed.10
4. Insecurity and Terrorism: Terrorism is a major issue in Nigeria. On daily basis the regular massacres, kidnappings, bombings, and incessant rape of women carried out by terrorists throughout the country are quite distressing. There are myriad groups who terrorize the nation and kidnap persons for ransom as a means of livelihood. The most terrifying group of them all is "Boko Haram" which emerged from the Northern part of country. Their modus operandi is bombarding markets and crowded places, capturing school children, kidnapping commuters, murdering Christians and killing agriculturists and villagers in isolated areas across the nation. Most farmers had to quit the villages and run to the cities to spare their lives.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram is known as a destroyer, and the northern section of the nation has been so badly damaged that even students are unable to complete their studies. Boko Haram is a well-known terrorist organization and people who do not live in Nigeria have heard of Boko Haram's kidnappings of hundreds of children, predominantly teenage girls, from schools and communities in northern parts of Nigeria.11 The EndSARS crusade which resulted in the wrongful killing of peaceful demonstrators along the Lekki-Epe corridor in 2020 was a series of decentralized youth protests against police brutality in Nigeria.12
5. High Rate of Unemployment: Nigeria is regarded as the country with the highest rate of unemployment in Africa.13 As a means of survival, numerous unemployed adolescents euphemistically described as "yahoo boys" are notoriously engaged in the business of internet fraud schemes to pay their bills. In Nigeria, unemployment is spreading like a virus. The persistent economic recession coupled with a high rate of unemployment is forcing the youth into nefarious activities, drug dealing/peddling and substance abuse. A failure of leadership, proper planning and allocation of resources is creating an unsustainable political structure with associated ills and signs of a failed state. Unemployment is one of the key causes of social vices in the country; even graduates have difficulty finding work.
6. Economic hardship:Nigeria's economic situation has deteriorated significantly. The purchasing power of the people has been eroded by high inflation and the devaluation of the currency. Naira has lost its power and value in the global market. The country's annual profits have decreased, significantly impacting the country's population. Inflation is a significant issue in the country. Workers' incomes are no longer sufficient to purchase physical goods from marketplaces. This poses a serious threat to many people's lives, and is one of the reasons many workers are requesting pay raises.
Conclusion
Considering the high level of poverty in Nigeria, political and social instability some paralegals and other professionals can no longer bear the discomfort and are frustrated by the lack of positive prospects on the horizon. They believe the way out of the unpleasant situation in the country is to "Jaa pa", to quit because they do not know what the future of the country holds. Looking at the problems that have been discussed above, like leadership problems, high level of corruption, abuse of power, mismanagement of natural resources, insecurity and terrorism, unemployment, economic hardship and increase in the price of commodities, the average Nigerian is beset by headwinds from a multitude of fronts.
It has become intolerable for many paralegals and other professionals to continue to cope with multiple challenges without a flicker of hope in sight. Unless drastic changes are instituted starting with the selection of credible leadership to redirect the negative direction the country is headed, the migration of professionals including paralegals from Nigeria's shores is likely to persist!
Footnotes
1. Justina Olayinka, Secretary, Secretarial Unit, S. P. A. Ajibade & Co., Lagos State, Nigeria.
2. See https://foreignaffairs.gov.ng/nigeria/natural-resources/ accessed on 15th March 2023.
3. See https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/nigeria/262-stopping-nigerias-spiralling-farmer-herder-violence accessed on 15th March 2023.
4. See https://www.cfr.org/blog/legacy-nigerias-1999-transition-democracy accessed 15th March 2023.
5. Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related offences Commission (ICPC), was established pursuant to Section 3 of the Corruption Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 which empowers the Commission to carry out preventive, enforcement and enlightenment functions on corrupt practices. See https://icpc.gov.ng/the-establishment-act/ accessed 15th March 2023. Also, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), was established pursuant to Section 1 of the Establishment Act 2004 to combat economic and financial crimes, thereby enabling the Commission to prevent, investigate, prosecute and penalize economic and financial crimes. See https://www.efcc.gov.ng/efcc/about-us-new/the-establishment-act accessed on 15th March 2023.
6. World Corruption Index See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index
7. NNPC seeks companies to operate, maintain Nigeria's refineries. See https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/461531-nnpc-seeks-companies-to-operate-maintain-nigerias-refineries.html accessed 15th March 2023 , and NNPC signed agreement with Daewoo to repair Kaduna refineries. See https://businessday.ng/energy/oilandgas/article/nnpc-signs-maintenance-services-agreement-with-daewoo-for-kaduna-refinery/ accessed 16th March 2023.
8. Variously attributed to Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Parker, Benjamin Disraeli, Daniel Webster, and John Wycliffe. According to Merriam Webster dictionary "Democracy" is a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy accessed 16th March 2023.
9. There are six factors that could impact the conduct of Nigeria's Presidential elections, prominent civic group, YIAGA Africa, said in a report. The factors include PVC collection challenges, relocation of voters to new polling units and economic hardship. See https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/583712-nigeriadecides2023-yiaga-highlights-six-factors-that-may-affect-presidential-election.html accessed 16th March 2023.
10 John Ugoani, "Mismanagement and Underdevelopment in Nigeria: Sustainable Management Perspective", International Journal of Economics and Business Administration Vol. 5, No 2, 2019, pp. 75-84 available at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3388739 accessed on 17th March 2023.
11. Boko Haram operates out of Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State in northeast Nigeria bordered by Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria. See https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CPRT-112HPRT71725/html/CPRT-112HPRT71725.htm#:~:text=Boko%20Haram%20operates%20out%20of,Chad%2C%20Cameroon%2C%20and%20Niger, accessed 17th March 2023.
The report of the subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence Committee on Homeland Security states that "In 2010, Boko Haram re-emerged radically more violent and determined to seek vengeance against the Nigerian state for executing its leader. Under the leadership of Imam Abubakar Shekau, who claimed to have assumed control of the sect following the death of Mohammed Yusuf, Boko Haram militants carried out violent operations against government targets in the north. The most notable include an assault on a Maiduguri prison that resulted in the release of 700 prisoners, including Boko Haram members, and a bombing in the city of Jos that killed more than 80 people. Significantly, the targeting of the Nigerian capital city of Abuja represented an evolving target set outside of Northern Nigeria. In June 2011, Boko Haram militants bombed the police headquarters in Abuja, and finally, carried out the suicide attack against the Abuja U.N. headquarters 2 months later. A number of factors have been attributed to fueling Boko Haram's violence and fanaticism, including a feeling of alienation from the wealthier, Christian, oil-producing, southern Nigeria, pervasive poverty, rampant government corruption, heavy-handed security measures, and the belief that relations with the West are a corrupting influence. These grievances have led to sympathy among the local Muslim population despite Boko Haram's violent tactics''. See https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CPRT-112HPRT71725/html/CPRT-112HPRT71725.htm accessed 17th March 2023.
12. EndSARS protest took place in Nigeria in 2020. A social media campaign with the hashtag #EndSARS was launched and hundreds of Nigerians used the hashtag to document abuses by SARS officers and demanded the end of impunity for those human rights violations. See https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2021/02/nigeria-end-impunity-for-police-violence-by-sars-endsars/ accessed 17th March 2023.
13. It was discovered that 58.9% of HND graduates are unemployed, 49.55% of OND graduates are unemployed and 39.75% of BSc holders are unemployed. See https://punchng.com/realities-of-a-nigerian-graduate/ accessed 17th March 2023.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
