A decade or two ago, the then government set up a committee to probe why Nigerians were leaving Nigeria. Qualified professionals left the country in their thousands to settle in the United States of America, Canada, even Australia and New Zealand not to speak of Poland and Ukraine. But it was not just the qualified professional.
Those who dropped out of school, who did not like school, also set out mainly for Europe where they looked forward to caring for the aged and dying octogenarians of Europe. So, the Nigerian government set up this committee to find out why Nigerians were leaving Nigeria. They went to London. They went to Washington D.C. and Chicago. They stopped over briefly in Ottawa and Winnipeg before jetting over to Paris and Berlin.
They sent for extra tickets to get them to, at that time, the Soviet Union and Beijing in China. At each city, one member at least of the committee stopped over to continue the work of the committee. By the time they hit Beijing, only the chairman of the committee was left. He decided to stay in China. The government waited and waited.
The committee never returned. No report was ever submitted. Up until tomorrow, the Nigerian Government does not know why Nigerians leave Nigeria.
By Kole Omotoso
Guardian, Sunday July 4, 2021
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