2024 wasn’t a happy year for many globally. A profound economic crisis and sweltering experience further sunk many below the breadline and complicated their despair in Nigeria. Yet at the confluence of these trends is a new nation of foraging Nigerians that has made the world its home. As bleak as the home front appears, Nigerians in Diaspora are the bastion of self-help, lodestars of hope in many homes, and a Nigeria of our dreams. They earned our highest honour.
Jon Clifton, the Chief Executive Officer of Gallup, a global analytics and advisory firm that tries to explain most pressing work and life issues through the famous Gallup World Poll, once argued about the true measurement of happiness. While happiness means so many things to different people, so also is its measurement. But one thing is constant, happiness is mostly devoid of negative emotions, misery, pain and worry. Suppose CEOs closely track their companies’ revenue growth, share prices and bottom-line and world leaders equally get excited at positive GDP numbers, and lower unemployment and poverty rates. What makes citizens happy? Perhaps, optimism.
In 2006, Gallup began conducting global research on subjective well-being, which is used interchangeably with “happiness”. The goal of the research was to definitively report – by country – how people’s lives were going from their perspective. Was the world getting more stressed? Were people more hopeful? Were they getting angrier?
It is easy to think that income inequality explains well-being inequality and, therefore, rising unhappiness. That is certainly part of it. But a great life, according to Gallup is more than just money. After studying the 20 per cent of people who report having a great life, Gallup finds they have five things in common: they are fulfilled by their work, have little financial stress, live in great communities, have good physical health, and have loved ones they can turn to for help.
For a country that used to be the happiest in the world, 2024 was a serious drain on the scanty optimism left in many Nigerians. Inflation did not only pinch the pockets of many homes, but it also literally stole their happiness. Inflation became the stressor, making a mess of their incomes, and purchasing power, and also weakened the capacity of their communities and loved ones to render help. Nigerians are not alone in this quagmire, Ipsos’ What Worries the World survey for November equally affirmed that inflation and crime are top joint concerns of many people globally. The severity of inflation on Nigerians is best imagined considering the spike in prices of goods and services.
While President Bola Tinubu’s reforms are largely responsible for the pains in many Nigerian households, the options before the administration are limited, considering the fragile economy Tinubu inherited from his predecessor. Could he have done better via staggered reforms? Pundits think otherwise considering the political expediency of those decisions.
Though the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and unemployment figures by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) excite Mr President, going by the gradual economic recovery and positive changes resulting from the administration’s bold reforms, the ordinary Nigerian is yet to feel the impact in his daily livelihood. Households are rationing meals and have no holes for tightened belts.
Indicative of this household concern is a recent Informal Economy Report 2024 by Moniepoint, which revealed that “About half (51.6 per cent) of business owners chose unemployment as the reason they started a business. The closest primary reason to that was those who stated that they started a business because their current job wasn’t providing enough income (35.9 per cent). “While unemployment was the leading motivation for starting a business among men, we found that insufficient income from more formal employment was the higher motivation among women.”
The report further affirmed that “Most businesses in the informal economy earn money for daily living expenses and feeding. They also mentioned things like school fees and transportation as additional expenses. Only three out of ten of these businesses choose to reinvest in their business as their primary expense.”
The 2024 World Happiness Index showed that Nigeria is among the countries with the least happy people in the world. Nigeria ranks 102nd on the World’s Happiness ranking. This is a decline from the 95th position it held in 2023.
However, this has not been the worst year for Nigerians’ perception of their happiness. The country’s indices and ranking were the lowest in 2022. They ranked 118th with an index of 4.55 out of 10.
The World Happiness Report is a partnership among Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the World Happiness Report’s Editorial Board. The index measures major areas of human existence that explain individual and national happiness. The report measures individuals’ quality of life or life satisfaction based on these six key variables: GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and perception of corruption. This indicates that most Nigerians have identified that their quality of life, such as living arrangements, income, health behaviours, condition and care, social engagement and support, have not improved significantly in the last five years. This degree of life satisfaction also varies across the age groups and has greatly changed in the last 12 years of the report.
The report shows that young people in Nigeria below 30 years old are unsatisfied with life here. They are ranked 108th in the world happiness index for young people, with a score of 4.91 over 10. In contrast, the upper middle age group consists of people between the ages of 45 and 59 years old and has been reported to be the happiest age group in the country.
To deal with their unhappiness and discontent with their circumstances, many Nigerians explored the migration option, leading to a wave of ja pa movement that became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic when many saw how commonwealth was frittered and palliatives hoarded during the most-needed period. They saw the lack of empathy at a time when the world struggled to survive. They saw the rich and privileged take to their heels, evidenced by the struggle to be on evacuation flights. The climax of the popular #ENDSARS protests appeared to be the last straw for many young Nigerians. They also witnessed ethnic identity politics play out in the 2023 elections. That ja pa movement peaked this year when the exchange rate and immigration policies made it mission impossible for many intending migrants.
Jitters are understandable in a strained economy. And as it is often said of war times, the first to flee are those that can afford it. With the country further adrift in the name of reforms, an unprecedented number of high and middle-income professionals leave the country in search of socio-economic salvation.
Those who cannot yet jump ship embarked on two mass protests, asking for a policy U-turn. More so, President Tinubu was not very popular among youths who populated the Obidient Movement during the 2023 general polls, angling for fresh air in the political space. On October 1, Nigeria’s 64th Independence Anniversary, thousands of youths staged #EndBadGovernance public discontentment protests over gaping problems of inflation, worsening insecurity, expensive governance, and other economic concerns. It was the second mass protest in less than three months after youths staged hunger protests that turned violent nationwide. That protest in August lasted 10 days and grounded the country to a halt.
Yet, despite a home in negative territory, a group of Nigerians is breaking all barriers and flourishing. In 2024, these Nigerians across countries and all walks of life exceptionally shone like a million stars abroad and still managed to hoist the pleasant side of a battered national image for the world to relish. Their remarkable feats saved the national blushes to prove that it is not all gloom and doom for the most popular Black Country on earth.
For those who made it out of Nigeria, they have become the beacon of hope, extending helping hands financially and even uplifting the country’s brand where it seemed impossible. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many households borrowed to feed as shown in the NBS Covid-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (Covid-19 NLPS), while those who could not, depend on help from the Diaspora.
The helpless and seemingly hopeless youths have become the global workforce cum talent of today and will be in extreme demand in the future. The ja pa train remains the bedrock of the Nigerian economy, earning the country more than its acclaimed crude oil. Specifically, remittances from Nigerians living abroad reached $20 billion in 2023, according to the World Bank, slightly lower than the $21 billion a year earlier, and still about a third of the entire flows to sub-Saharan Africa for the year. The flow is projected to reach $26 billion by 2025, making it a hard-to-ignore source of foreign income, and one the monetary authorities want to be reflected in the value of the naira.
To these citizens in the Diaspora belongs the unparalleled exploit of Nigerian export potential to the world. Besides the sad stories from the base, they are emblematic of a broad trend of the Nigerian can-do spirit in the face of all difficulties. In their unparalleled empathy for kith and kin, they year-round oil the wheels of the national economy through financial support to friends and families at home. They are the actual demonstration of the true African spirit of love and fidelity to the fatherland. They are also a reminder to the leaders of the need to lead by example and fix yawning gaps and inequality that make people see migration as the only option out of poverty and other social ills.
These crops of Nigerians are a reminder of the fact that happiness goes beyond money but the collective well-being of the people and society. They point us to what needs to be done for a better society. We cannot make Nigeria better if we do not know how it is doing. These Nigerians serve as indicators that leaders can watch, beyond merely associating with them when they excel so that they are never surprised again by rising stress, sadness or anger.
And it is to these Nigerians in the Diaspora – our consolation in the current turbulence, the selfless spirit of the African person, and the beacon of hope of a Nigeria on the horizon – we accord The Guardian Person of the Year 2024.
Mass migration of nationals is neither novel nor an exclusive modern trend. The exodus is as old as homo sapiens has discovered mobility. The trend, however, gained good traction with globalisation integrating the world in the post-Cold War era and demands for rare skills across the globe starting from the 1980s. With the modern world ‘in a war of talent’, the skills stream can freely flow across borders to where they are best assimilated and most appreciated.
The drift has lately shifted in Nigeria, with most youths embracing the ‘ja pa’ phenomenon, that is ‘leaving the country without any plan of returning’. Former Minister of External Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, described the ja pa type of emigration as a new normal in comparison with the experience of his generation.
Akinyemi said: “It is because of the conditions in the country and their reactions to them. My generation never faced those kinds of (socio-economic) difficulties. We didn’t, which would explain why we rejected the opportunities to stay abroad. It is not just me; my generation rejected the opportunity to stay behind abroad but to come back home because there was a vision at that time. The knowledge was that Nigeria would be great and achieve its place in the pantheon of countries, but we were wrong,” he said.
Indeed, 52 per cent of 4,500 Africans aged 18-24 surveyed recently by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) are likely to consider emigrating in the next few years. Today, millions of ethnic Nigerians live abroad. The largest communities are in the United Kingdom (500,000–3,000,000) and the United States (600,000–1,000,000 Nigerians). Other countries that followed closely are South Africa, Gambia, and Canada.
Before Tinubu, Nigerian migrants in the UK reached a record high in June 2022. Planeloads of Nigerian nationals saw the most significant relative increase in Sponsored Study grants compared with 2019, increasing by 57,545, representing a 686 per cent increase, to a record high of 65,929 migrants. No fewer than 10,000 healthcare providers trained in Nigeria have migrated to the UK between 2017 and 2023. In the U.S. healthcare sector, 24 per cent of registered nurses, 20 per cent of nursing assistants, and 16 per cent of personal care aides hail from Africa.
It is quite striking in the mass migration drive that ebullient Nigerians are breaking the glass ceilings worldwide amid challenges. With resilience, they are proving that there is nothing wrong with the “lazy Nigerian youths”, but with the crop of opportunistic political class that have denied them the requisite environment for their talents to flourish.
Nigerians are among the most successful immigrants anywhere. In the U.S., Nigerians are the most highly educated with 61 per cent holding at least a bachelor’s degree. The same success is reflected in the United Kingdom, where many highly educated Nigerians in the Diaspora work in financial services, IT, legal, and medical professions.
Nigerians in the Diaspora featured prominently on the 2024 Forbes 30 under-30 list that highlights trailblazers, revolutionaries and innovators changing the world in media, art & style, food & drink, education, science, music, sports, healthcare, and other industries.
Beyond Forbes, a cursory look around the world readily reveals the wealth of Nigeria’s potential and exports that abound all over. Dr Akinwumi Adesina has ‘ruled’ the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) successfully and unblemished for about a decade. Much older Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation. Amina Muhammed of Nigeria is the Deputy-Secretary General of the United Nations. Adebayo Ogunlesi, a Nigerian-born lawyer, investment banker, and businessman, founded Global Infrastructure Partners. Ogunlesi recently joined the ranks of billionaires following BlackRock, Inc.’s $12.5 billion acquisition of his company. Remi Dairo is the President of the Institute of Productivity and Business Innovation, Africa and the Chief Operating Officer of Productivate Plus LLC, headquartered in Houston, Texas. Leaders Without Borders Development Centre listed Dairo among the top 100 influential global voices in 2023/24.
Today, there is a Nigerian in the discovery of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, in the person of Dr Onyema Ogbuagu. The Associate Professor of Yale School of Medicine is an alumnus of the University of Calabar, 2003-set. In sport, the reigning African Football of the Year, Ademola Lookman is a Nigerian. The former unified world heavyweight champion is Anthony Oluwafemi Joshua, a Nigerian. He is 35 years old. Of the same age as Joshua, Israel Adesanya is one of the greatest in the UFC. He is also a Nigerian citizen of New Zealand. Time Magazine 2024 listed music star Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy, among the 100 most influential persons in 2024. The outspoken leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, Kemi Badenoch, still has Nigerian blood flowing in her veins. Sunday Adelaja, a Nigerian, built and pastors one of Europe’s largest churches in Ukraine, representing Africa, which is seen as the last bastion of spirituality in the world. He is one of the most influential in Ukraine until the war upended his flock, and Adelaja lands on the Russian hit list.
We have this group of energetic Nigerians in all facets of global politics, education, businesses, aviation, science and technology, security and defence, research and innovations, adding significant value to the world.
A thriving local economy abroad
Those Nigerians in the Diaspora are a blessing to the home economy. Records show that remittances from Nigerians living abroad are a significant source of foreign income for Nigeria and a key part of the country’s economy. But for their unparalleled benevolence, not only would more homes have collapsed, but the national economy would have sunk.
For instance, their remittances from Nigerians in the Diaspora reached $20 billion in 2023 – though $1b short of 2022 figures. The World Bank projects that remittances will reach $26 billion in 2024 and 2025 – a marginal shortfall of the N49.7 trillion (that is, $30 billion) the Federal Government has budgeted for the entire 2025. Put differently, remittances from Nigerians in Diaspora almost equal the national budget!
Linking the official foreign exchange market directly to diaspora remittances is expected to strengthen the naira while addressing a longstanding concern about the remitted foreign currencies not reaching Nigeria. However, that is not the reality as the CBN continues to explore measures to reverse this trend. Former Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader at PwC, Taiwo Oyedele and now chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms confirmed that at least $18 billion out of the $20 billion remitted into Nigeria last year didn’t make it to the country’s shores.
According to Oyedele, most Nigerians abroad send money using apps that allow them to deposit the foreign currency equivalent to the recipient in Nigeria while the money remains abroad. “They use parallel market rates,” Oyedele said at a Lagos Chamber of Commerce event in June. “So, you take $1,000 in New York and tap on your phone that you are sending it to someone through a fintech. They pay the naira equivalent in Nigeria without bringing in the dollars.”
Remittances from Nigeria’s diaspora currently fall into three main types. Social welfare funds are available for friends and family to help with basic medical, food, and educational costs. A significant amount is invested in real estate, while the remainder is made up of short-term investments in securities and other financial instruments. Despite Nigerians leaving the country for a better future, they remain invested in the country, emotionally and financially.
In its study tagged, “Nigeria Brain Exports: The Optimal Path to Growing the Nigerian Economy”, PwC adopts the concept of ‘Global Value Chain (GVC)’ — stating, “We recommend placing Nigerians in high-end GVCs.” The study says that given “Nigeria’s unique assets and attributes…the best development path should be where Nigeria exports Brain Capital into higher value-added global services markets.”
Further buttressing this possible gain, the PwC report posits that: “Nigeria has a significant Brain Capital advantage with a large youthful population of an average age of 19 years. Considering the ageing population in countries such as Germany, Japan, Italy and the United States, it is estimated that the worldwide working-age population will see a ten per cent decline by 2060. Japan in particular tops this list with 28 per cent of its population above 65 per cent and Italy comes second with 23 per cent. In contrast, only 2.7 per cent of the Nigerian population is above 65 per cent; which means Nigeria is strategically positioned to supply labour to the global market, a strong comparative advantage.”
The exceptionality of Nigerians triumphing in trials has far-reaching lessons. First, there is nothing wrong with the ‘Nigerianness’ in us. Coupled with the desultory stories from the homefront, the shady characters of some Nigerians overseas are disgraceful and a bad advertisement for a world already on the edge for anything ‘Nigerian’.
It is well established that many wayward Nigerians – at home and abroad – are daily perfecting the art of advanced free frauds, looking for high net worth victims to scam. They routinely give the country a rotten image. There are thousands of such bad eggs in detentions in Ethiopia, India, Saudi Arabia and Asian countries over drugs and fraud-related crimes. But ‘some mothers do have them’, and that is true of all countries. After all, good and evil are twin threads that run through the history of mankind. Yet, for each displeasing episode, there are hundreds of good Nigerians to show the world and silence our biased critics who often want to rob the national image wrongly. An average Nigerian is a good man or woman, equipped with the fortitude and resilience to beat the odds and achieve his or her dreams.
Secondly, those good ambassadors have shown that mass migration is not intrinsically an exercise in bad faith or a bad turn of events for the country. Survival instinct is a natural makeup of human beings, pushing for better opportunities and showing resilience in surmounting barriers. These lodestars of inspiration abroad have shown that instead of focusing on what is not working in Nigeria, and embarking on the self-defeatist lure of criminality, more youngsters can stay focused on dusting themselves up, hone their innate abilities, have something grand to offer the world, and seamlessly transition into a reputable global citizen.
Truly, modern successes don’t have to start or end with one’s immediate environment or country. And that is the essence of globalisation that the ja pa phenomenon rides on. What is essential is having a genuine skill set and being a part of the solution to human predicaments. Also, embarking on emigration has to be legitimate – not the irregular and fatal missteps of aiming to race to greener pastures through the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea that 99 per cent guarantees a miserable ending.
Lastly, an aggregate of those ambassadors and unsung national heroes is a testament to a Nigeria that can still work for all and live up to its continental potential. An average Nigerian is a potential world-beater. Among them are future Nobel Prize winners. Nigeria is also an enormous land of opportunities, with abundant human capital that rivals its mineral resources. The good news is that a youthful nation is an unfinished one. These youths only need and demand a positive environment that supports their dreams and aspirations – and no amount of political palliatives or handouts can replace that. They desire a country that encourages excellence, and meritocracy and nurtures talents to full flower, irrespective of background.
Indeed, there is nothing wrong with Nigerians but the warp and poorest of the political class that presides over the affairs of the best brains. The youths are not asking for too much but for the old quality, selfless and visionary leadership that birthed a country that once worked for the majority and earned Nigerians some of the happiest people on earth.
Our true Nigerian ambassadors worldwide are reaching for the stars without forgetting their roots. Their remittances cannot replace the need for a stronger economy, but they show the way of fiscal priority. It’s strange that people who fled the country because it meant nothing to them are now its financial backbone because as soon as they start earning money, they start thinking about bringing some home. These Nigerians are a source of pride in nationhood that today’s Nigeria lacks, but not beyond her.
