Corruption Fuels 60% of African Youth to Seek ‘Japa’

Sixty percent of African teenagers, including Nigerians, want to leave because unchecked corruption threatens their future, according to a Tuesday poll of more than 5,600 young people from 16 nations.

According to the Johannesburg-based Ichikowitz Family Foundation, which commissioned the study of 5,604 persons aged 18 to 24, corruption is viewed as the “single greatest hurdle” they face in realizing their full potential and living a better life.

“Most of all, they don’t believe their governments are doing enough to address this scourge and because of it almost 60% are looking to emigrate in the next five years,” according to the report.

Japa is a Yoruba language word that has become a popular slang phrase among Nigerian youngsters.

The term refers to the act of hastily departing, fleeing, or withdrawing from a situation, frequently with haste and urgency.

The 2024 African Youth Survey, which the organization claims is unprecedented in scope and size, was done in January and February with face-to-face interviews in nations spanning from South Africa to Ethiopia.
North America was the most popular destination for emigration for this age group, followed by Western European countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and Spain.

More than half (55%) of those asked felt Africa was going in the “wrong direction,” yet there was a slight increase to 37% in “Afro-optimism” from the 2022 survey.

They demand stronger penalties for corrupt politicians, including a prohibition on running for office. “They also want a different form of government,” the foundation stated.

Although almost two-thirds of those polled believe in democracy, approximately 60% prefer a “African-infused” model.
Nearly one-third believe that non-democratic systems, such as military or one-party control, may be desirable in some circumstances.

China’s influence

The majority of those polled (72 percent) believed foreign interference was an issue. “They are concerned about their countries being exploited by foreign companies especially their natural mineral wealth being mined and exported without any further benefit to the people,” according to the organization.

A substantial majority (82%) saw China’s influence as favorable, while 79% said the same about the United States.
Perceptions of Russian influence grew, particularly in Malawi and South Africa, with more than half of those who supported Russia noting its distribution of grain and fertilizer.

Most people believe that if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election, Africa would fare significantly worse than if Democratic nominee Kamala Harris wins.

The African young Survey, which will be undertaken for the first time in 2020, intends “to give voice to Africa’s youth in a scientific manner,” according to the foundation’s communications director Nico De Klerk. It also gives essential information to governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and investors.Africa has the world’s youngest and most rapidly rising population.

The median age on the continent in 2020 was 19.7 compared to 31.0 in Latin America, 38.6 in Northern America and 42.5 in Europe, according to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

Africa is home to nearly 420 million youth aged 15-35, one-third of whom are unemployed, the African Development Bank says. The population is expected to double to over 830 million by 2050, it says.

The 2024 African Youth Survey was conducted by PSB Insights in Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

Nigeria And The Japa Syndrome

The mass exodus of Nigerians to the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and other advanced nations in search of greener pastures has been tagged “japa” which the elite referred to as a syndrome responsible for brain drain and modern slavery.

Recently, a scholar of Systematic Theology at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Professor Godwin Akper, revealed that the unpalatable Nigerian environment is pushing many Nigerians out of the country to the developed nations.

Speaking about the japa syndrome, Akper said that the future of Nigeria was dependent on its people and the early realisation of the ethics of hospitality and ubuntu in the country’s local communities.

The don advocates that the Nigerian society should be hospitable to everyone including the youths, who are leaving the country en masse for other parts of the world to explore.

Akper said, “The future of our dear nation depends on our early realisation of the ethics of hospitality and ubuntu in our local communities.

“We teach ‘Nigerian peoples and cultures’, yet our graduates find it difficult to identify who they are as Nigerians; this may be a factor contributing to the ‘Japa’ syndrome among adults and our youths.

“This may be a factor contributing to the ‘japa’ syndrome among adults and our youths. Our graduates today hail their mates who secure either work permits or green cards to commence what I consider to be a journey towards slavery to Asian, middle Eastern and Western economies.

We have left the dreams and ideals of the founding fathers of Africa and Nigeria. So, we are now reaping what we never planted.”

FG Approves Policy To Address Health Workers’ Migration

In the latest move to address the ‘Japa’ syndrome starting with the health sector, the Federal Government in August approved a new National Policy on Health Workforce Migration.

In a post on X, the minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to tackling the challenges surrounding healthcare human resources in the country

He said President Bola Tinubu presided over the Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where the policy was approved.

“This policy is more than just a response to the ongoing exodus of healthcare professionals; it’s a comprehensive strategy to manage, harness, and reverse health worker migration,” the minister said.

It envisions a thriving workforce that is well-supported, adequately rewarded, and optimally utilised to meet the healthcare needs of all Nigerians.”

The country has been plagued with doctors and other allied medical professionals leaving for greener pastures in the United Kingdom, USA and major European countries.

In March, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, disclosed that in the last five years, the country lost about 15,000 to 16,000 doctors to the Japa syndrome while about 17,000 had been transferred.

Pate further stated that among the 300,000 health professionals in Nigeria, an evaluation revealed that 85,000 to 90,000 were registered Nigerian doctors, which was a major worry for the health sector.

“There are around 300,000 health professionals working in Nigeria today, representing all cadres. I am referring to physicians, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, and others. We conducted an examination and discovered that we have 85,000 to 90,000 registered Nigerian doctors.

According to Pate, the new policy aims to facilitate the return and reintegration of Nigerian health professionals from the diaspora.

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