Renowned Nigerian poet and scholar, Professor Niyi Osundare, has described the growing “Japa” phenomenon as a form of modern-day slavery, warning that Nigeria is exporting some of its best talents while importing ignorance.
Osundare spoke recently during a conversation with a book publisher/publishing consultant Gbénró Adégbolá at the presentation of his new book, Truth Is Trouble, in Ibadan.
The book, published by Bookcraft Africa, is a 536-page collection covering literature, politics, culture, identity, and the challenges of truth in contemporary society.
Osundare said Nigeria’s inability to create an environment where citizens can live and work with dignity was largely responsible for the continued exodus of its young and talented population.
He said, “Japa has killed so many of our talents,” arguing that the country must examine the conditions forcing its citizens to seek opportunities abroad.
According to him, he is not condemning Nigerians who leave the country because individuals have different reasons for seeking opportunities elsewhere.
Rather, he said, the real problem was that African countries, including Nigeria, had made it increasingly difficult for their citizens to remain and contribute meaningfully to national development.
Osundare recalled that Japan had also experienced massive devastation after the wars, but its citizens who travelled to Western countries to acquire knowledge and technology eventually returned and contributed to rebuilding the country.
“In our own case, when you go, you never come back,” he said.
The poet questioned the celebration of Nigerians in the diaspora without sufficient attention to the circumstances that forced them to leave.
He also criticised what he described as the glorification of diaspora remittances while the country continues to lose some of its most skilled citizens.
“They bring diaspora remittances, that is not money, it is blood money. It is slavery,” Osundare declared.
He argued that a country could not make meaningful progress when it exported its best brains and failed to provide an environment capable of retaining talent.
“Progress is not an accident. Underdevelopment is not an accident,” he said.
Osundare therefore called for deliberate efforts to make Nigeria habitable, saying the country must create conditions that would encourage its citizens to remain, return and contribute to its development.
He disclosed that on one occasion he was unable to work for five days because there was no electricity where he lived.
According to him, “We must not underestimate the power of our culture, the power of the indigenous,” stressing that Nigeria’s future depended partly on its ability to retain and nurture its human and creative resources.
