meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Business Daily

Nigeria's brain drain

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4796 Ratings

🗓️ 29 March 2023

⏱️ 19 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Bisi Adebayo investigates why so many young, highly skilled people leave Nigeria, known in the country as Japa.

Bisi hears from journalist Victoria Idowu who re-located to Canada with her family and a teacher in Lagos who is about to pack her bags and move to the UK.

We also hear from an expert in employment data Babajide Ogunsanwo who tells us how much this costs Nigeria and Wale Smart an employer who explains how tricky it is to find and retain staff.

Presenter / producer: Bisi Adebayo Image: Graduating students of the American University of Nigeria; Credit: Getty Images

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

abnormal transactions. Some kind of cyber attack on a bank. Tens of millions of dollars. Something I don't

0:07.8

think anybody has seen before. It's a cybercriminal group. From the BBC World Service,

0:12.5

The Lazarus Heist is back for season two. It was really like in the movies. Find out more at the end of

0:17.5

this podcast.

0:26.1

Hello and welcome to Business Daily with me, Bissia DiBio.

0:33.2

We're focusing on population this week and today I'm exploring Japa, the problem Nigeria has with highly skilled young people moving overseas.

0:36.2

There's this thing about Nigeria that just puts you in a box, right?

0:39.9

And so I wanted to get out there.

0:43.1

I wanted my kids, especially, to understand that life can actually be different.

0:48.8

I love teaching, but really, you know, when you don't get what you're supposed to get from what you're doing,

0:53.6

it kind of dampens one spirit that, okay, I'm teaching what I, what have I do from it all these years.

1:06.0

Nigeria is home to over 200 million people.

1:11.6

70% of that number is made up of a young population under the age of 30.

1:16.6

At first glance, Nigeria has a lot going for it.

1:20.6

It is home to the second largest film industry on the globe.

1:24.6

And this is among many other notable achievements like being the fashion,

1:29.3

technological and creative hub in Africa. Well, that's not all. Nigeria also boasts of a GDP

1:36.3

of over $400 billion. But in spite of this, millions of people are suffering from alien infrastructure, inequality, poverty and a high

1:47.1

unemployment rate of more than 30%. This has forced many young and highly skilled professionals

1:53.6

out of the country in search of greener pastures abroad.

1:57.0

I prefer to go outside of the country that staying here in this Nigeria without any work,

2:02.5

no work, nothing. All youth are just jobless, no work to do. So instead of me just staying in

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.