The aggressive rate of migration among young Nigerian professionals to other parts of the world in search for greener pastures, has increased the rate of air traffic recorded in the past few months.
According to reports, the rate of international air passenger movement in Nigeria has risen by 91%. Nigeria’s aviation authorities revealed that between January and June this year there was a 40% and 91% increase in passengers’ movement via domestic and international flights respectively, compared to a similar period last year.
About 907,722 international passengers were airlifted between January and June in 2021, the figure however rose to 1,732,624 within the same period this year.
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A top government official said, “Two factors are responsible for the increase in international air traffic. First is the increase in migration of young professionals while the second is the re-opening of borders after Covid-19”.
According to the UK immigration report released last Thursday, Nigeria is second only to Indians in the number of visas granted to the ‘Skilled Worker – Health & Care’ category, with 14% (13,609) of the total.
Recent official data from Canadian immigration sources indicate that 12,595 Nigerians relocated to Canada alone in 2019. There were 4,000 applications for permanent residency by Nigerians in Canada in 2015. By 2019, the number had climbed to 15,595, an increase of over 214.9%.
The surge in air travel is still increasing with each passing day despite the increase in the price of tickets which was triggered by the hike in aviation fuel and also due the scarcity of forex in the country.
The figures reveal that between January and June 2022, cargo movement decreased by 36% when compared to a similar period in 2021.
An official attributed the decrease in cargo movement to forex scarcity, rising foreign exchange rate, closure of some airspaces due to the re-occurrence of Covid-19, and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
With the myriad of problems ravaging the country, it has continued to witness a surge in migration of its young professionals as ‘Japa’ has become a way out for most of them to escape from most of the country’s challenges.
The country has been threatened by a massive brain drain which is causing a serious challenge in different sectors in the country, as it was reported that the mass exit of ICT personnel in banks caused a serious glitch in most of its services majorly bank transfers.
Analysts/experts have predicted that the surge in migration will only get worse as there is no solution in sight to the country’s myriad of problems. The current government has been lambasted by citizens as not doing anything significant in managing the exchange rate and inflation that is affecting the country.
Amid this surge in migration, the country’s primary strategic concern is the increasing demographic hemorrhage in the emigration of skilled Nigerian youths.
The people on whom the future of the nation depends on are leaving. Best energies and brains are being drained. IT wiz kids, medical scientists, economists, biotechnologists, academics, etc. are flooding flights headed out to better climes where they feel more valued.
While some see the migration as a negative occurrence, some have a nuanced approach towards it, which they argue that mass exodus of citizens will help increase diaspora remittances, which lately has been the booster to the national dollar reserve.
Diaspora remittances reported by the CBN currently hover between $25 billion and $30 billion annually and are still rising.