Five (5) Reasons Why Thousands of Nigerians Seeking Asylum in the UK Indicates Worsening Brain Drain in Nigeria

INTRO: In an exclusive report obtained by the Punch, over 22,000 Nigerians were  reported by the UK's Home Office to have applied for asylum in the UK since 2010. The report is quite concerning when viewed from the economic lens for many reasons. The bottom line however is the worsening brain drain in the country. In hindsight, Nigeria was plundered with other African countries, and they were stripped of their men and material resources. The horror of history known as slave trade and colonialism still haunt Nigeria till today especially this mass exodus from Nigeria and other related countries. In fact, third world countries' scholars insist that the poor development status of the countries of Africa, Asia and Caribbean is traceable to Europe's invasion and plunder. Material resources were taken in quantum but they are scarcely as devastating as the human resources amassed from the continent. 

To be sure, labour is the source of values. It makes fishes in the ocean to be protein to the body. It makes timbers in the forest to be logs of wood for building houses. It makes cotton wool to be clothes for the body. During slave trade and colonialism, Africa, Nigeria inclusive lost some 12.5 million able-bodied men, women and children that could have contributed to the development of the continent. Their contributions firmly established Europe and America as the first world countries today which pulls the present generation  which are pushed by underdeveloped created at home by the loss.

The push and pull factors of migration today therefore exacerbate the devastating experience of slavery and colonialism yesterday, and as such, a serious source worry needing urgent interventions by the Federal Government of Nigeria, and the reasons are hereunder discussed. Brain drain erodes productive manpower, weakens the economy, and undermines public institutions. 

The reasons why thousands of Nigerians seeking asylum in the UK indicates worsening brain drain in Nigeria are: 

1. UK Is Just One of Those Destination Countries: Nigerians migrate to virtually all the countries of the world. I was surprised to see a Nigerian on TikTok showing a countryside in the Philippines, where he lives. I had issues reconciling the essence of leaving Nigeria to that jungle-like environment. It however did not take me long to conclude that Nigerians want anything but Nigeria. Now, with over 189 countries in the world, UK asylum applicants from Nigeria which tallies above 20,000 within five years indicates that Nigeria is being deserted quickly. Research will surely reveal huge figures going to countries such as USA, Canada, China, Italy, Spain, etc.

2. Similarly, Asylum Is Just an Aspect of the Means of Migration: There are other legitimate and illegitimate aspects of migration beyond asylum. The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, otherwise called the Refugee Convention provided for the right to seek protection to anybody who owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for the reasons of race, religion, membership of particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable or owing to such fear, unwilling to avail himself of the protection of the country; or who not having any nationality, and is outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, and is unable, or owing to such fear, unwilling to return to it. This provision ensures humanitarian migration, but then, hordes of other migrants, nay Nigerian migrants, leave the shores of the country not as asylum seekers but through skilled migrant visas, study visas, and professional exchanges. I don't want to think the irregular and risky trans-Sahara and trans-Mediterranean migrations. The huge number of asylum seekers from Nigeria to UK therefore is a tip of the iceberg of migration situation and the worsening brain drain in Nigeria. 

3. Anti-Immigrant Dispositions of the British People and Government Could Not Deter Nigerian Migrants: Reports abound about the Anti-Immigrant sentiments in UK. In fact, a survey in 2023 indicated that over 53% of British people did not approve of immigrants in their country. This is more evident in day to day experiences of non-White people in the UK. British people avoided them like  plague, and tracked them like the outlaws. The move to remove immigrants to what was called the third safe country, Rwanda by the UK government is well-documented. The UK-Rwanda Deal is currently mired in legal challenges. Now, the enormous tally of asylum applicants to the UK against these anti-immigrant realities in the country tells volumes about the worsening brain drain in Nigeria. I have said it, Nigerians want anything but Nigeria, or so it seems.

4. Systemic Racism and Stereotyping in the UK: Racism is rooted in the ancient British traditions, and it is still very prevalent. Home Office recorded 109 843 race hate motivated crimes in the 2021/2022 UK. In the Buckingham Palace, reports have surfaced about racial rhetoric against Meghan Markel which led to the resignation of Prince Harry from royal duties.  In 2022, a video emerged where King Charles seems to have stylishly skipped shaking hands with a black man.  This racist issues ordinarily would have deterred a black, a Nigerian from favouring UK for asylum, but alas! This indicates the existence of serious push factors in Nigeria which worsens brain drain. 

5. High Cost of Living in the UK: In the recent times, President Tinubu’s aide made the headlines claiming that $1 could buy a meal in Nigeria as a way of saying that NNigerians are not as poor as the international poverty standards would want us to believe. He spoke the truth but that is not the whole truth as $1 is not easily earned in Nigeria when judged by the minimum wage of 70,000 Naira per month, whereas $1 equals 1,600 Naira at the moment.  However, the cost of living in the UK (not comparatively) has worsened. Up till 2022, consumer goods price rose sharply by over 9%, which was found to be the fastest in four decades. This shows that workers had reduced savings. Continued struggles by Nigerians to migrate to the UK despite the lacklustre macroeconomic indices indicate an emergency situation in the problem of brain drain in Nigeria.