ANALYSIS OF THE BRAIN DRAIN ISSUE IN NIGERIA
I was watching the local news one evening and a very senior government official was lamenting the brain drain issue. He went on to describe the classes of citizenship the “drained brain” should expect to have in his host country, ranging from 2nd class to 3rd class and so on. It got me wondering, why are we willing to leave this country at all costs and for anything at all? Why would most Nigerian rather be 2nd class citizens elsewhere than 1st class Nigerian citizens.
My answer is this, we are in danger!
When a state is so incapacitated that it loses the ability to guarantee the most fundamental obligation to the citizenry, it becomes a danger not only to itself, but to the entire global system. When people no longer feel the need to do what is right, for the mere fact that it is the right thing to do, when there has to be a negative and non-apparent ulterior reason behind every decision, every policy and every action, then it is safe to say that the future of that society is being endangered.
When states exist in the twilight zone between outright failure and a degree of sovereign credibility as found in Nigeria, this danger increases. It is then more difficult to identify the areas and most importantly, the procedure through which to make the required changes for the revitalization of such a state. Things only seem to be working, but all you need to do is look deeper than the regular outsider is willing or able to, and you will realize that it is just a smoke screen. Corruption is the order of the day. And the society very quickly experiences a progressive descent towards an identity as a failed state.
The underpaid policeman who stands on the road with an AK 47 is a potential criminal by nightfall, the legislators that throw punches on the floor of the house of assembly cannot be the persons that are expected to make the laws that should govern a Federal Republic, the “unemployable” graduates who delve into internet fraud are not the ones expected to take over from the brawling legislators, students in the secondary schools and in the universities who only use their creative abilities for exam malpractices are not the ones you expect to become the leaders of tomorrow.
This results in a vicious positive feedback cycle that will end up destroying the very fabric of our existence. Every young person aspires to become a leader, not to make any changes, but to become the big boss, to have the control of the resources, to loot and steal as much as possible and as fast as possible. This society is on the verge of self-destruction, for when the future is dead, there can be no sustainable development, there is no hope and there is certainly no reason to plan an existence here.
