A PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH TO THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF FORCED MIGRATION IN NIGERIA

  • Hyginus Chibuike Ezebuilo, PhD
Keywords: migration, politics, economy, development, policy, Nigeria

Abstract

The political economy of a country is pivotal to its economic dynamics as well as its social system. Nigeria is the most populous Black Country, with an estimated population of about 160 million people. The country has become an epicenter of various crises comprising economic, social, and political dimensions over the years. Her post colonial experience has been marked by truncated development and frustrated hope. The failure of governance manifests in poor socio-economic performance, causing suffering and unfulfilled expectations as well as facilitated insurgency, conflicts and political instability. The involvement of multi-lateral development agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in the management of the nation’s economy further aggravated the development challenges. These conditions have led to the massive migration of Nigerian citizens including trained professionals like doctors, nurses, engineers and academics to developed countries around the world, a situation conceptualized in this paper as forced migration. Contrary to the prevailing notion that the migration of skilled professionals is voluntary and advantageous for the sending country in terms of brain gain, brain circulation and remittances, Nigeria as a sending country lose more as it is deprived of the expertise and services of these migrants, which is critically important for its development. This paper, therefore, recommends that Nigeria should re-orient her development strategies towards ensuring that the conditions that necessitated the forced migration of her citizens from all walks of life are mitigated such that when people migrate, it will be done on a voluntary basis. Also, in view of the current reality that substantial numbers of Nigerians now work as professionals outside the country, deliberate efforts should be made by the government to creatively engage this Diaspora population towards achieving the much needed development goals.

Published
2022-07-03
Section
Articles