logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2023
18m 56s

Nigeria's brain drain

Bbc World Service
About this episode

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

Up next
Yesterday
Making a career from golf in Africa
As the continent aims to grow the sport, we hear from professional golfers who say they’re having to take on other jobs because there’s not enough money in the sport yet. Would a more organised competition structure, with more regular competitions, offer more opportunities to win ... Show More
17m 27s
Aug 25
Is Gen Z the most investment-savvy generation?
Generation Z - people born in the mid-to-late 1990s up to the early 2010s - is reportedly the new driving force behind retail investing. We look at the areas they are investing in, and why financial influencers are not always what they seem. To get in touch with the programme, se ... Show More
17m 28s
Aug 24
Spain's power blackout: what went wrong?
On the morning of the 28th of April, Spain lost electric power equivalent to that generated by ten nuclear plants, leaving the whole of the Iberian Peninsula, including Portugal and parts of France, without electricity for up to 12 hours. We examine the cause of the blackout that ... Show More
17m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2022
Why is Nigeria’s economy ‘doing a dance’?
Last month Emirates Airlines announced it was halting flights to Nigeria – saying it was owed millions of dollars. The plight of passengers suddenly forced to find creative and expensive ways to travel thousands of miles grabbed the world’s attention – and within days of the cris ... Show More
15m 37s
Dec 2023
Why has Nigeria failed to deal with recurrent violence?
Hundreds of people have been killed and injured in attacks by armed groups in Plateau State in Nigeria. What are the root causes of this violence? And what does it mean for Nigeria's future? Join host Laura Kyle. Guests: Isa Sanusi - Nigeria Country Director at Amnesty Internatio ... Show More
24m 41s
Feb 2023
Nigeria at a turning point
At a time when global democracy is under pressure, this month’s elections in Nigeria could prove critical. Africa’s largest economy is at a turning point, with the population growing and getting younger, and the results there could have a major impact globally. One of Nigeria’s b ... Show More
55 m
Feb 2024
The bandit kidnap crisis in Nigeria
Nigeria is struggling with a kidnapping epidemic. Every year hundreds of people are abducted and held for ransom. The kidnap crisis hit the headlines ten years ago when the Chibok school girls were snatched by Boko Haram militants - but now, arguably, the problem has got worse. W ... Show More
14m 3s
May 2020
Couples Under Lockdown: Lagos, Nigeria
Last summer they left everything they'd built in Seattle for a chance at a very different life. He took a dream turn to expand his company and be closer to home; she gave up her nursing job to manage their girls and explore new horizons abroad. COVID-19 hits as they watch the fat ... Show More
56m 13s
Jun 2021
Nigeria’s kidnapped children
Since December, gangs have seized more than a thousand students and members of staff from schools in armed raids across northern Nigeria. The wave of abductions is having devastating consequences for the country, which already has the highest number of children out of education a ... Show More
26m 28s
Feb 2023
Nigeria Is In Turmoil. Can A New President Fix It?
As Nigerians decide on a new president, the country’s economy is reeling. Nigeria’s public debt is growing, inflation is soaring, and half of adults can’t find steady work. People wait in line for hours at gas stations to fill their cars and light their homes with generators beca ... Show More
25m 6s
Jul 2021
Is Nigeria becoming impossible to govern?
The kidnapping of at least 140 schoolchildren in the north-west of Nigeria is the latest crime to shake a country already struggling to contain militants in the north and separatists in the south. Add to this young protesters on the streets amid rising food prices and crime and t ... Show More
23m 41s