Japa: The rate at which Nigerians are leaving the country is alarming – Nigeria Immigration Service

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has expressed concern about the alarming rate at which Nigerians leave the country in search of greener pastures elsewhere.

On Thursday, November 3, the NIS boss in Enugu state, Joachim Olumba, spoke at a sensitization campaign for stakeholders on the scourge of Smuggling of Migrants (SOM).

“Indeed, this program couldn’t have come at a better time, given the alarming rate at which not only the youth, but also the older generation of Nigerians, are expressing a desire to leave the country.” This is causing a concerning phenomenon that has become popularly known in local parlance as “Japa.”

The Immigration boss stated that the appetite to jet out of the country was usually driven largely by social, economic, and security concerns. He mentioned that Nigerians, especially the youth, were leaving the shores of the country in their droves.

“To many, what is paramount is to achieve the goal of migrating from the country and not the means of reaching their destinations. Whether they are smuggled or trafficked, or they even get to leave the country by means of a stowaway, does not really matter to them. The ultimate interest is to relocate to foreign lands. As far as the vast majority are concerned, the end will eventually justify the means” he said

Olumba averred that the desperation had brought unspeakable and unprintable hardships on numerous Migrants.