Nigeria’s New Labour Mobility Drive: Turning “Japa” Into a Safer Pathway

In an interview with the Director-General (DG), he explained how Nigeria is positioning its highly skilled and educated population to take advantage of legitimate employment opportunities around the world.

According to the DG, Nigeria is working with developing countries and international partners to create opportunities for Nigerians to work abroad legally, while also strengthening cooperation with countries across Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, and other parts of the world.

He noted that since the present administration came into office in 2023, greater attention has been given to the programme, with Nigeria becoming increasingly active in creating international pathways for its professionals and skilled workers.

The initiative is not limited to Nigeria’s traditional partnerships with African and Caribbean countries. The country is also expanding its engagement with other international bodies and countries through agreements designed to facilitate the movement of Nigerian professionals into foreign labour markets.

The DG pointed to recent engagements with countries such as Jamaica and Thailand as examples of this growing international cooperation.

At the centre of the programme is Nigeria’s vast pool of human capital. With a population of more than 250 million people and millions of educated and skilled citizens, Nigeria has a workforce capable of meeting labour demands in different parts of the world.

But the programme is about more than exporting labour.

The DG said one of its major objectives is to address what has become popularly known as the **“Japa syndrome”** the growing desire among Nigerians, particularly young people, to leave the country in search of better economic opportunities.

While the desire to seek better opportunities is understandable, the problem arises when people resort to irregular and dangerous routes to leave the country.

For years, some Nigerians have embarked on perilous journeys across deserts and seas, exposing themselves to human trafficking, exploitation, abuse, detention and, in some cases, death.

The DG explained that the government wants to provide a safer and more organised alternative.

Instead of Nigerians travelling through illegal channels or depending on smugglers, the aim is to establish legitimate pathways through which qualified Nigerians can be properly assessed, trained, documented and matched with employment opportunities in countries that need their skills.

In his view, such an approach could help **drastically reduce and ultimately eliminate irregular migration**, by giving Nigerians a legal route to pursue opportunities abroad.

The programme could also have significant economic benefits for Nigeria.

Nigerians working legally overseas would not only gain employment and international experience; they could also send money home to their families, increasing remittance inflows and providing another source of foreign exchange for the country.

The DG stressed that Nigeria should begin to look at its human capital as an economic asset.

Rather than seeing Nigerians who travel abroad solely as people leaving the country, the government can create a structured system that allows their skills to contribute to both their host countries and Nigeria.

For the young Nigerian who wants to build a better future, this could mean a very different kind of journey.

Instead of risking everything on an illegal route across the desert or the Atlantic, a nurse could travel through a recognised employment programme. An engineer could receive a legitimate overseas placement. A technician, teacher, IT professional or other skilled worker could secure a job through an organised process.

The goal, the DG explained, is to ensure that Nigerians who travel abroad for work do so **with dignity, proper documentation and legal protection**.

Ultimately, the programme represents an attempt to turn the challenge of “Japa” into an opportunity by replacing dangerous and irregular migration with safe, organised and dignified labour mobility.

Nigeria has the people. It has the talent. And the government’s challenge now is to build the systems and international partnerships that can connect that talent to opportunities around the world.

As the DG put it, the objective is not simply to send Nigerians abroad. It is to create a structured pathway through which Nigerian talent can be recognised, employed and valued globally while ensuring that the benefits also come back home.