PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu today assured Nigerians that they should not be concerned about the country’s mass exodus of skilled workers, saying that the Federal Government, in collaboration with sub-nationals, will train more people to fill the professional gap that is now visible in health, technology, and other sectors.
The President spoke in Owerri, the capital of Imo State, during the inauguration of Governor Hope Uzodimma’s second term.
Tinubu, speaking to the people of the state shortly after taking the oath of office, stated that education for children and adolescents is a top priority for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“You see the priority in industrialisation. Healthcare will receive more allocation and more attention.
“Don’t worry about what you are hearing about the Japa syndrome, we will train more people and we will supply them self,” he said.
The President also assured the people of the South-East that “the peace you are enjoying here will be better and we will work more to achieve that peace”.
‘Japa’, a colloquial term for the emigration phenomena that has hit Nigeria hard since the COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in an unprecedented shortage of skilled labour in various industries, particularly the health sector, which is dealing with a slew of challenges such as low pay and a welfare package.
The United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada are popular destinations for Nigerian youths seeking better education, work, and security, among other reasons.
With Nigeria’s unemployment rate at a new high of 33.3 percent, the ‘Japa’ phenomenon, or mass exodus, is in full force.
