It is courageous for you to respond to one Nigerian (or is it former Nigerian) individual account of his views about gloomy conditions he or his colleagues may have encountered and your friend discouragement from returning home taking up a position in a private Nigerian University operating under US accrediting rules (i.e. a presumption by the University name). Unfortunately, and I hate to say these you provided no reference, no survey, no evidence and more importantly, as a Professor your claimed analysis served no academic use. In fact, your argument defeats your intention.
Let me begin, by saying I am one of those diaspora Nigerians and a proud Nigerian in any degree of status evaluation you might comprehend. Yes, I hold a PhD and LLM from Number ONE Law School in the World and yes I find coming home to take appointment more stressful than anything else. I will give you my reasons below but for now in few words I will say to you that Nigerian varsities failed to welcome majority of us home.
As you claimed to have been previously based somewhere in the first World and you failed to identify your economic and familial status, I think you owed to us disclosure of such information not just because you are an academic but for comparative analysis with the other writer, Akabogu-Collins. Without taking side, I can respectfully say to you that the foundation of your writing sounds more like fiction than reality and I doubt any mathematician (your field of expertise) will disagree with me.
I write in response to your claim based on facts and personal knowledge and reference points. You will find out that security is not just about personal safety but many activities, for example, economic, acceptance, etc. Enjoy it.
Obstacles faced by returning Nigerians in Diaspora (these are security concern)
1. Economic
2. Family
3. Stature
4. Acceptance
5. Environment
Economic
This issue concerns the state of the country’s economy in turn translating into individual financial well-being. It is too simplistic to say salaries in Nigeria is the only factor in the argument why Nigerians failed to return home and I will say the main reason is financial stability of the country as a whole including the industry those returnees will park their future. As to the University system, I should ask why, Sir, you did not work for the public University system? If it is based on financial considerations then I will say to you, that you are not really interested in changing our government as your writing suggests. Here, your argument dissipates because colloquially, money for hand back for ground.
Simply because Nigerians sought higher paying jobs abroad does not diminish the status of the country rather it improves the intellectual wealth of our dear father/motherland in the eyes of the world. Hardly, do you find anyone abroad that will say to you that Nigerians are uneducated rather you will hear that they are very intelligent even in the face of negative criminal minds flux of media.
The World has become a global market and the highest bidder usually win the prize and patriotism has evaporated somehow even in Nigeria. Our governments and private companies never hired a local construction firms to build a bridge or national structures or major academic buildings including your University. Then, if a Nigerian with such skills wandering the streets was offered job let say in Calgary, Canada in the Oil fields to build the same road we in Nigeria failed to consider him for, then who are we deceiving in the spirit of patriotism. Again I say, your argument requires proof that the country its meeting its ‘NATIONALISTIC’ agenda (if any).
Family
I could play a game of chicken in this and that is, who feeds our children? Is it the government, private sectors other than parents or the parents? No matter what, the primary giver is the parent and by extended definition the society we find ourselves.
Hardly, do I find anyone who traveled abroad to get an education finds it easy to get such education in Nigeria. Yes some of us got that opportunity at home before leaving the country and by that movement we indeed at times made new families of our own. And I ask who is responsible for these new families and under what law? This answer should be obvious in light of my argument above, but the law here is not Nigeria’s law and that is different set of rules. In particular, the consequences absentee parents faced or removing the children may be too great of obstacles for majority (not crime but civil requirements).
Here is an example, a father who earns N800,000 per month as a lecturer / professor abroad suddenly decides to take an appointment in Nigeria for N200,000 per month. The question is, is it automatic that his financial obligations to his children will automatically change to that N200,000 per month? Never, that N800,000 determines the amount that father will pay in child support and in all likelihood that child support will exceed N200,000. Whose interest is it to be a responsible parent? I will say this again, patriotism has nothing to do with it.
Stature
No point of reference was provided by the Professor on anything but I can say that a well-to-do Nigerian abroad will definitely face challenges enumerated above (economic and familial). Legitimate earnings in Nigeria simply make no sense unless the individual is simply doing charitable work. From personal perspective, I can say I have advised the rulers (relatively speaking) of Nigeria and my writings are all over the place (including the web please check) but yet access to Nigerian Academia is not a given.
Specifically, though I nursed few academic appointments in the past and now both home and abroad but I can assure you in material respect, if you find me in any lecture theatre, it will not be for patriotism but rather for my children and followers children. Yes, I do have an audience and can pack a stadium.
This status I find myself, was not part of the reasoning for appointment however, I will speak on it below. Though, some of my colleagues would argue that they have to maintain their status in case things don’t work out especially in unstable economy. They will cite that their curriculum (CV) vitae may diminish their academic worthiness due to appointment in Nigeria, more importantly their salary scale (next appointment in US or elsewhere are usually based on previous salary). I am very sure, if Professor Shilgba had held post in University abroad, he will agree to this.
Acceptance
The NUC has a program where local Universities are encouraged to invite Nigerians abroad with distinguish scholarships to come home as a visitor in local institutions. The funding requirements include a free airfare, free accommodation and $2,500 in salary for the Scholar.
Few of my colleagues applied to some of the Universities and I can say that, ‘it aint so’. Social worries were involved (nepotism, delays, favoritism, etc.) and none of them got any appointment from any federal university and the private universities did not even bother to respond to them. But I can also say luck can be blamed as well against them. In one instance, the University want an Associate Professor in US to come as a visiting lecturer because of lack of 20pages of publications and I said to him I came across such requirements myself. And I said my reply was that, the weight of such publications matters I mean, if a publication cannot influence decision makers or bring value to that University in terms of research funding, and then what is the value? Nevertheless, this issue standing alone cannot be said to be a welcoming agenda for retuning Nigerians.
Environment
There are just too much to be said about security but no one ever considers issues concerning health, weather, people and other social issues affecting the self. I categorize all of this as the environmental factors.
Generally, no one return to Nigeria without facing one negative concern simply because he is a returnee. This happens in Universities campuses every single day and unbelievably so from professors and other colleagues. Backbiting, favoritism, typecasting and many other unwelcoming behaviors are prominent. Again, Professor Shilgba let us be honest here.
I could go on and on but the point is, our friend in his open letter to Nigerians in Diaspora letter failed woefully in convincing anyone abroad rather, he incited negative response like what I have identified here but the fact of the matter is, Professor Shilgba is courageous and has fundamental right to speak his mind so do anyone else.
The Nigerian Universities (public or private) must encourage not discourage returnees with publication requirements that makes no sense if the returning Nigerians simply want to advance the country’s youth.
I rest
Dr. Rashid A. Balogun, CPA, LLB(Hons.), LLM(London)
rbaloguncpa@hotmail.com
