People should place love for their country above financial gains. Brain drain is a problem – Akpabio tells Nigerians with ‘japa’ plans

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has urged Nigerians to prioritize their love for the nation over financial gain, expressing concern about the increasing trend of mass migration, especially among skilled professionals.

Akpabio made these remarks on Tuesday, October 8, during a Senate session while addressing a motion on the rising emigration of Nigerians.

He acknowledged that poor working conditions often drive citizens to seek better opportunities abroad but emphasized that patriotism should come first. Akpabio highlighted the exodus of Nigerian health professionals to countries like the United States and noted that the education sector is also struggling with staff shortages, affecting the quality of education. He assured that the National Assembly would continue its efforts to improve working conditions for teachers and other professionals to encourage them to remain in the country and contribute to its future.

“The country is losing its expertise. If they acquired those expertise and returned to Nigeria, it would have been better,” Akpabio stated. He emphasized that Nigeria’s development would be accelerated if those who trained abroad returned to contribute to the country’s growth, rather than seeking better opportunities elsewhere.

“I also think the conditions of service are quite responsible. I believe people should place love for their country above financial gains. That is why many of us choose to remain here,” he said.

“The brain drain is a big problem, not just in the educational sector, particularly in the health sector – it is affecting us a lot

“The greatest professionals in medicine in the USA, from what I read, some people say we have almost 22,000 health workers in there (US) who are Nigerians, and they are doing extremely well. I have seen that from different reports

“In the educational sector, the disadvantages are too numerous because some of the departments do not have even up to 50 per cent staff strength. So what then are you teaching our children? It’s like a computer, garbage in and garbage out