President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, assured Nigerians not to be bothered about the mass exodus of skilled workers from the country, assuring the citizens that the Federal Government in collaboration with sub-nationals will train more persons to fill the professional gap now conspicuous in health, tech and other sectors.
The President spoke in Owerri, the Imo State capital, during the second term inauguration of Governor Hope Uzodimma.
Addressing the people of the state shortly after the governor took the oath of office, Tinubu said the education of children and youths is a priority for the administration of 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 for the emigration phenomenon that hit Nigeria hard since the COVID-19 pandemic, has caused unprecedented shortage of skilled manpower in many sectors, especially the health sector which contends with myriad issues like poor pay and welfare package.
The United Kingdom, the United States and Canada are top destinations for Nigerian youths who are relocating in pursuit of better education, employment and security purposes, among other reasons.
With Nigeria’s unemployment rate at a new record high of 33.3 percent, the mass exodus known as the ‘Japa’ phenomenon is in full swing.
Credit: The Nigeria Lawyer