Nigerian Emigration: The Inconvenient Truth. By Towuromola 'Romy' Fawehinmi my nephew (First published in Medium)

Nigerian Emigration: The Inconvenient Truth

Unreported Nigeria

Jul 5 · 6 min read

Before the coronavirus outbreak, one could argue that the happiest places in Nigeria were the departure gates of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA). For some passengers, these trips have become routine or more poignantly, part and parcel of a self-imposed double life (one foot in the west, one foot at home). These travellers are easy to spot — they engage in comfortable banter with airline staff and are more often than not dressed appropriately (during winter, most can be seen holding coats). In sharp contrast to the aforementioned regular travellers are those that are bidding Nigeria goodbye for an indefinite period of time. For many of these passengers, the journey to the crowded gates of MMIA has been fraught with obstacles that could only be overcome by a combination of emotional support, financial resources, prayers to a deity and perhaps, crime.

The reasons for the en masse departures are clear. One of the key responsibilities of a government is to create conditions that facilitate economic growth and curb unemployment. Nigeria continues to perform poorly against this metric. In recent times, Nigeria has gone from one economic shock to another and has failed to wean itself off its oil dependency and the ills of corruption. Furthermore, our tertiary education system continues to produce graduates that are surplus to the requirements of the local economy — the Nigerian government estimates that the unemployment rate will rise to 34% by the end of 2020.

Given this backdrop, we must accept human capital flight as a necessary reality. That said, emigration is far from a zero-sum game. Bearing in mind that a substantial number of our emigrants are headed to non-African nations, our pre-departure counsel to our sons and daughters are often focused on topics such as climate and racism. As a consequence of the latest global protests, our advice is likely to be even more skewed towards the latter. Matters of race and migration are similar in many aspects — they are emotive and complex. However, this article aims to look beyond race and shine a light on the overlooked externalities of emigration from the perspective of the individual.

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Prospective Nigerian emigrants are somewhat similar to prisoners in that both adopt “an anywhere is better than here” mindset. To a certain extent, such sentiment is justified. A Nigerian that moves to a developed country is almost certain that he/she will quickly climb the bottom rungs of Maslow’s pyramid i.e. have access to food, water, warmth, rest, security and safety. For those that are ambitious, of which there are many, they will rise to the peak of the pyramid and achieve self-actualization. Nevertheless, an immigrant’s ability to ascend Maslow’s pyramid in their new home is based on several factors such as available economic opportunities, one’s skills & qualifications and most importantly, the host nation’s culture and attitude to immigration.

Let’s turn our attention to the last two factors. Acculturative stress or culture shock is arguable the most understated cost of emigration. If one makes the reasonable assumption that the degree of culture shock than an immigrant experiences is positively correlated with the magnitude of cultural variance between home and host nations, then the natural question is “how does one quantify national cultural differences?” Fortunately for us, renowned Dutch social psychologist, Geert Hofstede, solved this puzzle during his lifetime.

Hofstede developed a model of national culture that was based on the following six dimensions: power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation and indulgence. Hofstede’s seminal framework is best illustrated with an example. Imagine a Nigerian is looking to immigrate to one of three countries: United Kingdom (“we have history”), United States (“American dream”) and Ghana (“anywhere is better”). The following graph illustrates how Hofstede would evaluate each country against each dimension.

The results paint a very clear picture. Were the Nigerian to relocate to Ghana, he/she would have to make very small adjustments to adapt to Ghanaian society. However, if he/she wanted to make a living as a Brit/American, significant changes would have to be implemented.

First and foremost, he/she would have to become less indulgent. Hofstede characterizes Nigerian culture as one of the most indulgent on the planet. Put bluntly, we place a higher degree of importance on leisure, act as we please and spend as we wish. In addition, he/she would have to abandon a collectivist mindset as British and American culture are based on individuals taking care of themselves as well as their families. In essence, it will no longer be “We” but “I”. The coronavirus pandemic has provided us with case studies of this effect — at the height of the plague, many well-to-do Nigerians would have received requests for financial support from friends, family, former staff etc. The brutal reality is pleas of this nature are alien to British and American culture.

In my previous article, I highlighted the popularity of hyperbolic greetings within Nigerian culture (“Oga”, “Big Boy”, “Big Girl”, “My Chair”, “My Chairman”, “My Chief” etc.) Hofstede’s research suggests that such norms should be expected as Nigerian society is typified by a high degree of power distance. Essentially, Nigerians believe that the distribution of power must be accepted and not questioned. In this regard, Nigeria couldn’t be more different from the US and the UK. In both nations, power distribution is constantly challenged. Once again, the last few months have offered us evidence of this phenomenon — despite the dangers of the virus, thousands of British and American citizens have protested about inequality in their respective societies. As it relates to our aspiring immigrant, living in an environment with low power distance may likely be a welcome development.

Coupled with cultural differences, a host country’s attitude towards immigration is another key determinant of the level of culture shock that an immigrant will experience. Sticking with our examples of potential destinations, the US and the UK, one observes different views on immigration.

Academic literature proposes four types of acculturation strategies namely assimilation, separation, integration and marginalization. Assimilation, which is sometimes enforced by governments, occurs when an individual adopts the cultural norms of a host culture over his/her own original culture. Those looking to immigrate to the US must be aware of Americanization, the superpower’s historical assimilations strategy. With origins dating back to the 1910s, Americanization was a national initiative that enabled immigrants to assimilate into American society. Immigrants had to learn not only the English language but also American culture, values and customs.

In later decades, Americanization began to lose its relevance as it was perceived as coercive and disrespectful. Even so, its effects are still felt today. As an ardent fan of US sports, it has long intrigued me that Nigerian sportsmen are often addressed by their Americanized nicknames: Hakeem Olajuwon (“Keem the Dream”) and Christian Okoye (“Nigerian Nightmare”). This naming practice is not limited to Nigerians, Greek NBA superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose parents are both Nigerian is known as “Greek Freak”. From a financial standpoint, the Americanization of names helps an immigrant’s bottom line — In 2013, several scholars published a paper titled “The Economic Payoff of Name Americanization” which concluded that migrants that Americanized their names were economically better off. Whilst I hold the view that no harm is meant by these names or nicknames, I acknowledge that they can be hurtful to those that are proud of their roots. For those of us that have family and friends that are states bound, don’t be surprised if Seun becomes Sean, Abiodun becomes Abi and Chioma becomes Chi.

Unlike the US, the UK employs an integrative approach to achieve acculturation. The UK has become a multicultural society by fostering integration i.e. allowing migrants to adopt British cultural norms whilst maintaining those of their home nation. Case in point — in 2018, Muhammad was the 8th most popular name for baby boys in England and Wales; it was more prominent than Charlie, Thomas and William.

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So why is all of this important? Unfortunately, like COVID-19, there is no vaccine for Nigeria’s economic malaise. Migrant traffic will continue to be one way — OUT! In that vein, it is the duty of those that have spent significant time on Western shores to offer candid insights to outbound Nigerians on the challenges of life abroad. Culture shock and identity crises are real issues, and if not discussed sensitively, they can lead to emotional scar tissue.