DIASPORIC MIGRATION AMONGST NIGERIAN YOUTHS: AUTOPIAN ESCAPE

Abstract

The term ‘Japa’ is a slang amongst Nigerian youths for diasporic sojourns, in search of greener pastures. Some decades ago, these youths were practically ‘enticed’ to take up ‘western offers’, in the face of an economically buoyant nation. Today, Nigerians contend with an impoverished, unstable economy and its associated problems of unemployment, hunger, occupational insecurities, political thuggery, insurgencies and others. This saddening situation has birthed the utopian idea of seeking refuge, outside the country. Diasporic migrations in contemporary times, have portrayed the ‘west’ as the safe haven for fulfilled dreams, juxtaposing it with the denigrated image of the African continent and its vicissitudes of shattered dreams, frustrations and socio- economic uncertainties. This study debunks the idea of the West as the promised land, with easy life without hardwork; as most Nigerians migrate from the African space, giving up on their native soil that could have been revamped with a committed and collective efforts. This trend leaves a more impoverished society because the best brains end up in strange and developed societies. The study adopts a qualitative methodology, using  relevant texts and journals,in  examining the causes of youth migration in Nigeria, its effects and the frustration that comes with an overrated expectation of the western society. The result points to the mirage of the ‘japa’ syndrome amongst Nigerian youths, as they end up chasing ‘shadows’ in foreign lands.