House rejects motion on ‘japa’ as a national emergency

A motion seeking to stop ‘japa’, a trend that has seen many Nigerians relocate to other countries for greener pastures has been rejected by the House of Representatives.

The motion was presented by Philip Agbese (APC-Benue), a lawmaker who used to live in the UK on Thursday, June 15.

Agbese lamented that the growing statistics of young Nigerians leaving the country and securing permanent residence in the UK, the USA, and Canada is a grave challenge for the country as it affects its economic, intellectual and social wellbeing.

He called for the trend to be declared as a “national emergency”, while also pointing out that there’s been a 40 per cent increase in the number of young Nigerians leaving the nation compared to what the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) captured and reported in 2019.

The lawmaker noted that the UN DESA reported that international emigration from Nigeria in 2020 totalled 1.7 million, which was a substantial increase from 990,000 in 2010.

Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas placed the motion to a voice vote shortly after it was presented. Majority of the members voted nay and the motion was stepped down.