I agree with Bill Gates’ comment on “japa” syndrome – Obi

Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidates of Labour Party, on Thursday, stated that he agrees with the recent comments made by Bill Gates on surge of young Nigerian professionals leaving Nigeria for “greener pastures”.

The Microsoft co-founder addressed the so-called “Japa” phenomenon on Wednesday during an interactive session with innovators on ‘Advancing Africa: Unleashing the Power of Youth in Science and Innovation’ held in Lagos State.

“In a sense, people leaving is a good thing, if you up the amount of training you’re doing,” he said. “Having a big diaspora that includes people coming back into business, into government – that’s a very healthy thing.”

According to Gates, in an instance where the government provides subsidised medical education, “one almost wishes that a little bit of that resource you get overseas would help the government increase the training”.

Otherwise, there is a significant shortage in some of those skills, he noted.

“I’m not someone who believes that no one should go away or that blocking that completely is a healthy thing,” the philanthropist stressed.

Pointing out the similarities Nigeria shares with India and China in the export of talent, he highlighted that “many” innovative immigrant doctors had spent some time in the UK and the US as part of their training.

“This idea that people go away and do great work but then they come back, if you get that in balance and figure out the education funding piece of that, that is a super healthy thing in computer science, in health, in a business, and other areas,” Gates said.

“You say, ‘Some of our doctors can go get a very high salary in the UK or the US.’ Some of them will pay to their family broadly and some of them will return.”

Reacting on Thursday morning, Peter Obi said he agrees with Bill Gates’ comment.

“I read and agree with Bill Gates’s recent comment on the “japa” syndrome, where, according to reports, he stated that the recent surge of Nigerian professionals leaving the country for greener pastures is good and healthy for our country,” the former Anambra governor noted.