BRAIN DRAIN: Nigeria’s Loss of Skilled Manpower 
Nigeria, one of the ten top countries experiencing brain drain, is losing one of its most valuable resources, intelligent people. Brain drain, or capital flight, denotes the “large-scale emigration of individual with technical skills or knowledge” moving to places of higher pay, better conditions and more prosperous opportunity.
Amidst growing political unrest, poverty, mass unemployment, and little hope for a future in their homeland, many highly educated Nigerians are being pulled away to jobs in the United States and Europe. With little to motivate them to stay, and their country desperate for them to stay, engineers and medical professionals are among 11 to 17 million people to leave the country for better jobs in other countries since Nigeria’s civil war in the 60’s. Of the 2 million Nigerians living in the U.S., about 20,000 of them are doctors and over 10,000 are scholars.
Africa is losing the very people needed for economic, social, scientific and technological progress. Ironically, Africa spends $4 billion dollars annually to employ about 100,000 Western experts to perform functions described as technical assistance.
In 2003, the European Commission for Africa, reported that 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa lost 15% of its skilled workers to the U.S. and Europe.
The Cause? A lack of leadership in building a stable capacity of sustainability. Visionless leadership that yields its power irresponsibly through influence of politics, religion and economy results in promoting their own agenda instead of doing the most good for the masses. The cost of corruption by leaders is to the “determent of Nigeria’s economy”. Frustrated, unemployed and poverty stricken individuals resort to crime, only fueling social dilapidation. Funding Nigeria’s economy by diverting misused monies, will help support the end of the brain drain.
Many of our best men and women for lack of opportunity and challenge at home have had to work outside our shores. We should challenge them to return by putting in place the enabling environment and the tools, with which they will be able to give this country the full benefit of their education, training and experience. I recognize that just as there are good and bright Nigerians abroad, there have remained many at home who have persevered. I salute them and assure them that their sacrifice, perseverance and tenacity will be recognized and rewarded by a grateful nation.-Diaspora Nigerians
The former U.S. ambassador of Nigeria stated, in 2013, that over three million Nigerians were living in the U.S. and Canada. This country’s greatest export, well-educated people, remain working in these countries out of fear of returning to find corruption and insecurity still part of the daily regime. Of the 71,740 practitioners listed on the Medical and Dental Health Council of Nigeria, about 27,000 remain in Nigeria.
While one study by Venture Capital for Africa reported in 2012 that 70% of African Diasporan MBA’s plan to return to Africa, time will tell if that will become a reality.
http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2011/07/10-countries-facing-the-biggest-brain-drain/
http://tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/editorial/item/2240-prohibit-capital-flight-to-stop-boko-haram-other-menaces.html
http://rjopes.emergingresource.org/articles/LEADERSHIP.pdf
http://wol.iza.org/articles/brain-drain-from-developing-countries-1.one-pager.pdf