Vol. 12, Issue 3, 2024
Poverty and the Philosophy of Brain Drain in Nigeria
SANNI MUFUTAU OLAYIWOLA
Abstract
Poverty has become an endemic hydra-headed monster that has always been a
clog standing in the way of development in Nigeria, since the independence
and post-independence era. So many public governmental policies have been
employed to mitigate against the impact of poverty on the Nigerian populace, particularly among the youth and young adult segment of the two hundred
million Nigerian population. Little wonder, an average Nigerian youth seeks
solace in seeking and grabbing a greener pasture outside the shores of Nigeria
despite the various poverty alleviation programs that are ongoing in his
country of origin, he seems to have dashed all hopes and crave for a better life
abroad. A statement was credited to a Nigerian formal head of state, Major
General Yakubu Gowon, that he said “The problem of Nigeria is not Money
but how to spend it” it is important to note that suffering in the midst of plenty
is one of the indices used in measuring the level of poverty in a particular
society. When resources are available in abundance and such resources are
mismanaged, the proceeds from these resources are embezzled, it is too
definite that citizens of this kind of a country will be plunged into poverty
leaving them to find any possible means of survival. The most potent means of
survival well known to Nigerians is “Japa Philosophy”, that is, seeking greener
pastures in a seemingly prosperous country across the globe; leading to brain
drain in such a society. This paper argued that brain drain will not stop
recurring in Nigeria until the looming poverty question in Nigeria is fully
addressed. The study is descriptive in nature, secondary data was employed;
qualitative technique was used for the analysis using thematic approach and
the study was anchored on relative deprivation theory
Keywords
Keywords: Poverty, Philosophy, Brain Drain
Full Text
Download
References
Ainddin, U. M., & Wahid, R. (2016). Politics of poverty alleviation programs in Nigeria: Challenges and
prospects. Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 4. Cambridge Dictionary. (2016). [www.dictionary.cambridge.org](www.dictionary.cambridge.org). Concern Worldwide US. (2022). Causes of poverty around the world. [http://concernusa.org/news/cause- of-poverty/](http://concernusa.org/news/cause-of-poverty/). David, A. K., Chiawa, M. A., & Aboiyar, T. (2016). Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research. [www.jsaer](www.jsaer). David, G. (2019). Relative deprivation theory. University of Bristol, UK. Ebalu, G. O. (2019). The effect of brain drain and migration on Nigeria. Development Journal of African
Studies and Sustainable Development, 2(1). Emeghara, E. E. (2013). Brain drain as clog in the wheel of Nigeria’s development: The university
education system in focus. *International Journal of Development and Management Review
(INJODEMAR), 8. Haughton, J., & Khandker, S. R. (Eds.). (2009). Handbook on poverty and inequality. Washington, D.C.:
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Bank. Heather, J., Pettigrew, T. F., & Pippin, G. M. (2011). Relative deprivation: A theoretical and meta- analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 16(13). [www.researchgate.net](www.researchgate.net). International Labour Organization (ILO). (2019). International Labour Organization statement on
working poverty. [https://ilostat.ilo.org](https://ilostat.ilo.org). International Monetary Fund (IMF). (1999). [www.imf.org](www.imf.org). International Monetary Fund (IMF). (2021). Annual report 2021. [www.imf.org](www.imf.org). Joseph, K. O. (2021). Poverty alleviation strategies and the challenges of governance in Nigeria. [https://core.ac.uk](https://core.ac.uk). Ogbu, E. (2019). Migration and the philosophy of brain drain in Nigeria. Journal of African Studies and
Sustainable Development, 2(4). Ojiugwu, G., Enibe, R., Umeh, C., & Jennifer, E. (2021). Brain drain and sustainable development in
Nigeria, 2000-2015. University of Nigeria Journal of Political Economy, 11(1). Pettigrew, T. F. (2015). Samuel Stouffer and relative deprivation. Social Psychology Quarterly, 78(1). Stephen, R. (2021). International migration and brain drain: Drags on sustainable development in Nigeria. Mond’O POli. Success, K., Anyanwu, I. K., & Chilaka, N. (2017). Analysis of drives of incidences of poverty. Journal
of Economic and Sustainable Development, 8(4). United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2018). UNDP annual report. [annualreport.undp.org](annualreport.undp.org). United Nations Security Council (UNSC). (2019). Security Council report. [www.securitycouncilreport.org](www.securitycouncilreport.org). United Nations. (2020). On ending poverty. [www.un.org](www.un.org). World Bank Report. (2020). World Bank annual report, 2020. [https://openknowledge.worldbank.org](https://openknowledge.worldbank.org). World Bank. (1999). World Bank annual report, 1999. [https://documents.worldbank.org](https://documents.worldbank.org). World Bank. (2014). World Bank annual report, 2014. [https://documents.worldbank.org](https://documents.worldbank.org). World Bank. (2015). World development report. [www.worldbank.org](www.worldbank.org). World Bank. (2018). World Bank annual report. [https://documents.worldbank.org](https://documents.worldbank.org). World Bank. (2019). World development indicator. [https://dataworldbank.org/indicator](https://dataworldbank.org/indicator)