President Bola Tinubu assured Nigerians on Monday that they should not be concerned about the mass exodus of skilled workers from the country, assuring them that the Federal Government, in collaboration with sub-nationals, will train more people to fill the professional gap that has emerged in the health, technology, and other sectors.
The President addressed during Governor Hope Uzodimma’s second term inauguration in Owerri, the capital of Imo State.
Tinubu told the people of the state shortly after taking the oath of office that education for children and youths is a top priority for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“You see the priority in industrialisation. Healthcare will receive more allocation and more attention.
“Don’t worry about what you are hearing about the Japa syndrome, we will train more people and we will supply them self,” he said.
The President also assured the people of the South-East that “the peace you are enjoying here will be better and we will work more to achieve that peace”.
‘Japa’, a colloquial for the emigration phenomenon that hit Nigeria hard since the COVID-19 pandemic, has caused unprecedented shortage of skilled manpower in many sectors, especially the health sector which contends with myriad issues like poor pay and welfare package.
The United Kingdom, the United States and Canada are top destinations for Nigerian youths who are relocating in pursuit of better education, employment and security purposes, among other reasons.
With Nigeria’s unemployment rate at a new record high of 33.3 percent, the mass exodus known as the ‘Japa’ phenomenon is in full swing.