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Nigeria in the International Students Market(2)

At a time when the nations are scrambling for the windfalls of the international students’ market,

Nigeria is losing fortunes in this very lucrative trade. A screaming headline in a Nigerian daily

recently declared that Nigerians spent over 160 billion Naira to fund the education of their children

in Ghana; and that is just the tip of the iceberg. In addition, Nigeria contributed over 246 billion

Naira to the educational sector in Britain in 2010. At the moment, Nigerians living in Nigeria (that is,

excluding those in Diaspora) may be spending well over a trillion Naira on the education of their

children all over the world; more than double the 426 billion Naira proposed for education in the

2013 budget of the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

But what do we really expect? The resources allocated to the Nigerian education project are

diminishing. In the 2012 budget, it was only about 8.5 percent of the total budget and the value has

not appreciated significantly in the proposed 2013 budget presented by the President. Even so, a

significant proportion of the little allocated to the sector would be eventually lost to

maladministration and corruption. Consequently, the existing infrastructure in the public

educational institutions has collapsed and construction of new facilities has stagnated.

To make matters worse, the macro environment in which the tertiary educational system is

operating has deteriorated. In spite of the reforms in the power sector, power is still not guaranteed

in Nigeria and municipal water supply remains a mirage in many urban centers. Violent crimes have

taken over the land. Kidnapping, murder and armed robbery have become our everyday experience.

Many qualified academics have fled their fatherland for safety. Many in Diaspora would not return

because they feel it is not safe. Perchance, they may change their mind and return if offered the

right incentives – including at least, a bullet proof car! Some states in the country could easily be

declared disaster zones unsuitable for any form of academic activity because of unprecedented

terrorist attacks on pupils, students and their teachers.

The administration of the educational sector has been chaotic to say the least. Policy inconsistencies

and somersaults have become one of its constant features. Failure in management is a major reason

for the poor quality of her products. Major appointments into various segments of the educational

sector are made for political exigencies and many so appointed are incompetent and are neither

able to implement existing policies nor formulate new ones.

Major actors in the sector have lost confidence in the public sector of the system. Many Vice

Chancellors and lecturers in public university send their children to private universities in Nigeria and

abroad, including Ghana, while contributing their own quota to the mess in the Nigerian education

system through gross mismanagement of scarce resources and corrupt practices! Principals and

teachers in public secondary school send their children to private schools in and outside Nigeria

because they have no confidence in themselves nor in the establishments they preside over.

Children of political office holders and administrators are “posted” abroad at a very early age to

attend schools ranging from the kindergarten to the university, lavishly funded by tax payers’ money

to the detriment of the rest of the system. One may wish to ask our state and national leaders in the

three arms of government; where are your children?

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The federal and state governments have also given up on the nation’s educational institutions.

Instead of attempting to salvage the system, they have suddenly found it fashionable to sponsor

prospective students abroad to acquire higher education at very high costs while the local

institutions lie in ruins. A state government recently found sufficient funds to send her medical

students to Ukraine to complete their medical training because they did not have enough to provide

the facilities required locally – how ridiculous!.

As a result of this systemic decay, many Nigerians trained abroad do not return to their fatherland

even after successfully completing their studies; why should they return to the mess they fled from

in the first place? Even some that returned under the terms of their sponsorship agreement often

flee the country of their birth as soon as they fulfill the terms of their bond to join the ever growing

pool of Nigerians in Diaspora.

On the whole, the international students market is generating a huge windfall for the destination

countries with benefits including a robust educational system, an expanded economy with extensive

job creation and a well educated and well trained workforce all contributed by funds and personnel

from the underdeveloped economies. But for my beloved country Nigeria, it is a disaster of

unprecedented proportions leaving in its wake unparalleled capital flight, brain drain, a poorly

trained workforce, and a crumbling educational system.