Brain drain in Nigeria will boost remittances, foreign investments, says IMF

Abebe Selassie, the director, African department, International Monetary Fund (IMF), says the Nigerian government can take advantage of the ‘japa’ frenzy.

Japa is a local parlance for Nigerian youths trooping out of the country in search of greener pastures in foreign countries.

Selassie said it could benefit the Nigerian government through investments and remittances, which he said has become important to African countries.

He spoke about the impact of brain drain on Nigeria while fielding questions on Friday, at the ongoing IMF-World Bank annual meetings at Marrakech, Morocco. 

“… yes, it is a drain, but I think we also need to see ways in which we can have people outside the continent contributing back to the continent,” he said. 

The IMF director said nobody can stop people from relocating “but once they’re outside, I think finding ways in which they can continue to contribute, of course, how important remittances are for our countries right now”.

He added that “also finding ways in which you can attract more investment perhaps is also another way that we can work on once people have left the continent”.

Selassie said for the government to encourage the youths to stay back, there is a need to make the economy attractive, which is why reforms are vital.

He said the reforms should not just focus on attracting foreign businesses to invest in the country but also make it possible for citizens to flourish.