What exactly are the solutions to brain drain in Nigeria?
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Brain drain has been a perennial problem in Nigeria.
In this blog post, we are going to be talking about possible solutions to the problem of brain drain, especially in Nigeria.
Introduction
Brain drain is when people leave a country, especially skilled workers, so that they can go to another country for better work opportunities or for some other benefits.
Some of the causes of brain drain are listed here.
So, what are the solutions to the problem of brain drain?
Solutions To Brain Drain In Nigeria
We are going to list nine possible solutions to the problem of brain drain.
Improve Workers’ Welfare
This is one of the solutions to brain drain in Nigeria.
By worker welfare, we mean salaries, allowances, and other things that workers benefit from.
One of the main reasons why people travel abroad for opportunities is because of salaries.
In Nigeria, for instance, the minimum wage is 30,000 Naira. Even this 30,000 Naira is not being paid by all states yet.
It’s only paid by some states. This makes it frustrating for people.
They go to school, they put all their efforts into getting their degrees, and then when they leave school, they are unable to find decent jobs, especially skilled workers.
Some roam about for years in search of non-existent job opportunities, and then when they finally find work, their salaries are quite low.
The problem is when they go to countries outside Nigeria, they earn at least three or four or even more times more than what they earned in Nigeria. So, they now strive to leave.
The government should make an upward review of the minimum wage, make salaries and benefits and allowances more enticing or more appetizing so that these ones can stay.
Improve on Quality of Education as Well as Training
This is an important solution to brain drain
One of the problems that make people leave is little opportunity for learning, improvement or personal development.
Some people stay at some point knowing the same things they have known years before.
This makes it frustrating as sometimes they look at themselves and think compared to their counterparts abroad, they are not really progressing in terms of knowledge.
So, there should be an improvement in the quality of education, not just at undergraduate, but even at postgraduate level.
Also when people are employed, there should be avenues for training, and retraining opportunities on the job.
This will make the workers to be relevant and to be up to date with what going on within their fields.
Encourage Exchange Programs or Trainings in Other Countries
These exchange programme affords Nigerian workers the opportunity to learn maximize resources to become experts within their fields.
Businesses should be encouraged to invest in training and development for their employees.
By providing opportunities for employees to learn and grow, businesses can actually benefit from the inceased expertise of the trained workers.
These workers also feel more confident and happier with their jobs.
Make Work Environment Attractive
This is a solution to brain drain that should not be overlooked.
Gone are the days when companies employ people and think they’re doing them a favor. It is actually a win-win situation in which both sides benefit.
People are employed and are paid salaries by their employers.
In turn, these workers are helping their employers, including the government, achieve their goals.
Therefore, organizations should be made conducive, starting from the work environment.
It should be well-maintained and afford a sense of peace of mind.
It should not be cluttered with dirt or anything that could cause harm to the workers.
There should be harmony and happiness among the workers.
There should be bonuses and commendations for those who work well.
There shouldn’t be any rancor of any sort. In some organizations, people make it a form of duty to lord over their juniors and make life miserable for them.
This is not necessary.
Leaders or the people at top of the company hierarchy should learn to see their junior colleagues or the younger ones as part of the team and treat them as humans.
This will make people to really feel happy about going to work and contributing their quota.
Also, when a worker is sick, the employer should also be compassionate or humane to also know that these are human beings.
Unfortunately, in some organizations nobody cares and people work till they become exhausted.
Liaising With Nigerians Abroad
The truth is that it is inevitable that some people will leave the country in search of greener pastures. It is almost impossible to eliminate this.
However, the government can take that as an advantage and liaise with these people in order to tap from their increasing wealth of experience.
Some of these people can be encouraged to come back and train people that are on ground here.
They can also be encouraged to come back permanently and set up structures within their area.
For instance, hospitals.
Some people can be encouraged to come back and set up hospitals and then with the skills that they have acquired or with some new equipment they have brought, they are able to contribute their quota to improving of the health sector number.
So corruption is one of the most important factors why Nigeria is not developing as it should.
Fighting Corruption
In spite of the crude oil revenue and all the natural resources Nigeria has not developed over these years.
This makes people discouraged and they don’t even know if there is any point continuing to hope in this country.
So what happens is that the governments of everybody in this country should be committed or should be serious with the fight against corruption.
When corruption is eliminated and things work as they should, then the economy to have a big boost and impact on the Nigerian economy.
This will also encourage people to stay and even those who have left will have some confidence in investing their resources back into Nigeria.
Improvements in Infrastructure and Basic Amenities
When we talk of social amenities, we mean some of those things that the government does for its people, such as health care, education, roads, water, electricity.
These are things that have been denied a good number of Nigerians for years.
So in order to bring a permanent solution to this brain drain, these amenities should be pursued vigorously and provide them. There should be massive construction and reconstruction of roads.
Electricity provided to every area, down to the rural areas.
There should be access to clean drinking water.
There should also be access to health services, even free health care for at least pregnant women and children under five.
These things should be put in place in order to ensure that the human beings within Nigeria are handled with utmost care, as they should.
The reasons why some of the people who travel abroad travel include even roads, road networks, good transportation systems and railway system that works.
Ensuring Favourable Business Environment
So when we talk of favourable business environments, we mean creating policies and laws and even things that make encourage people to set up their businesses in Nigeria.
There are still problems that militate against people starting our business, such as lack of electricity, multiple taxation, as well as a harsh business environment.
These are things that actually stifle new businesses, even startups, and make them die out.
This makes people from other countries, as well as Nigerians that are living abroad, unwilling to invest money into Nigeria.
Encourage Research and Development
There should be research in every area, as there is always room for improvement.
The way that countries have made innovations in the past few years is by constantly pushing themselves, researching, looking for answers, and making progress.
We should not be content with the way things are.
The government should fund and encourage innovation in every sector, including health and technology.
Even young children who develop or think of something should be encouraged by the government.
Wrapping Up
We have presented 9 solutions to brain drain.
If we are serious about not losing everything, about making sure that this brain drain issue in Nigeria is brought to a halt, then all hands need to be on deck, especially the government, in terms of making policies and funding available so that the effects of brain drain on Nigeria will be minimized.
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