READ THIS BEFORE YOU JOIN THE “JAPPA” BANDWAGON

The world we find ourselves in today is no doubt a completely different world.

Covid has changed the dynamics of things in the global marketplace and we all need to be updated or we risk becoming outdated.

The reality of the fact that we live in a V.U.C.A (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world has become more real, hence the resurgence of the ever-available option of migration and immigration locally called “Jappa”

Our brain drain as a nation over the decades has become the brain gain of many developed nations.

Leadership ineptitude, continuous negative spiral leading to a seemingly hopeless future and the many deficiencies in our nation has made many lose hope in the project Nigeria. Hence making relocation outside Nigeria at any cost an option.

The world has become a global village and the internet is the village square, therefore, anyone on earth today is already a global citizen.

You therefore can stay local and play globally as long as you think globally.

As someone who is an unrepentant believer in the project Nigeria, I will always encourage people to play their part in national development because foreigners will not develop our nation for us.

I am also a realist and I believe that some people may have genuine reasons for wanting to leave the nation, such as schooling, etc. The real issue however is, that not many people that are on the Jappa bandwagon are meant to leave Nigeria.

If relocation is not part of your creator’s agenda and destiny for you, it becomes a major destiny error.

There are 5 things to consider before you make that move. Whether it’s a right or wrong move will be revealed with time but either way, you need to settle these 5 things:

1. Where Are You Going?

The internet is filled with stories of people that have gone to places they expected to be filled with greener pastures only to discover that it’s a trap of destiny.

Not all open doors are a breakthrough. Even the prison doors will open for a prisoner to enter. Beware, not all that glitters is gold.

Those who have suffered for decades in Libya, andthose who have suffered untold hardships and abuse in Saudi and other Arab nations have stories to tell.

Too many Nigerians, especially students in eastern European nations like Turkey, Ukraine etc. get killed time after time. Not all nations are yours to explore, so if you have to Jappa, research where you are going.

2. Why Do You Want to Jappa?

Many people leave for different reasons, whether it’s for a better life, job offer, academic purposes or marriage. Your why will determine your how and what.

A lot of people have not taken the time to think things through, all they want to do is just leave and figure things out later.

They however discover that one decision can mess up a decade or more of their life, for some a total mess of their destinies.

Desperate people do desperate things, when you don’t have a strong enough WHY, other people’s ideas become your own vision and mission. May you not fish in unprofitable waters in Jesus name.

3. How Are You Going?

I met a woman years ago in New York, Usa. She’s fondly called Iya Adura (In Nigerian parlance, that means ‘praying mother’. She had been there for over 13 years. She filed for asylum and her case was still reviewed after many appearances.

The day she was finally deported to Nigeria, it was meant to be for another court appearance as usual but ended up becoming the end of the road.

She has been back in Nigeria now for a few years but yet to put pieces of her life together. All her labour of 23 years in America is now being enjoyed by others who now run her restaurant and manage her business knowing she can’t come back again.

Her major error was going into the country with visiting visa and filling for asylum in falsehood by the advice of other confused people like her.

How are you going?

To enter a country as a visitor with a visiting visa and having the intention to stay permanently surely has consequences.

To enter a country illegally and seek for asylum with the hope that it will end well, may end in shame.

To enter a country with plans to change status outside the country may not turn out as you think. So many people hardly tell you the whole story behind what they do.

I can tell you stories upon stories of people that are trapped for decades due to the HOW of their travel. They live in constant pain and regret.

4. What Will You Do When You Get There?

“There is a job waiting for you”

“Just find a way to come first and all other things will be sorted”

“I will help you settle down”

“You can stay with me and I will talk to my boss to find you a place to work”, etc.

These and many more are all promise and fail stories we have heard and seen for decades.

Do you have a game plan of exactly what you will be doing when you get there? Perhaps you think jobs and money will just be waiting for you?

Many have ended up remaining at the bottom of the pyramid of life for decades, primarily due to the way they started out.

The people they first met in those foreign nations, who thereafter welcomed them into the same mediocre low life still live in those nations.

You have no idea the kind of suffering undocumented immigrants have to face in many nations and the kind of limitation people settle for when they have no clear vision and concrete plan.

5. Who?

There are 4 levels of WHO to consider before joining this bandwagon:

Who is leading you? Who is leading you to go on this journey? Is it God? Is it just your wish and desire? Is it economic reason and poverty? Is it your spouse? Friends or family? etc.

Just be sure that whoever is leading you is also powerful enough to help you and see you through.

Who are you? Have you done an honest personal evaluation and assessment of yourself?

I hope you know that a location will not change who you are. If you are a lazy and visionless person in Nigeria, no location will change that.

There are poor and confused people all over the world including the country you’re planning to go.

Who will welcome you? Who will welcome you when you arrive in the country? Who is your contact person? What do they do? How much do they know about the nation and the opportunities? etc. These are vital considerations before relocation.

Who is helping you? Who is helping you with the visa and traveling process? Are they genuine? Are they giving you vital and accurate information on what is really on ground?

Have they been to the country themselves or just using you to make money as travel agents?

To Jappa or not is a personal issue, so the ball is in your court. However, remember that not every good idea is God’s idea.

Before you Jappa, consider all that I’ve shared above.