The last time Appolonia Okolo had contact with her brother Clement lmah was in 1994 when he called her from South Korea, where he had travelled to search for greener pastures. Imah had first travelled to Cameroon in May 1993, where he spent seven months before returning to Nigeria. Okolo, a businesswoman in her 60s who resides in Awlaw Isiama in the Oji River Local Government Area (LGA) of Enugu State, said her brother left for South Korea the following year without informing her.

“In July 1994, he called me on the phone and told me he was in South Korea. He said he arrived on July 10 and started work on July 18. That was the first and last contact l had with him since he got to the country,” she said.

Okolo said she later got information that Imah was deported back to Nigeria but never saw him land in the country.

“I know my brother to be a kind and generous man with intelligence. He was 25 years old at the time and had plans and aspirations to become somebody and to help his family and Nigeria,” she added.

In the case of Maximilian Egbuho, his story is quite similar to Okolo’s situation. His stepbrother, Christopher Okoli, sought greener pastures in the diaspora 15 years ago after failing to secure a record deal to showcase his musical talent.

“He had formed a music band called Grand Papa N Crew and his stage name was Great Grand Papa. He dropped an album on tape through Nira Sounds years back but we lost all the tapes. Okoli attended several auditions under Kennis Music years ago and met with the likes of 2face Idibia. But after he couldn’t get any record deal, he quit music,” said 25-year-old Egbuho who lives in Lagos.

Speaking further, Egbuho revealed why he and his stepbrother bear different surnames.

“He is my loving stepbrother. He was birthed by my lovely mother when she lived in Aba, Abia State. She had a relationship with a man called CC Okoli and he is his father but the man refused to take responsibility for him so my mother raised him alone till she got married to my dad,” he explained.

Just like Imah, Okoli also had to leave the country with the hope of finding means to cater for his family.

“He was around 25 years old when he left. Well, the struggle was what motivated him to leave. My dad wasn’t in the country; he had travelled to South Korea and abandoned us all. My mother was the only one struggling to cater for the family as well as my brother. It was unbearable and at some point, I had to contribute to assist the family by hawking at a young age. The struggles prompted Okoli to leave the country in search of greener pastures to help the family,” Egbuho said.

– Relationships damaged due to Japa –

Japa is a Yoruba word which means flee in English. Due to the current economic hardship in Nigeria, the term has been used to describe those who are leaving the country for a better life in the diaspora.

Many will admit that it is good to see photos of a family member or a friend taken in a Western country. Such photos often show a beautiful environment with snow all around and the street lights illuminating the neatly tarred roads, all depicting a country with a working system. The photos often entice other Nigerians to Japa to such countries. However, Nigerians hardly talk about the downsides of Japa, which includes the weakening of bonds and relationships built for years.

Social media is full of tales of many who lost or haven’t had much contact with their loved ones for years after they travelled to the diaspora.

For X user, @Bitbuck_crypt, Japa has prevented his uncle from ever meeting his daughter who was in his wife’s womb when he left the country.

He said, “I have a distant uncle who travelled when his wife was pregnant with the last child. That girl just got married this year and the man is not yet back. Japa has done more harm than good to families.”

Another X user, @Kenzzy_Ojay, shared the story of a friend of his who has “never seen his dad physically since he was born,” adding that the 25-year-old only communicates with his dad via FaceTime.

“This reality is really heartbreaking; too much emotional disconnection and physical distance amongst family members. What then is the whole point of life?” he asked.

For @Ifyyodunze, she only consoles herself with photos and videos of her loved ones in the diaspora.

“I’ve got an elder brother whom I haven’t seen since 2005, many other siblings too and cousins. All we see are pictures and videos. I don’t even remember how they walk, eat or what they look like in person. The most basic thing of family is gone. It’s all pointless now,” she lamented.

Japa has caused a huge disconnect between family members to the point that the death of a loved one is not enough to make someone in the diaspora return home.

“Two of my brothers have been in South Africa for more than 10 years now. Our dad died, they didn’t come. Our mum died, they didn’t come. They don’t even behave like they want to return anytime,” said @Clive3060.

– Spiritualists offer hope of a reunion –

Okolo and Egbuho won’t mind being in the shoes of those who are still in contact with their loved ones in the diaspora despite not seeing them for years. Theirs is the case of a search for a missing person.

Egbuho said his family suspected that there was something wrong when his stepbrother didn’t contact them a year after he travelled. He said he got information that Okoli was headed for Italy and must have gone by road. This meant that he must have gone through the desert and finally faced the sea, which seemed to corroborate the information he got that he drowned at sea or got shot.

“We tried our best to contact all his friends, but many of them were not in contact with him. We tried calling and sending emails to the Italian Embassy. We also prayed and fasted but nothing worked,” he said.

On her part, Okolo said her family engaged in prayers and fasting, adding that their hope of seeing Imah was fortified by a prophecy that he was still alive.

On X where Egbuho had first shared about his stepbrother, someone advised him to seek the help of herbalists, adding that if his stepbrother is alive, they could supernaturally summon him back to Nigeria.

An Ifa priest and Nollywood actor, Ifayemi Elebuibon, told our correspondent that it was possible to summon a loved one back to Nigeria from the diaspora.

“Traditionally, when something happens like that, we consult Ifa and make ebo (sacrifice). But we must know the name of the person, his mother and his location. Then we direct a spirit to find the person, dead or alive,” Elebuibon said.

He added that before such a task is carried out, the family members are advised to ensure that there is a means of livelihood waiting for the person on his return.

– Risking life in a bid to Japa –

The inflation in Nigeria is currently making the process of leaving the country difficult. The naira now fluctuates between N1,500 and N1,700 when changed to a dollar, a currency needed to facilitate legal travel plans. This means flight tickets are something beyond the reach of many who dream of a life overseas that must be attained. This leads many to consider alternatives, which include going to Europe by road.

Mr Timmy, an Ijaw man currently in Europe, told our correspondent how he lost some friends on the journey to Libya en route to Europe. He said he was accompanied on the journey by his uncle, best friend and other friends.

Getting to the Libyan border, Timmy said he and a friend, Waheed, made a U-turn while others continued on the journey.

“Three years after we returned to Nigeria, we got information that Jeffrey who had been in Libya for three years had died. He was murdered by a Libyan. I don’t know much about what led to his death other than he was pushed from the top floor of a building that they were and he died. From 1999 till now, nothing has been heard about him. Even if he was imprisoned, he would have been released and he would have surfaced,” he said.

Timmy said the journey through the Sahara Desert claimed many lives, one of which was a friend who died of dehydration.

He said, “While the Sahara Desert is very hot leading to dehydration, the journey to Eastern Europe is cold,” adding that “almost everyone he knew that journeyed through the route during the winter battled severe cold, while some died along the way.”

On his return to Nigeria from his aborted journey to Libya, Timmy said he almost became a victim of jungle justice after he was wrongly accused of theft. Not giving up on the pursuit of happiness, he finally got a Turkish Visa and from there he headed to Greece through another dangerous route.

– No database of Nigerians abroad –

Manzo Ezekiel, the Spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), an agency that has in recent years received Libyan returnees and other deportees, said in a chat with our correspondent that the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) was in the best position to speak on the whereabouts of Nigerian citizens in the diaspora.

Speaking with our correspondent, NiDCOM Spokesperson, Abdul-Rahman Balogun, said the commission was established five years ago and so could not be responsible for those who travelled abroad before then.

When asked if NiDCOM even has a database of Nigerians in the diaspora, he said. “No,” meaning the Nigerians who don’t know the whereabouts of their diaspora loved ones will continue to be in the dark.

“When people are travelling, they don’t inform NiDCOM. It is when they stray and run into trouble that they remember that Nigeria can help them. We can’t have their data if they don’t inform us while travelling. When they even get to the country of their destination, they don’t go to the Nigerian Embassy to register themselves,” he said.

When asked if NiDCOM assists in reuniting deported Nigerians with their loved ones when they arrive in the country, he said it is not the commission’s mandate.

He concluded by advising Nigerians to ensure they have their proper documents and go through legal routes when they want to travel abroad.

“If you travel through an irregular route, you’ll be treated like a criminal. Those are the ones that are deported,” he added.

The comments by NEMA and NiDCOM were slammed by the Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), through its head, Comrade Nnadozie Nwobuko.

He said, “I am surprised that NiDCOM and other agencies working for Nigerian citizens abroad said they don’t know every citizen. Every agency is tasked to work together for the growth of all Nigerians.”