Education Minister, Professor Tahir Mamman, has attributed the serious staffing shortfall in Nigerian Universities to the ‘Japa syndrome,’ as thousands of academics have fled the nation in search of better opportunities abroad.

Speaking in a meeting with Directors of the Federal Ministry of Education and Heads of Agencies in the Ministry, Prof. Mamman lamented that the matter has been underreported in the media.

‘Japa’ – a Yoruba word meaning “to run, flee or escape” – symbolizes the aspirations of Nigerians who aspire to leave the country in pursuit of greener pastures.

The Guardian reports that no profession is spared, as medical personnel, legal practitioners, bankers, academics, computer geeks, engineers, skilled and unskilled workers, among others leave the country in droves to pursue opportunities elsewhere. In the tertiary education sub-sector, findings showed that the development has been further complicated by the high number of retirements.

Speaking on the matter, the Minister assured that the present administration would not be reactionary but would tackle issues head-on before they escalate.

According to him, the brain drain phenomenon has a significant negative impact on universities in Nigeria.

Mamman, a former Vice Chancellor of Baze University, Abuja lamented that when talented academics leave the country, it leaves a vacuum in the knowledge and expertise available to students and researchers. This, he said, negatively affects the quality of education, research, and innovation in Nigerian universities.

“Instability causes so much damage to the system. You can’t plan, you cannot have international collaboration, students exchange. So the damage has been very huge and everybody recognises this including that we have some level of Japa in that sector.

“We have lost a lot of staff. It is not well publicized. Tertiary institutions have lost a lot of staff because of all these problems. And now we are saying we need to turn a new leaf.”

However, the Congress of University Academics (CONUA), disagreed with the Minister, putting the blame squarely on poor remuneration, inconsistent policies, policy somersaults, lack of employment opportunities among others.

In an interview with The Guardian, the National President, Congress of University Academics (CONUA), Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, submitted that the “‘Japa’ syndrome has little or no link to the IPPIS platform”.

He hinged his argument on the fact that other professions not directly linked to IPPIS are also affected by the brain drain phenomenon.

His words: “The ‘Japa’ syndrome is not aided by any payment platform, to our minds. The menace affects all aspects of our lives including the organized private sectors (e.g. banks) who are not paid on the IPPIS platform.

“There are so many factors responsible for this problem, among which are poor remuneration, inconsistent policies and sometimes policy somersaults, lack of employment opportunities, etc. In short, the ‘Japa’ syndrome has little or no link to the IPPIS platform, as far as we are concerned.

“The removal of tertiary institutions from the platform is however a cheering news with some level of circumspection. Good news because the government seems to be obeying the National Industrial Court judgement delivered on 30 May 2023.

“Specifically, paragraphs 56-70 of the judgement stipulated that using the IPPIS platform is a violation of the University Autonomy Act (2003). Our reservations stem from the fact that the government was not explicit about a “new” platform for payment.”

Dr. Sunmonu called for the improvement in remuneration and conducive environment as two key immediate issues the government should attend to for academics in tertiary institutions.
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