The movement of human capital, knowledge, experience, ability, and expertise from one region, country, or geographic location to another is not a new thing to many African countries. 
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Even within these countries, the educated, skilled, and specialised portion of the less-developed rural population tends to migrate to metropolitan centres. This migration has become a particularly problematic issue in Africa.

Seeking better opportunities and comfort is an essential part of our nature as human beings and has been a major source of headache to Africa since the 1980s.

In an October 2016 report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that “migrants [from sub-Saharan Africa] in OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries could increase from about 7 million in 2013 to about 34 million by 2050,” adding that “the migration of young and educated workers takes a large toll on a region whose human capital is already scarce.”

Surveys have shown that there are more migrants among educated people in developing countries, as seen by the departure of doctors and nurses from African countries like Zimbabwe and highly skilled tech professionals in Nigeria. 
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Can the brain drain be advantageous to source countries?
Contrary to many of the concerns voiced in the media and by many organisations, source countries may likely gain something positive from the brain drain. Overall, depending on the features and policy goals of the country, it can be a blessing or a disaster for emerging countries.

On the plus side, brain drain promotes education, lowers the cost of conducting business internationally, brings in remittances, and benefits source nations from both returnees and the diaspora overseas. 

For instance, the World Bank estimated that Nigerians will receive about $20.9 billion in remittances in 2022.  

It helps individuals to develop financially, access better opportunities, improve their professional skills, and be exposed to a better standard of life. The benefits migrants and their families receive far outweigh the negative effects of the brain drain. 
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The positive impact of brain drain on skill development seems to balance out the loss of skills due to it one-for-one. So, it is not unexpected that experts are yet to find substantial evidence of a brain drain’s adverse effects on growth. 

Depending on the characteristics and policy goals of the source country, appropriate policy adjustments can help to maximise the benefits or reduce the costs of the brain drain.

How can Nigeria combat this?

When President Muhammadu Buhari announced the startup bill in March 2022, it presented renewed hope for young people across Nigeria.

However, a year after the bill was introduced, the human capital flight in the Nigerian tech industry has only worsened, leaving more and more young people to face the dilemma of either developing their careers in their home country or seeking better opportunities elsewhere.

This mass relocation of highly skilled professionals has continued to impact the economy and various sectors from health to tech.
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They are drawn by high-paying jobs, fast-growing careers, the opportunity to work on challenging problems and find innovative solutions, better research facilities, standard infrastructure and a high standard of living in an economy that will help secure the future of their middle-class family.

If this persists unchecked, Nigeria will continue to lose high-skilled workers in various sectors, may stagnate in the impacted sectors as a result of this, and see a reduction in many economic factors due to the poor performance of private and public sector industries.

One hopeful thing to look out for is that those relocating could return to develop the nation by applying their own skills. 

Elijah Bello is the founder of Learnpod, an online tech entrepreneurship academy.