According to data from the United States Office of Homeland Statistics, Nigeria was not among the top 15 countries with US Permanent Residence (Green Cards) in 2022.
With 12,385 successful applicants, Nigeria placed 17 on the list – about 10% of India’s and 20% of China’s successful applicants.
Nigerians are about 5% of Canada’s total permanent residents. In 2022, 22,085 moved to Canada against India’s 118, 095 immigrants.
Legal migration is not for poor countries alone. In 2022, the United States of America and France contributed 10,400 and 14,145 immigrants, respectively, to Canada.
I don’t know if it is a numeracy problem. We always exaggerate; you would think that all Nigerians now live abroad. We have an inflated sense of our size and importance as a country.
Yes, our skilled workers are leaving, but we have a large pipeline. We must focus on retaining and maintaining our educators to produce and export education and a skilled workforce, as well as upskill our graduates, technicians, vocational workers, and sportspeople for the global market.
I believe the net returns on legal migration would be positive if calculated.
We need more international remittances!
Osita Chidoka
12 August 2024
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