Nicely said! AngelSlay:
Many people glamorize “japa” and many others over-romanticize “staying back.” Reality is harsher and more nuanced than both sides admit.
Yes, abroad offers stronger systems, better infrastructure, and in many cases more predictable institutions than places like Nigeria — but predictability on paper doesn’t automatically translate to personal fulfillment.
A lot of immigrants in countries like Canada, United Kingdom, or United States quietly deal with:
Years of visa uncertainty
Doing survival jobs far below their qualifications
High taxes and rising living costs
Family strain/divorce
Loneliness and identity loss
Retirement fears after spending decades in a foreign land
And you’re right that success should never be reduced to airport photos, visa stamps, or “I dey abroad” bragging rights.
Real success is closer to what you described: freedom.
Freedom to control your time.
Freedom to build assets.
Freedom to raise your family in peace.
Freedom to retire with dignity.
Freedom to live life on your own terms.
That said, staying in Nigeria isn’t automatically freedom either. Many people leave because of insecurity, unstable policies, poor healthcare, weak institutions, and limited opportunities.
The real question isn’t “Should I japa or stay?”
It’s: “Where can I build the best life based on my goals, values, skills, and family priorities?”
For some people, migration is the right move.
For others, building businesses, investments, and influence at home may create far more freedom.
Location alone doesn’t create success.
Intentional decisions do.
And honestly, whether in Nigeria, Canada, or anywhere else—if you’re 65 and still trapped in survival mode with no assets, no peace, and no options, that’s the deeper problem. |
Sometimes I don't why some people forfeit an averagely comfortable life in Nigeria to face struggles relocating and finding a fitting in a foreign land. Don't get me wrong; I am not against relocating but if it is not under the right conditions, why take the stress?  ariesbull:
Why do many young Nigerians believe the only way to succeed is to leave home?
Every day, thousands dream about Europe as the ultimate escape route — better roads, stable electricity, cleaner systems, stronger currency, and a more comfortable life. On social media, it often looks perfect. People post pictures in winter jackets, airports, clean streets, and foreign apartments, making it seem like life automatically becomes successful once you leave Nigeria.
But behind many of those pictures is another story nobody talks about enough.
The truth is that only a small percentage of Nigerians abroad are genuinely thriving financially and emotionally. Yes, some people have built successful careers, businesses, and stable lives overseas, and their success deserves respect. But for the overwhelming majority, life abroad is often a constant cycle of survival, bills, and pressure.
Many Nigerians abroad are living paycheck to paycheck. After rent, taxes, transportation, childcare, insurance, and endless expenses, there is little left. Some work exhausting shifts in warehouses, factories, care homes, or cleaning jobs for years with no real ownership or long-term security to show for it. Some are constantly anxious about visas, residency papers, documentation renewals, or immigration status. Behind the smiling pictures online are sleepless nights, loneliness, depression, and fear of uncertainty.
Some people spend ten or twenty years abroad and still cannot confidently say they have built a lasting foundation either there or back home in Nigeria. No land. No investment. No business. No real roots. Just survival from one month to another.
And as time passes, deeper worries begin to appear.
Many quietly wonder what old age will look like for them abroad. Will their children, raised fully in Western culture, still value family the same way Nigerians traditionally do? Will those children want to care for them personally when they grow old, or will they eventually end up alone in care homes, visited occasionally out of obligation rather than love and connection?
Some even worry about where they will finally be buried. Back home in Nigeria among their ancestors and family roots? Or in a foreign land where their children may feel more attached to than the country their parents came from?
These are painful conversations many people avoid having openly.
Meanwhile, back in Nigeria, despite all the frustration and hardship, there are people quietly building lives with purpose, ownership, and legacy.
Nigeria is still one of the biggest untapped markets in the world. In a country with over 200 million people, almost every problem is a business opportunity waiting for someone brave enough to solve it. While many people are focused on escaping, others are building companies, brands, farms, schools, tech startups, transport businesses, and real estate portfolios.
People behind companies in Nigeria that are unicorn, like fintechs, trading firms etc and did not wait for another country to hand them opportunities. They saw possibilities inside Nigeria and built around them.
Even in entertainment, we have seen many become global names while remaining deeply connected to their Nigerian identity and culture.
And beyond celebrities, there are ordinary Nigerians who may never trend online but are building quietly every day. The man who owns a growing supermarket chain in Aba. The woman running a successful fashion business in Lagos. The young developer earning remotely from Nigeria. The farmer expanding his land year after year. These people may not post foreign pictures online, but they are creating something solid and lasting.
Of course, this does not mean Europe is bad or that nobody should travel. There are Nigerians abroad doing incredibly well, building wealth, raising healthy families, and creating opportunities. Some people genuinely need to leave for education, healthcare, security, or a better quality of life.
But maybe the real question is this:
Should success only be measured by leaving Nigeria?
Because sometimes, the person staying back to build a business, create jobs, buy land, support family, preserve culture, and leave behind a legacy may actually be building a richer life than someone abroad living from shift to shift with nothing truly theirs.
At the end of the day, earning a paycheck is one thing. Building something that outlives you is another. |
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