JAPA: Does migrating pay off?
Focus on Africa

JAPA: Does migrating pay off?

B2Upper-intermediateSeptember 25, 202622 min
  • Interview
  • Society

For millions of young Africans, leaving home in search of better opportunities has become an increasingly attractive option. A recent Afrobarometer survey across 38 African countries found that 55% of young people aged 18–35 have considered emigrating. Roughly 22% would prefer to remain somewhere in Africa, while 60% favour Europe or North America. Among those considering leaving, better work opportunities are the leading motivation, but is this merely about better work opportunities and what would make young Africans stay? Host, Nkechi Ogbonna, spoke to Oluwaseyi Makinde, who moved from Nigeria to Canada as a teenager, only to return to Nigeria as an ad...

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Over the last decade, young Africans are increasingly wanting to leave their home countries.

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had considered emigrating.

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0:00

Hello there and welcome to Focus on Africa, the conversation. I'm Keci Obunna. Over the last decade, young Africans are increasingly wanting to leave their home countries. According to the 2026 Afrobarometer report, 55% of young people aged 18 to 35 said they

0:25

had considered emigrating. In Nigeria, where we recorded this episode, there's one word which is common, jakba, and that's J-A-P-A. It's a Yoruba slang meaning to flee or escape, and it became a buzzword for Nigerians who wanted to leave the country.

0:43

For this conversation, I was joined by Uluwashi Makiinde. She left Nigeria as a teenager, spent years in North America, and then made the decision to move back home. There are so many people that are confined by the thoughts of what will people say, how will I come back? It's shameful. I'm coming back empty handed.

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