Thought you might find this interesting... can't remember the source.

Cheers!

Madiba.
=======

Why Africans are not returning home

According to the United States Census Bureau, Nigerians are the most
educated ethnic group in the United States. Therefore, our leaders can
seek technical assistance from Nigerians living in the United States.
Sixty-four per cent of Nigerians in United States has one or more
university degrees.

There are at least 650,000 Nigerians living in the United States.

According to Dr. Emmanuel Oranika, half of the members of Association of
Nigerians, Montgomery have masters and doctorate degrees. That is a
reservoir of talents that Nigerian leaders are taking for granted.

We went to America to study. We planned to return home. But things got
worse at home and we decided to remain in America.

It wasn't always like this. When Nnamdi Azikiwe arrived in the United
States in 1924, there were only three Nigerian students in the entire
United States. A hundred per cent of those that came to the United States
returned home. In fact, up till about 1980, most Nigerian students
returned home.

The widely held myth is that Africa is only exporting raw materials to the
West. Africa is also exporting talented human resources to Europe and
America. One million Africans are working outside Africa.

At the same time, Africa spends four billion dollars a year on the salary
of 100,000 foreign experts. Yet, African nations are unwilling to spend a
similar amount of money to recruit one million African professionals
working outside Africa.

The problem is getting worse. One in three African university graduate
live and work outside Africa. In effect, we are operating one third of
African universities to satisfy the manpower needs of western nations.

One third of the African education budget is a supplement to the
American education budget. In effect, Africa is giving developmental
assistance to the United States.

There are more Sierra Leonean medical doctors in Chicago than in
Sierra Leone. At the rate medical doctors are leaving Nigeria, we could
eventually have more Nigerian doctors working outside Nigeria than within
it.

We also need engineers to help provide constant electricity, clean
water and safe roads. In Montgomery, one of the engineers that make sure
that the people of Alabama have good roads is Dr. Emmanuel Oranika.

We also need scientists. We use science and technology to discover
and recover petroleum. We use medical science to reduce infant mortality
rate.

The world has changed a lot in the last fifty years. In today's world
knowledge creates wealth. Therefore, we need people with brains, not
muscles. Unfortunately, it is the best and brightest that can obtain visas
to the United States. What is left behind is the least educated. This
means that Africa will be getting poorer while the United States will be
getting more affluent.

Put simply, Africa is exporting both natural and human resources. In
the end, there will be no resources left within Africa. It means a slow
death for Africa.

How can we reverse brain drain? First, we build a data bank of Nigerians
abroad. Then, we offer them meaningful employment and compensation that
will entice them to return home.

Medical doctors cannot live on a salary of fifty dollars a month. To make
ends meet, some medical doctors raise poultry or manage beer parlor.

We need to change our national priorities. We should stop spending one
million dollars a day in fighting in Sierra Leone. One million dollars is
greater than the daily salary of one million teachers. While we are
keeping peace in Sierra Leone, some teachers have not been paid their
salaries for six months. We must change our priorities by reducing our
defence budget and increasing our education budget. We must increase our
investment in science, technology and education.

As we approach the end of this century, it is appropriate that we reflect
on our legacy for our children. In the next century, it will be
technological knowledge that will create wealth. Therefore, our legacy to
our children will be the investments that we made on their education.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------