Nigerians and asylum-seeking

While migration can be considered a civil liberty, political scientists say that massive emigration is a sure sign of political failure. Rising emigration levels have become quite a concern in Nigeria, as over 600,000 Nigerians filed for asylum in other countries between 2016 and 2023.

A report released July 17, 2024, by Statisense, a data collection outfit, showed a total of 664,384 in eight years; 355,792 persons sought asylum between 2016 and 2019, while 308,592 sought asylum between 2020 and 2023.

Furthermore, on a year-by-year basis, 66,862 sought asylum in 2016, 91,924 in 2017, 84,624 (2018), 112,382 (2019), 73,233 (2020), 83,105 (2021), 83,402 (2022), and 68,852 in 2023.

Data from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) show that asylum seekers in the first half of 2024 marked the highest number in a decade. In this period, up to 7,650 Nigerians requested refugee protection—a 408 percent increase from the same period in 2023 and a 95 percent rise compared to 2015, when only 305 asylum claims were recorded.

Nearly 32 percent of the 34,970 Nigerian refugee claims filed between 2013 and 2023 were due to gender-based and domestic violence, 21.4 percent cited persecution based on sexual orientation, and 13.8 percent related to religious reasons.

The figures indicate a surge from the past years, as Statisense noted that within 12 years – 2004 to 2015 – only 204,791 Nigerians filed for asylum in other nations. In total, 869,175 Nigerians filed for asylum in the last 20 years, notably from 2004 to 2023.
Another report also showed that Nigerians topped the list of African nations who sought asylum in Canada in 2023 with about 10,111 asylum seekers, followed by Kenya with 1,345. It stated that 1,345 Nigerians, however, sought asylum in the United Kingdom and 5,136 in the United States of America.

In a recent survey by the World Bank, 50 percent of Nigerian youths want to leave the country. The country placed third in West Africa among the nations polled, trailing only Liberia (70%) and Sierra Leone (60%).

Likewise, in terms of visas issued to the UK, Nigeria recorded a rise of 234.7 percent to 18,580 in the first nine months of 2021 from 5,551 in the same period of 2019.

Seeking asylum involves significant risks, including potential deportation if the claim is denied and the possibility of returning to a situation of persecution in one’s home country. Wastage of travel funds and time, and additionally, asylum seekers may face prolonged uncertainty, family separation, and difficulties accessing employment or education while their case is pending. More importantly, there is no guarantee that asylum will be granted, and the process can be lengthy and complex. There is also the possibility of rejection, which could lead to deportation. Evidence has shown that navigating the asylum process effectively may require legal representation, which can be expensive; often the seeker cannot afford it.

This disgruntledness to seek asylum stems from the high rate of poverty in the land, making Nigerians more miserable than they were a few years ago. The World Bank noted that in 2018, about 82.9 million Nigerians were extremely poor, and that number rose to 90 million in 2021 due to high inflation rates.

But we know that not all the claims are genuine, as most of these claims are premeditated. We therefore advise Nigerians to instead travel right to avoid asylum seeking, as records abound that refugees and asylum seekers are at risk of exploitation, trafficking, and modern slavery. This can often involve experiences of mental, physical, and sexual violence.

Nigeria’s investment towards human development has not been remarkable over the years as its budgetary allocation to education has not been more than 7 percent of its total budget against the United Nations’ recommendation that developing nations need to allocate about 25 percent of their annual budgets to education.

The challenges in the education sector, especially in the public one, such as access, quality, funding, strikes, cultism, and stability of the academic calendar have led to a steady rise in the outflow of Nigerian students seeking post-secondary education abroad.

Other challenges leading up to the high emigration numbers are gross infrastructural shortages, especially to do with power, which is pivotal for driving investment, competitiveness, employment, and quality of life.

As for the consequences, Nigeria is losing rising numbers of her most skilled personnel and their capacity to contribute to building up the economy.

Experts say the solutions would start with the provision and upgrading of infrastructure, curbing insecurity, and restructuring the economy to be attractive to both the citizens and investors, above all, avoiding wastage in governance.