Brain Drain in Nigeria: A Challenge to Human Capital Development

Abstract

The brain drain in Nigeria has been felt and discussed by Nigerian scholars in many different fora, data collected and displayed showed that it is a real problem in Nigeria and yet without possible and tangible solutions to arrest the dangerous trend. The government of federal republic of Nigeria has not seen it as a serious problem that will cause much harm on the human development of the nation in future. This dangerous trend is being embarked on by the skilled professional of Nigeria mostly from the ages of 25 years to 50 years of old. This is a big problem to the human capital development of the nation called Nigeria, though the problem is not peculiar to Nigeria as a country for this is seen mostly in the third world countries of the world. The developed countries of the world are not helping matters especially in African countries where they continued to entice these third world countries by under-developing these third countries of the world through superior technological advancement, superior economy and strategic political cultural system. The results of these tactics are slavery in reverse gear, continuous exporting of raw materials to developed nations, and perpetual under-development as is seen in Nigeria today. This paper investigates the brain drain in Nigeria using the change theory to establish the causes and effects of this continuous migration of skilled professionals from Nigeria to other countries of the world and its consequences to the growth of the nation. Multidimensional approach is used in this research for proper analysis of data collected. Recommendations were made on how to scuttle this menace of the brain drain in Nigeria for it is discovered that this brain drain syndrome has crippled the human capital development in Nigeria.