i just read an article on re pats that is Nigerian born undergraduates who studied in Europe and well, sort of spent the better parts of their life living abroad returning home to get good jobs and making little changes in their own little ways. most people that were interviewed said they were doing it just because of the economy crisis and this has made it very difficult to get jobs. but reading the article it was clearer that these re pats were only going back to Nigeria because they were finding things harder in Europe. the question is were is the MOTIVATION IN ALL THIS, they all have forgotten that their is no CONSISTENCY in Nigeria, things happen at any given time, like what happens when things turn sour for them in Nigeria, they take the next available plane out of the country. anyway all i am trying to say is that, they should return back to Nigeria for the right reasons, not just because it a means to an end for them. it should be more about commitments to their country, what they can do to help towards the problems of Nigeria. and not move to Nigeria because it is the next best thing for them.

I wish you had a more appropriate title for your post because it fails to appreciate the issue as being at the core of quality education in Nigeria.

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I would not begrudge any Nigerian who wanted to return home due to unfavorable economic situations where they had taken up residency or even citizenship. It is justifiable to question their stated motive for returning home, but where else would they go but home?

My concern is the large pay disparity between the repatriates and Nigerians who scored their baccalaureates and/or post grad diplomas in Nigeria. Paying returning Diasporas excessively more than their locally-educated counterparts devalues University degrees from Nigerian institutions, particular if neither the repatriate nor the locally-educated graduate has relevant experience for the job he or she is being hired to do. Furthermore, nothing validates Nigerians’ never-ending itch to leave the country for higher education more than such pay disparity.

Around mid-2009, when I first received some buzz about Fashola, I was quite sure that he was educated either in the US or in the UK. Imagine my surprise when I learnt that the man is a Nigerian-trained lawyer. On the other hand, one of the most useless individuals in the Nigerian legislature today is Dimeji Bankole, the British educated, British accented speaker of the house. What has he done since his ascent to that exulted position?

The legislator who slapped a policeman in the House of Assembly, from what I’ve read, obtained his MBA from a reputable college in the US. Certainly, he didn’t cultivate his attitude toward lower-ranking employees in college nor by watching C-Span (for those outside the US who may not be familiar with C-Span, C-Span is a television channel that shows deliberations of the US Congress live or otherwise).

So, it’s not always a valid proposition that a foreign degree is better than a local one.

We should not discourage the Nigerian diaspora from returning home with low pay and lousy benefits. But the diaspora who should be showered with largesse are those who have demonstrable skills, integrity, and reasonable accomplishments on their resumes. This is how compensation policies are executed in developed countries.

Someone who schooled at some uncelebrated university abroad and has accomplished nothing should not automatically be a superior hire to a locally-educated job candidate who made the dean’s list at UNILAG.

@Poster, you hit on something I have said for years on now, and that is majority of the many we praise for moving back to Nigeria have done so, not to help develop the country, but so they can get THEIR share of the loot, and majority of those will run back the other way when better doors open for them on the otherside.

Pifa:

So, it’s not always a valid proposition that a foreign degree is better than a local one.

I disagree with this. The actions of the bad eggs you point to above has LITTLE to do with their foreign degree or education of any kind. Fashola’s accomplishments have little to do with his education considering you are bound to find lawyers who graduated with better grades than he, from the same university he attended, that are just as evil as your bankole or the others in that basket.

Pifa:

We should not discourage the Nigerian diaspora from returning home with low pay and lousy benefits. But the diaspora who should be showered with largesse are those who have demonstrable skills, integrity, and reasonable accomplishments on their resumes. This is how compensation policies are executed in developed countries.

I completely agree with this. I do have to point out also that it is my opinion that a majority of those we have chosen to shower with largesse happen to fall in the category of those unable to make it/compete with their counterparts in the foreign world, hence the reason why many of them run back to Nigeria, where they can EASILY get paid more for way less.

Pifa:

Someone who schooled at some uncelebrated university abroad and has accomplished nothing should not automatically be a superior hire to a locally-educated job candidate who made the dean’s list at UNILAG.

I agree!