By Bukola Idowu
As the value of the naira continues to decline resulting in a rising inflation prompted by higher cost of goods and services and the scarcity of the greenback, analysts have said the current situation is leading to brain drain of the country.
This they said is due to the lower value renumeration in naira and the inability of employers particularly in the information technology to pay in dollar terms. Nigeria is facing a recession as its currency, the naira has plummeted from its earlier value of N197 to N320 to the dollar at the interbank market.
The capacity to defend the currency has also continued to drop as the external reserves of the country has dipped to $25.754 billion as at August 17, 2016 according to the latest figure released by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
According to a senior manager at Accenture, Michael Ogunjobi, the lower value of the naira has triggered mass movement of young, intelligent and enterprising human resources from the country to Europe and America in search for better life opportunities. He noted that slippage of the currency down the slope and alleyway of technology stagnancy or backwardness is to state mildly the resulting disaster or catastrophe that awaits technology stakeholders at all levels of the economy. His words, “The issue, if not checked in time, may exacerbate and further send the country backwards from what is already an ‘eggshell’ fragile technology development onto a banana skin retrogression which could make other nations leave Nigeria further way behind.”
Stating that Nigeria has made more strides in the technology space in the last five years than the previous 15 years “largely due to the ‘Returnees’ coming back home with cutting edge skills, knowledge and enhanced work ethics, which to a large extent was made easier by the equilibrium struck between knowledge and reward. However, this stability is now being threatened by the disruption that has been rocking naira since last year.”
He noted that the challenges being faced by the country has resulted in the unwillingness of technology professionals to return to Nigeria in the recent months, “and where they are willing to come to Nigeria, they are asking for 200 per cent plus of the usual 2015 earnings and in many cases demand to be paid in foreign currencies, which employers are finding harder to come by.
“More and more technology professionals are returning to Europe and America to ply their trade as the loss of Naira value is no longer justifying their stay in the country nor able to maintain their life styles. In a number of cases, many of them have immediate families living abroad and therefore have foreign exchange commitments which cannot be met on their current Naira income.
“For example, a technology professional engaged in April 2015 when the rate was N150 to the dollar is now effectively earning half of the wage in 2016 when unofficial rate from banks is N320 to the dollar. With mortgage, education and other commitment abroad, the professional may be left with no option but contemplate a return to a place where he can meet his obligations.”
Delivering technology is becoming more challenging and very expensive once again as skilled technologists are becoming rarer in Nigeria, he noted saying “the biggest winners in the technology/currency quagmire are the Western countries who open their doors to skillful Nigerians and provide them with the platform and reward for greater productivity in their countries. And the biggest loser is Nigeria. Certainly, Nigeria need these experts to develop her potentials.”
– Leadership
