Japa: Why UK-based Nigerians Earning £2.6k Are Worse Off Than N60k Earners in Nigeria, Bwala Speaks
- Presidential aide Daniel Bwala argued that a Nigerian earning £2,600–£2,800 monthly in the UK could be financially worse off than someone earning N60,000 in Nigeria
- Bwala linked the financial strain on UK-based Nigerians to reports of Nigerians dying on the streets of London while working multiple jobs
- Bwala described care home work taken up by Nigerian degree holders in the UK as modern-day slavery, and cited government healthcare subsidies as Tinubu's response to the japa crisis
Ikeja, Lagos state - Amid the ongoing 'japa' trend, Daniel Bwala, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on policy communication, has argued that Nigerians who relocate to the United Kingdom (UK) in search of better opportunities could end up worse off financially.
Legit.ng reports that according to the presidential spokesperson, some may struggle more than people who remain in Nigeria, even on lower wages.
Source: Twitter
Bwala made the remarks during a recent appearance on The Morayo Afolabi Brown Show while responding to a question from an audience member. The Nigerian said he had observed large crowds at the Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) centre near Ikeja, Lagos, and asked what the federal government was doing to address the 'japa' wave, which he said was being driven by poverty, insecurity, and unemployment.
'Japa' is a Yoruba word that has become a widely used slang term among Nigerians, particularly young people. It refers to leaving or fleeing the country in search of better opportunities abroad, often in pursuit of improved economic prospects and quality of life.
The trending video of Bwala's interview was reviewed by Legit.ng.
UK salaries eaten up by living costs
Breaking down the finances of a typical Nigerian worker in Britain, Bwala noted that monthly earnings of roughly £2,600 to £2,800 were rapidly consumed by fixed expenses.
He said:
"2,450 goes off. You pay power, internet, TV, rent. When you put them together, rent alone is about 800. Even if you are living in the outskirts of London."
He connected that financial pressure to what he described as a disturbing pattern.
He stated:
"At the end of the day, what you are left with is not much. So you are forced to do two, three jobs. That's why recently you are seeing in London, they say somebody died by the roadside. There are conditions like that."
Bwala then drew a direct comparison with a Nigerian earning N60,000 at home, arguing that informal social support networks and minimal expenditure on services made the domestic worker relatively better off in certain respects.
"That person is farther than you," he said of the UK-based worker. "That 60,000, at least Auntie Abike can loan you money. Uncle Soso and Soso can support you. What we are paying in power, the things we pay for in terms of social services here are almost zero as compared to that place."
'Modern-day slavery' in care homes
Bwala, who described himself as a UK resident, reserved particular criticism for the types of employment many educated Nigerians end up in abroad.
He said:
"Some of you in Nigeria who think you are suffering, you're better off than your colleagues that japa five years ago."
He argued that Nigerian graduates, including first-class and second-class degree holders who go on to earn postgraduate qualifications in the UK, were largely ending up in care homes.
He said, using a local term to press the point:
"As far as I'm concerned, it's modern-day slavery."
Furthermore, Bwala recounted visiting a friend at a warehouse job, where the workers included PhD and master's degree holders being supervised by someone without a secondary school certificate.
Source: Twitter
Tinubu's healthcare response
Bwala presented government healthcare interventions as part of the administration's answer to the pressures driving emigration, citing a 50 per cent subsidy on dialysis in federal hospitals and the provision of free Caesarean sections.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member acknowledged that extending such benefits to private hospitals and covering additional prescription medicines remained constrained by the government's current resources.
Watch the X video of Bwala comparing life in the UK and Nigeria below:
Read more on japa
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'Al Jazeera apologised to me' - Bwala
Earlier. Legit.ng reported that Bwala said Al Jazeera privately apologised to him over his controversial appearance on the network’s Head to Head programme.
Bwala, however, said the international broadcaster refused his demand to issue the apology publicly, a move he said pushed him to direct his lawyers in England to file a defamation suit against the network.
Source: Legit.ng
