JAPA: Love Nigeria more than money, Akpabio tells citizens

Senate President Godswill Akpabio has urged Nigerians to prioritize their love for the country over financial gains, emphasizing the need for skilled citizens to stay back and contribute to the nation’s development.

Speaking on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, Akpabio noted that the country was losing its expertise due to mass immigration.

“The country is losing its expertise. If they acquired those expertise and returned to Nigeria, it would have been better,” he said, highlighting the brain drain in critical sectors such as healthcare and education.

Akpabio cited reports indicating that almost 22,000 Nigerian health workers are thriving in the US, underscoring the significant impact of this brain drain on the country’s health sector.

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Akpabio also emphasized the importance of improving conditions of service to encourage skilled professionals to remain in Nigeria. “I believe people should place love for their country above financial gains. That is why many of us choose to remain here,” he stated.

The senate president acknowledged the challenges faced by the educational sector, where some departments lack even 50% of the required staff strength. “So what then are you teaching our children? It’s like a computer, garbage in and garbage out,” he remarked.

To address these issues, Akpabio assured that the national assembly would work to improve the lives of teachers, enabling them to stay and positively impact future generations.

His comments came during a motion seeking to address the mass immigration of Nigerians.

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