BRAIN DRAIN AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The thrust of this work is the evaluation of the expropriation of Nigeria’s vital human resources through the brain drain and its implications for its overall development. Nigeria has been adjudged a top emigration country on account of the continuous efflux of its human resources to all parts of the world. Despite the lack of agreement about the exact migrant stock of Nigerians in the diaspora, Nigeria is listed among the top remittance receiving countries in the world. The implication of brain drain to Nigeria is that it serves as a feederzone for the human resource needs of other countries, especially developed countries. Undoubtedly, the erosion of Nigeria’s human resources has had far-reaching negative effects
on its development trajectory as the vital highly-skilled personnel needed for national development are lost. This study delineates certain specific development sectors of the Nigerian economy, such as the health, domestic investment, and technology acquisition and transfer, as the fulcrum of its investigation. It sets as its objectives the task of interrogating the effect of the brain drain on the efficiency Nigeria’s healthcare delivery system; how the domestic investment incentives have boosted diaspora-led investment in the Nigerian economy, and whether the tighter regulation of the global regime of intellectual property rights are amenable to brain gain that can facilitate technology transfer. Using a combination of public choice and modern world system theories synthesised from the political economy
theoretical framework, we generated relevant data through secondary sources and analysed them in the tradition of qualitative descriptive methodology using one-group time series research design. The study finds that the depletion of the stock of Nigeria’s health professionals through the brain drain leads to inefficient healthcare delivery. This depletion is sustained by lack of political will by successive Nigerian governments to eliminate the conditions that conduce to the emigration of its highly-skilled health manpower and the relaxation of immigration policies by Western countries. Nigeria’s domestic investment profile has been boosted through diaspora-led investments in the Nigerian economy. The
tighter regulation of the global regime of intellectual property rights is inhibitive of diasporaled industrial investments towards technology transfer. The challenge of diaspora integration in Nigerian development is locatable in the absence of coordinated domestic efforts in thatdirection.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page – – – – – – – – – – i
Approval/Certification Page – – – – – – – – ii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – – iii
Acknowledgements – – – – – – – – – iv
Abstract – – – – – – – – – – vi
Table of Contents – – – – – – – – – ix
List of Tables/Diagrams – – – – – – – – xii
List of Abbreviations/Acronyms – – – – – – – xiv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 General Introduction – – – – – – – 1
1.2 Background to the Study – – – – – – – 6
1.3 Statement of the Research Problem – – – – – – 8
1.4 Objectives of the Study – – – – – – – 10
1.5 Significance of the Study – – – – – – – 11
1.6 Literature Review – – – – – – – – 12
1.7 Theoretical Framework – – – – – – – 97
1.8 Hypotheses – – – – – – – – – 105
1.9 Methods of Data Collection – – – – – – – 105
1.10 Definition of Key Terms/Conceptual Clarifications – – – – 116
CHAPTER 2: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF LABOUR MIGRATION AND BRAIN DRAIN IN NIGERIA
3.1 Introduction – – – – – – – – – 118
3.2 The Dynamics and Dialectics of Labour Migration and Brain Drain in Nigeria – 119
3.3 Nigeria’s Domestic Milieu and Key Drivers of Brain Drain – – – 124
3.4 International Impetus to Migration and Brain Drain – – – – 134
CHAPTER 3: IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF BRAIN DRAIN ON SELECTED SECTORS OF THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY
4.1 Introduction – – – – – – – – – 141
4.2 Brain Drain and Health-care Challenges in Nigeria – – – – 142
4.3 The Politics and Economics of Diaspora Investment in Nigerian Development 173
4.4 Brain Drain and the Quest for Technology Transfer in Nigeria- – – 203
CHAPTER 4: POLICY, LEGISLATIVE AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS FOR THE INTEGRATION OF DIASPORA RESOURCES IN NIGERIA
5.1 Introduction – – – – – – – – – 243
5.2 Migrational Trends and Migration Policy Frameworks in Nigeria – – 243
5.3 Nigeria’s Development Visions and the Challenges of Brain Drain – – 252
5.4 Legislative and Institutional Frameworks for Diaspora Engagement in Nigeria- 257
5.5 The Nigerian Diaspora and the Dilemma of Integration- – – – 269
5.6 Synthesising Continental and International Lessons in Diaspora Engagement
in National Development – – – – – – – 278
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1 Summary and Conclusion – – – – – – – 296
7.3 Major Findings – – – – – – – – 300
7.4 Recommendations – – – – – – – – 303
BIBLIOGRAPHY – – – – – – – – – 309