Social media can be very deceptive sha. It kinds of portrays this false sense of reality that you only become conscious of when you take your eyes off your phone. Then it suddenly dawns on you that you actually reside at one of the trenches part of Surulere and your landlord just left a couple of minutes ago reminding you of your unpaid rent, which was due last month.
To think that your belongings in the room were just recovering from the incessant rain from the previous day in your one-room apartment, chai!!!. It was even the audacity of the Landlord for you, mtcheeeew.
As if that wasn’t enough, you discovered that the spaghetti you do get from the store down the street is now triple the amount, same for similar commodities. Omo, on top 50k salary o!
To be an average Nigerian in this country is now one hell of a task. Bruh, as much as possible, resist the urge to be an average Nigerian.
It’s that same false sense of reality that befalls you whenever people on social media gush out the japa advice as a counter to the harsh realities an average Nigerian faces.
Let’s face the reality, to Japa is expensive!
As of 2019, about N30,000 was needed to get an international passport. But NOW, you will need at least an average of N200,000 to write either GRE, IELTS or TOEFL exams. Not to talk of the money you will spend to prepare for these exams oo.
Although, visa applications vary, depending on your purpose for travelling and where you’re travelling to. But an average of N100,000 should be budgeted for the visa application. We have not talked about the air travel after your visa is granted or how much it will cost you to sustain yourself when you get to your destination. Omooooo X150.
Yes, there are options for international scholarships, but it doesn’t come easy also. At least you will have to meet most of the scholarship many many requirements to get accepted, right?
Briefly, allow me share a story of Biodun, a 21-year-old undergraduate of a Nigerian University, who has been applying for scholarships since 2017.
“It all started in 2017. I was in SS3 when I won the Physics Olympiads medal organized by National Mathematical Center, NMC, Abuja. The Nigerian government was to sponsor me to Indonesia to write a final exam, but they withdrew at die minutes.
I was unable to go because my parents couldn’t afford it. Going for that exam would have improved my chances of winning a full scholarship. Anyways, I went on applying to schools, I got scholarships, but they weren’t fully funded.
I got scholarships into like 5 schools. About 3 schools rejected me because they thought I wouldn’t be able to pay for my tuition even with the scholarship they gave me. It messed up sha, really messed up”.
When people complain about the situation of this country – which we are both aware is nothing good to write home about, don’t rush to always give the Japa advice if you don’t have the resources or opportunities that will help elevate their sapa.
Yes, you are doing it from a place of good intentions, but intentions do not pay the bills, bruh. If people have the means to get out of here, do you think they will settle down in Nigeria? Yeah, we have some people that will do it, but that is a topic for another day.
This is by no means a discouragement to those who have a desire to Japa, it’s just an effort to bring to our consciousness to the blunt realities behind japa.
Keep grinding, Comrade. I dey with you.
6 replies on “I want to Japa but Sapa dey worry me”
Thank you for waking us up from the slumber of trying to japa 😅……..The last paragraph and last line is my cue anyway.
Thanks
The best line of all the wonderful lines for me is: Intentions don’t pay bills. 👍
To Japa from Naija na money go run am 🥲
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