“Canada, for example, recently increased the number of hours students can work from 20 hours to 40 hours”.
Nigerians in the UK have been in the news as the United Kingdom introduces a new policy that bans foreign students from bringing their families to the UK. While the policy applies to foreign students from all over the world, Nigeria has been the focus of media coverage on the issue as Nigerian students reportedly brought the highest number of dependants to the UK last year.
While many Nigerians want to blame fellow countrymen and women and their social media noise for this policy change, it is important to emphasise this is simply the United Kingdom shooting itself in the foot. By this singular policy, the United Kingdom just made itself less attractive to foreign students not only from Nigeria but from much of developing world. It is no wonder that universities and other stakeholders in the country have condemned the policy as a setback for their economy.
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The education sector is a major source of income for the UK, and foreign students contribute billions of pounds to the UK economy each year. According to Nick Hillman, Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, the UK makes 41 billion pounds a year from international students and it would be a terrible idea to deter them from studying in the country.
The UK government has defended the new policy, saying that it is necessary to control immigration. No doubt, the UK has seen an uptick in immigration, with the country achieving net migration of 700,000 people last year. But university students and their families are precisely the kind of migrants the UK would want. For one, these are usually highly skilled migrants bringing skills and money into the UK. Secondly, many foreign students are likely to either leave the UK after their studies or get a work visa that allows them to stay. This means that they are all documented and operate within the laws and do not contribute to the irregular migration crisis the UK claims it currently suffers from.
None of the above is enough for a country with a complicated relationship with immigration. The UK needs immigrants to do all the jobs that its own people won’t or can’t do, and immigrants contribute billions of pounds to the UK economy each year. However, many in the UK have a fear of immigration and believe that immigrants are taking jobs away from British citizens and contributing to the housing crisis they face. Their politicians respond to this fear by cracking down on immigration every few years.
This is not the first time politicians are trying to address immigration fears by targeting foreign students. In 2011, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government, freshly in power, abolished the two-year post-work visa students were entitled to after their studies. Eight years later, the government had to bring back this policy to attract foreign students. Anti-migration posturing has consequences and it is clear that there are many countries who want foreign students and doing more to attract them.
The good news is that the UK is not the only place Nigerians can move to. Canada, Australia, and non-anglophone countries like Germany are also popular destinations. Canada, for example, recently increased the number of hours students can work from 20 hours to 40 hours, in a bid to tap into the human resources while encouraging more students to choose Canada. Australia is also a popular destination for foreign students, and it offers several scholarships and grants to help students pay for their education. Germany is a non-anglophone country that is becoming increasingly popular with foreign students. Germany offers a high-quality of education at a relatively low cost.
Nigerians studying in the UK and those intending to study there need not be downcast about the scapegoating of Nigeria by UK anti-migration politicians and talking heads. Nigerians can be proud of their contribution to and strides in the UK while continuing to do things according to the law in the UK. However, it might be prudent for us to the reduce attention we attract to ourselves on social media.
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There has been a pandemic of Nigerians in the UK doing YouTube and TikTok content, with many turning themselves into emergency travel consultants. The case of Emdee Tiamiyu who allowed himself to be used by British media in promoting the idea of widespread abuse of legal migration route must teach us all an important lesson. The UK has a complicated relationship with migration, regardless of whether it is the legal route or not, and it is wise to be more circumspect in how Nigerians in the UK talk about “japa” and related issues. We must ask ourselves; do we really need the attention?
