Rachael David 33326426/1

Institute of Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship

MA Cultural Policy & Tourism

12-15000 word dissertation

Competing for its own talent: brain circulation and return migration in Nigeria.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank everyone who participated in the study, with special thanks to

Pastor David Okoror.

I would also like to thank Carla Figueira and Sara Linden for their help and feedback,

and my sister Melody for her help and support.

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Abstract

Return migration has been an important topic in Nigeria as the country has a very

large and highly skilled diaspora spread out worldwide with particular concentrations

in the United Kingdom and the USA. There has been particular interest in finding a

way for Nigeria to capitalize on the human capital deposited in its diaspora in such a

way that might aid development at home. At the same time theories about the global

competition for talent have put forward the idea that creativity must be considered in

governmental policy at all levels if a country/town/region wants to attract skilled

workers that will boost the economy there. This study will explore the link between

creative city planning in Lagos and return migration to Nigeria by examining how

government policies and private initiatives are contributing to the attractiveness of

Lagos and Nigeria to creative and talented people in its diaspora. The outcomes of

this study suggest that many of these government and private initiatives have

contributed positively to return migration and brain circulation in Nigeria. However

further research is recommended to determine the exact extent to which this is the

case.

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1. Introduction

1.1 The research topic: Brain drain in Nigeria

In August 2008, at a dinner held in honor of the Eko Club International’s contribution

to healthcare in Lagos, the state governor Tunde Fashola made a plea to Nigerians

living abroad to come home to “build up our country” (Office of the Governor Lagos

State, 2008). Remarking that diasporas from Asian countries were repatriating, he

urged Nigerians to do the same. He also alluded to the uncomfortable fact that 22,000

Nigerians work in medical professions outside of Nigeria while at the same time

many Nigerians travel abroad for medical treatment (ibid.).

In 2003 the Nigerian Federal Government began an initiative to attract Nigerian

medical professionals back to work and invest in the country and although that initial

project wasn’t necessarily successful, there are still apparent incentives for Nigerian

medical staff to return to Nigeria (ippr, 2009). Crystal Thorpe, a company formed by

Nigerian medical professionals living in the UK, was formed shortly after Fashola

made his speech in 2008. The company, registered in the UK, is currently working to

acquire healthcare facilities throughout Nigeria and develop a number of hospitals and

healthcare centers. They are working within both the public and private sector in

Nigeria to provide various healthcare solutions for different demographics

(Homestrings, 2014a).

However it is not only medical professionals that are moving back to Nigeria but

skilled workers in IT and finance as well as entrepreneurs from a wide range of

industries. International media publications have carried numerous stories about

Nigerian’s so-called ‘reverse brain drain’ (ippr, 2009). There are a number of

different organisations and communities dedicated to encouraging and assisting

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Nigerian repatriation including The Move Back Club and MoveBackToNigeria.com

(MBTN).

Estimates of how many skilled workers have returned to Nigeria recently vary, with

an optimistic figure of up to 10,000 between 2008 and 2009 (Green, 2009). Relative

political stability since Nigeria’s return to democracy in the early 1990s and steady

economic growth has improved the image of the country from an economic

perspective. Nigeria’s economy has been growing steadily at around 7% over the last

few years (Mark, 2014), which is far above the rate at which many Western

economies, many of which are still recovering from recession, are growing. Nigeria’s

economy recently had its GDP rebased and now is recognized to be the largest in

Africa. This will likely attract more foreign investment as the economy is now

considered to be significantly larger and more diverse (Provost, 2014). For those who

want to relocate, Nigeria increasingly offers aspects of the Western lifestyle that many

in the diaspora are likely to be accustomed to. In recent years a number American-

style shopping malls have been built to cater for the expanding middle class, and

international consumer brands such as ShopRite, KFC and Mango have expanded into

the Nigerian market.

It is not clear whether these two factors (economic growth and political stability) are

the only reasons why Nigeria is experiencing return migration or whether it is due to

more complex reasons. This paper will examine the different theories as to why this

might be happening. This paper will seek to determine how public policy and private

initiatives are contributing to the return migration trend, and how Nigeria is attracting

inward investment. The main question that this study will seek to answer is: how are

government policy and private initiatives influencing brain circulation in Nigeria? In

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order to focus my research I will focus my research mainly on return migration in

Lagos. In order to answer the main research question posed by this paper, it will be

vital to understand whether there is a directed effort by the Nigerian government to

attract Nigerians abroad to return home. Hence this paper will seek to answer: how

have federal and state government policies and initiatives contributed to Lagos being

an attractive place for creative people to live and work? It will also be useful to

understand some of factors influencing Nigerian return migration and the reasons why

Nigerians in diaspora see Nigeria as an attractive place to live now and I will address

these issues by answering a second sub-research question: why are creative people

moving to Lagos?

1.2 Outline of the conceptual framework

There has been much academic discussion about return migration and brain

circulation in recent years, especially regarding India and China (some of which I will

review in Chapter 2 of this paper), yet I have not found much discussion or analysis

about Nigeria in this context. Scholarly discussion about migration in Nigeria is still

largely focused on brain drain despite many reports being published by the

international media that suggest return migration has begun to occur to a significant

degree. Similarly, discussions about the global competition for talent focus on the

activities of highly developed and emerging world economies and again Nigeria has

not been looked at in this context. As Nigeria has a large skilled diaspora,

understanding how to effectively tap into it could be significantly beneficial to

development in the country. Some Nigerian leaders and scholars believe that the

positive development of Nigeria lies in the extent to which its government can

effectively utilize this important resource (Orogun, 2014).

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The rhetoric on migration in Nigeria has largely been dominated by discussions about

brain drain. Brain drain can be described as the “large emigration of individuals with

technical skills or knowledge from one country to another usually for better

conditions of service and good living environment” (Ojo et al, 2011; p434). Brain

drain occurs globally but is particularly endemic in developing countries (Ojo et al,

2011; p435). This is considered to be due to a number of different contributory

factors. Highly skilled individuals can generally command a higher salary in more

developed countries and are also likely to live more comfortably due to better

infrastructure, security and other amenities (Mugimu, 2010; p37).

Ojo et al. (2011; p438) contend that the relatively low level of industrialization, and

consequential lack of jobs are two major causes of emigration in Nigeria. There is

also the issue of reduced job satisfaction as a result of working in sub-standard

conditions and within under-maintained facilities. Salaries are often unacceptably

low, which means living conditions for highly skilled workers and their families also

fall below what they might expect. Inconstant power means that people have to spend

money on back-up generators and diesel to power them, which increase the cost of

living. Western countries offer numerous lifestyle advantages such as excellent

shopping opportunities, good infrastructure and reliable transport systems (ippr,

2009).

Endemic corruption in public institutions also adversely affects the quality of life of

Nigerian people. Similarly, political instability, terrorism and high crime rates have

dogged the country since the late 1960s and lessened the safety and security felt by its

people (Ojo et al., 2011; p440). During this period Nigeria has experience on-going

violence between Christian and Muslim religious groups, both of which constitute

large proportions of the national population, and inter-ethnic conflicts, such as the

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secession attempt by the Igbo and other people groups in Southeast Nigeria. Fighting

between neighboring towns such as Ife and Modakeke in Southwest Nigeria is

another example of the various types of in-fighting that the Nigerian population has

endured during the last few decades. In addition, the country has been plagued by

terrorism from groups such as Boko Haram in the northeast of Nigeria and The

Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend). Also the prevalence of

serious crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping and fraud, add to the general

feeling of insecurity within the country. Developed countries are perceived as

relatively safe and stable and thus, are attractive destinations for individuals wanting

to escape.

For Nigerians with the means to study abroad there are many opportunities. One of

the key ways that Western countries recruit foreign talent is through university

education (Rizvi, 2005; p176). Many UK universities aggressively promote

themselves in Nigeria in order to attract fee-paying students (ippr, 2009; p5). Many

students from the developing world choose to study in highly developed Western

countries as they hope to stay after university and settle there (Rizvi, 2005; p176). A

key destination for highly skilled Nigerian migrants is the UK, with whom Nigeria

shares a longstanding historical links and a common language. As British degrees are

recognized and highly esteemed in Nigeria and internationally there is a large

incentive for Nigerians to study there, especially as opposed to in Nigeria whose

degrees aren’t necessary recognized worldwide (ippr, 2009). In addition to that,

further incentive to study abroad comes from the fierce competition for university

places in Nigeria, even for poorly resourced state institutions. Students who do get a

place often have to tolerate sub-standard facilities, frequent strikes (as the poorly paid

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university staff are sometimes not paid at all) and lengthy closures (Mugimu, 2010;

p39; Ojo et al., 2011; p440).

1.3 Overview of the study

I will add to knowledge by including Nigeria in the discourse about brain circulation

and return migration by critically analyzing the government policies and private

initiatives that have been instrumental in attracting members of the Nigerian diaspora

back to the country as investors and workers. I will also include Nigeria is the

discourse about the global competition for talent by discussing how the same policies

used by Western countries to attract and retain the best global talent can be used by

countries to attract back members of their diasporic communities. The conclusions

that I draw from this study will be useful for evaluating existing policies and for

proposing new policies that can be used to increase Nigeria’s attractiveness to

talented and skilled people in its diaspora.

This dissertation is organized in 5 chapters. Chapter 1 Introduction, introduces the

topic, presents a justification for my choice and sets a starting point for my work. In

Chapter 2 Conceptual Framework, theories about return migration especially those

that surround brain circulation will give an overview of the factors might be

influencing the trend in return migration. Theories on how creativity can make a place

more attractive to talented and highly skilled people will be discussed an analyzed and

I will examine how the latter might lend to the former. Florida’s and Landry’s

theories about the importance of creativity in modern economies will be discussed in

an attempt to shed light on why Lagos might be considered attractive places to live

and work today. Relevant literature on return migration will be reviewed including

Patterson’s and Saxenian’s work on brain circulation. This will be contextualized with

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Tsuda’s discussion of historical examples of return migration and the reasons and

contexts surrounding each event. This review will provide a framework in which to

look at the case of Nigeria. The methods by which I gather evidence from interviews

and email communications with a number of Nigerian return migrants, members of

the ‘creative class’ living in Lagos and a key policymaker will be discussed in detail

in Chapter 3 Methodology. I will present and analyze my findings about return

migration in Nigerian in Chapter 4. In Chapter 5 the conclusions drawn from this

study will be presented.

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2. Conceptual Framework

Chacko (2007) attributes the transformation Indian cities of Hyderabad and Bangalore

into world-class high tech cities to a combination of financial investment, directed

government policy and the importation of highly skilled Indian workers both from

India and from abroad (pp. 131 – 132). The cities’ “transnational high skill residents”

established global links that were instrumental in their development (Chacko, 2007;

p132). In the case of these two cities the impact of creative city planning has not only

created an environment where a creative milieu could flourish but also created

conditions where Indians living abroad in highly developed Western countries could

return home in.

The importance of ‘creativity’ to a place’s economy has been discussed extensively in

the work of Landry (2000), Landry and Hyams (2012) and Florida (2007; 2012). The

term creativity is used in a number of ways in their writing. Creative approaches to

planning include governmental policy that attracts highly skilled and talented workers

to their economy, supports innovation and creates an environment where companies

and workers alike want to locate themselves. Saxenian (2005) and Patterson (2007)

discuss how governments of countries that traditionally have lost a significant

percentage of their highly skilled workers through brain drain are attracting some of

them back by using approaches similar to the creative planning used by economies to

attract highly skilled foreign talent. Theirs is an example of how countries like India

are competing internationally for their own native talent.

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2.1 Theoretical Background

2.1.1 The global competition for talent

For decades the USA has used immigrants to meet the shortage of skills left by its

native population. Instead of investing large amounts of resources into developing the

skills and talents of its own people, the country has recruited the much of the skills it

needs from other parts of the world using tailored immigration policy. Offering

different types of visas for people with high levels of education and skill the US can

import the specific types of people that it needs to work in its important industries and

in the quantities required. Other capitalist countries also rely on using ‘replacement

people’ to fill the skill shortages in their economies as a more cost effective method

than developing native talent (Florida, 2007; pp. 104 – 105).

The importance of immigrants in leading world industries can be observed in Silicon

Valley where around 30% of tech companies operating at the turn of the 21st century

were run by people born in China and India (Florida, 2007; pp. 106 – 108). In other

sectors scientists and engineers born outside of the USA made up around quarter of

the workforce and foreign-born engineers accounted for 40% of engineering

professors in 2000. In the decade leading up until the turn of the 21st century, there

was a steady increase in the number of foreign-born students enrolled in American

universities and in the number of highly skilled workers, such as scientists and

engineers, awarded permanent visas in the USA (Florida, 2007; p99).

However in the post 9/11 climate, immigration in the USA has been tightened and

consequently the number of skilled foreigners coming to study, work and live in

America has begun to decline. Not only has America been rejecting more and more

applications for visas for highly skilled workers and foreign students but fewer people

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have been applying for these visas overall (Florida, 2007; pp. 111 – 115). These

students and highly skilled professionals are seemingly going elsewhere, namely to

Europe and also increasingly to China (Florida, 2007; p110). Whilst America has

been tightening control at their borders, these other countries have been opening theirs

borders up and attracting overseas talent by offering preferential visas, highly paid

academic placements and even income tax holidays (Florida, 2007; pp. 145 – 146) to

people with desirable skills. In Australia and Canada foreign-born people make up

25% and 20% of the highly skilled workforce respectively, a higher percentage than

in the USA (ibid.). In 2003, the number of Indonesian students enrolled in programs

in China increased, whilst it decreased in the USA (Florida, 2007; p146). China is an

increasingly attractive place to study for students from other Asian countries. Even as

recently as 2014, there have been discussions of possible changes to Chinese

immigration policy to further favor foreign highly skilled workers (Dan and Yin,

2014).

Florida quotes a columnist who had researched the situation in Silicon Valley and the

editor of a business magazine whose opinions support his contention that a decrease

in the number of talented foreigners immigrating to the USA will have a major and

potentially disastrous impact (see Florida, 2007; p110). The predictions may now be

coming true. Reports that the USA is about to lose its status as the world’s largest

economy to China are now, 7 years later, widespread (see Yueh, 2014; Giles, 2014).

These reports also support the contention that attracting a higher number of students

and highly skilled workers has been advantageous to the country economically.

2.1.2 The creative class

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Florida (2012; pp. 5 – 6) argues that the reason some countries are explicitly trying to

attract creative and talented people to study, work and live is that creativity and, more

precisely, creative people are increasingly important to a place’s economy. Creative

people operate more and more in the mainstream of the economy and “access to

talented and creative people is to modern business what access to coal and iron ore

was to steel-making (Florida, 2012; p8). Groizard and Llull (2007; p1) contend that

“talent is becoming the most prized resource in modern economies”. This is why

cities, regions and countries are competing in a new way to attract such people. The

people who they are trying to attract according Florida are members of what he calls

the Creative Class, which he defines in the following way:

“…people in science and engineering, architecture and design, education,

arts, music and entertainment whose economic function is to create new

ideas, new technology, and new creative content. Around this core, the

Creative Class also includes a broader group of creative professionals in

business and finance, law, health care, and related fields. These people

engage in complex problem solving that involves a great deal of

independent judgment and requires high levels of education or human

capital. In addition, all members of the Creative Class – whether they are

artists or engineers, musicians or computer scientists, writers or

entrepreneurs – share a common ethos that values creativity, individuality,

difference, and merit” (Florida, 2012; pp. 8 – 9).

Kuznetsov describes talent as “…individuals of high impact. That impact can be in

science and technology, business, culture and politics” (2006, quoted in Patterson,

2007; p2). These people use their cognitive and social skills in ways that most other

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types of workers cannot do in their jobs. Previously, economies depended on having a

large Working Class who mainly carried out physical tasks in factories. Then, during

the last few decades of the 20th century, the Service Class who delivered services such

personal care and clerical work became the largest, and arguably the most important,

group in the USA making up 45% of its population. Florida (2012; p9) contends that

the Creative Class is the defining group of this era. Members of the Creative Class

command much higher salaries than members of the Working and Service Classes. He

also predicts that work previously done by the Working and Service Class members

will become increasingly creative and will be eventually reclassified at Creative work

(Florida, 2012; p10).

2.1.3 Creativity in urban planning

Cities across the world are growing extremely quickly. This phenomenon contradicts

the idea that technology has made location unimportant to business. In fact it is large

cities and “densely populated mega-regions that drive the world’s economies”

(Florida, 2012; 186 – 187). Throughout history, cities have been the places where

revolutionary new technology and ideas have sprung up. But recently the importance

of cities as economic vehicles has become even more pronounced. “Place has

replaced the industrial corporation as the key economic and social organizing unit of

our time” (Florida, 2012; p189). Companies and creative people want to be where

there are other creative people. Industries cluster, like tech companies in Silicon

Valley and design enterprises the Third Italy, because companies want to locate

themselves where there is already a high concentration of creative people that can

work for them and because creative people go where the companies are. This virtuous

circle is the reason why people pay the high cost associated with metropolitan

locations (Florida, 2008; pp. 61 – 63).

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Cities can attract creative people and businesses by combining the necessary hard and

soft infrastructure needed to support a ‘creative milieu’. A ‘creative milieu’ is

physical place where creative people operate and meet face to face to exchange ideas

(Landry, 2000; 133). The hard infrastructure includes buildings, institutions such as

universities and cultural centers, and even transport networks and healthcare. Soft

infrastructure includes social networks and opportunities for human interaction etc.

The establishment of both types of infrastructure can be encouraged by “public

intervention through regulation, incentives regimes and changes in organizational

culture” (Landry, 2000; pp. 132 – 133). Intangible and invisible aspects of a city such

as its ‘personality’ are more important today that physical resources such as locality to

waterways and mineral deposits (ibid.).

For cities in countries like India and others in the global south the globally

competition for talent has traditionally been lost. Since the beginning of the latter half

of the twentieth century many ‘global south’ countries have lost large proportions of

their highly skilled workers to highly developed Western countries. However Indian

cities are using similar methods to those that the USA and other Western countries

used to recruit talented Indians over the last few decades to win them back. For

example in order to maintain their competitiveness in the current era of globalization,

cities develop distinct cultures in order to be attractive to particular types of

professionals and businesses. The cities of Hyderabad and Bangalore are positioning

themselves as niche world cities for the IT industry in order to attract members of

their sizeable highly skilled diaspora working in the USA and other highly developed

countries (Chacko, 2007; p135; 132).

2.2 Literature Review

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2.2.1 Brain drain and brain gain

Recent scholarship on brain drain has challenged the traditional notions that brain

drain always has a largely negative impact on countries that experience it. Brain drain

has previously been considered to keep the human capital levels in the donor country

low, whilst increasing the human capitals in the economies that highly skilled workers

migrate to (Mountford, 1997; p287). However a relatively new trend of thought is that

brain drain can often lead to benefits in the sending country in a variety of ways.

Firstly skilled workers who have left a developing country are also likely to contribute

to that’s country’s economy through remittances. They are also likely to serve as

channels through which trade and foreign direct investment can be done between the

sending and receiving countries. Brain drain can also lead to another phenomenon,

described as ‘brain gain’. Some theorists have argued that the migration of skilled

workers to highly developed countries where they will receive higher wages serves as

an incentive for those left in the sending country to invest in human capital. This

results in higher levels of education and human capital in the sending country

(Groizard and Llull, 2007; pp. 1 – 2).

2.2.2 Brain circulation

However even more up to date thinking circumvents the brain drain versus brain gain

debate. Patterson (2007; p1) agrees with Florida (2007) that there is a new global

competition for talent, which has been made possible by the increasing facilitation of

labor mobility through immigration policy and corresponding investment in

production in various countries all over the world. Although his prediction that the

brain-gain debate will become increasingly irrelevant might not necessarily prove true

in every country, he makes a point that labor migration isn’t a one-directional as it has

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been in previous eras. Technology such as the Internet allows migrants to keep in

touch with their homeland whilst working abroad meaning that they can stay involved

with their communities at home even from far away. Saxenian (2005; pp. 35 – 36)

writes that technology has reduced the costs of transportation and communication

meaning that scientists and engineers from the developing world don’t necessarily

have to choose between staying in a highly developed country after completing their

education or returning home to relatively unattractive opportunities in their home

countries. Her contention is that such individuals can now contribute to their home

economies whilst maintaining professional and economic links in highly developed

countries. They can be ‘transnational’ by way of working and living in two different

countries and keeping dual nationality. Hyderabad and Bangalore are cities where this

phenomenon has been observed. Her view that Bangalore’s transnational

communities were instrumental in its development as a niche tech city correlates with

Chacko’s view described on page 11 (Saxenian, 2005; p37).

Saxenian (2005) and Patterson (2007; pp. 1 – 2) contend that this phenomenon

(transnational and diasporic communities contributing to development in their ethnic

homeland through return migration and inward investment), referred to as ‘brain

circulation’ is more pertinent that the old brain drain/brain gain issue. With brain

circulation, debates over whether or not to allow educated and highly skilled workers

to migrate from developing countries to highly developed ones are not important.

After all, Patterson (2007; p3) asks, how beneficial it can be to a developing country

to not allow its people access to the world’s best education, facilities or innovation

centers? The restrictive and often draconian measures that might be used to prevent

labor flight, although having been discussed extensively by social scientists over the

years, are yet to provide real-world solutions to the problems associated with brain

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drain. Patterson contends that labor migration from poorer to richer countries is an

inevitable phenomenon, and only measures that acknowledge this fact can be useful in

mitigating its major negative knock-on effects. Patterson’s theory about brain

circulation involves African countries developing policy that makes labor migration

benefit them in a way that doesn’t rely on the compliance of the Western countries

where their diasporic communities reside (Patterson, 2007; pp. 4 – 5).

Brain circulation allows developing countries to upgrade the level of its human capital

by allowing them to leave to study, train and work abroad, yet still allows the sending

country to capitalize on its citizen’s work abroad. By subsidizing capital investments

for nationals living abroad in highly developed Western states, developing countries

can assist migrants in advancing their economic capital whilst away from home. If

these same countries create conducive and enabling environments for their people in

the diaspora to return to and invest that upgraded economic as well as human and

social capital in, developing countries can hereby facilitate brain circulation, which

results in positive contributions to the whole economy (Patterson, 2007; p3).

However not every developing country that has suffered the negative effects of brain

drain is necessarily prepared to effectively use brain circulation strategies. They

firstly need to actually have sizeable diasporic communities with technical skills to

attract. Countries also require some level of political and economic stability in order

to be at all attractive to their diasporic communities. The labor market in the

homeland economy must also be one that rewards overseas qualifications and work

experience (Saxenian, 2005; p56). Financial and corporate structures within the

country must also be conducive to investment in innovation.

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2.2.3 Historical return migration

Tsuda discusses what a conducive and enabling environment for individuals living in

diaspora to return to might be.

“Ethnic migrants are generally in search of better economic

opportunities, not ethnic roots. In this sense, diasporic return from the

developing world initially appears to be another form of international

labour migration caused by widening economic disparities between

rich and poor countries” (Tsuda, 2007; pp. 1 – 2).

Major geopolitical upheavals such as empires or colonial regimes coming to an end

have previously been the trigger for historical return migration. In many situations,

migrants lost their privileged sociopolitical status in the countries they were living in

meaning that life in their ethnic homeland looked comparably attractive. The ends of

the British and French colonial regimes in the 20th century are examples of such an

occurrence, as well as the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires.

Even in Israel, where return migration was initially a response to the severe

persecution suffered by the Jews in Europe, economic incentives entice many present-

day returnees. Even ethnic discrimination, which can be a cause for return migration

on its own, can heighten the economic pressure diasporic communities, as ethnic

minorities are often more adversely affected in an economic downturn (Tsuda 2009;

p23).

The perception of economic opportunities in the ethnic homeland may provide a

major incentive for diasporic communities to return, but the reasons why homeland

governments welcome back their descendants in diaspora are many and varied. In

some East and Southeast Asian countries governments have formed preferential

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immigration policies for their diasporic descendants for mainly economic purposes. In

many of these cases returnees were awarded with visas and/or work permits and not

citizenship. This contrasts sharply with some European countries, including Germany

after WWII, which allowed return migration on the ideological basis of ethnic

belonging (Tsuda, 2009; pp. 27 – 28).

Mass return migration relies on both the diasporic communities imagining their ties to

their ethnic homeland and concurrent policies of the homeland government that

encourage those communities to return (Tsuda, 2009; p30). Tsuda gives the example

of the return of around 300,000 Japanese Brazilians to Japan in the 1980s most of

which were lowly paid factory workers. The Japanese government created a special

type of visa for the descendants of Japanese people living in Brazil, which officially

encouraged them to return to Japan to rediscover their heritage. Unofficially however

the Japanese government was fulfilling an economic need for factory laborers who

were in desperately short supply in Japan at the time and were considerably better

paid. By allowing the Japanese Brazilians to return under the pretense of

reconnecting with their cultural roots, the Japanese government maintained their

existing policy disallowing the immigration of foreign factory workers. It also

allowed Japan to retain its relative ethnic homogeneity, which was apparently

important to leaders at the time (Tsuda, 2009; pp. 32 – 34). The returnees received

much higher wages and reconnected with the source of their inherited culture and

with people of the same ethnicity.

2.3 Summary

Essentially ethnic return migration can only occur en masse when a homeland

government sets in place policies that create encouraging and inviting conditions for

diaspora to return to. If the perceived economic advantage lies in the homeland,

22

diasporic communities are more likely to return. Tsuda’s (2009) and Patterson’s

(2007) work both demonstrate the importance of government intervention in the

return migration phenomenon. Tsuda’s work also highlights the importance of how

economic and political changes create advantageous conditions for homeland

governments to initiate activity to attract their diasporic communities home.

Homeland government policies must be timely and must take the conditions in which

their diasporic communities live into consideration. It might be read that if the various

government interventions Tsuda discusses had taken place at a different time, their

effects on return migration might not have been so significant. The homeland

governments put in place policies that made the homeland economy relatively

attractive but that also met the needs of the homeland economy at the time. A modern

example of this is presented in Chacko’s case study; state governments in India used

strategies that successfully targeted technical workers at a time when there was

increased discrimination against foreigners resembling Arabs in the wake of 9/11.

Negative views of India in the media also contributed to the feeling that Indians were

unwelcome in the USA, a feeling that provided motivation for some to return to India

(Chacko, 2007; p135).

Patterson’s theory of African Brain Circulation is more forward-looking and presents

a strong case for African countries to adopt the methodology he proposes. It also

correlates with Tsuda’s recent historical perspective of return migration in other areas

of the world. There being a perceived economic advantage is key to encouraging

ethnic diasporas to return to work (or invest) in their ancestral homeland, and it is up

to that government to accentuate these comparatively favorable conditions. Similarly

Groizard and Llull (2007; p4) contend that destination countries determine the

emigration prospects of potential immigrants. If as Florida’s work suggests, today’s

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economies are driven by innovation which in turn is driven by creative, highly skilled

and talented people, then policies that create the type of environment that attracts

these kinds of people will be key to facilitating brain circulation and return migration

that positively impacts the homeland country. Although the type of return migration

discussed by Patterson and Saxenian may not be as one-directional or permanent as

the cases discussed by Tsuda, the key point to make here is that both types of return

migration rely on economic opportunities combined with complementary

governmental policy.

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3. Methodology

3.1 Design

This paper is concerned with how creativity has and is contributing to brain

circulation in Nigeria. It is also interested in how public policy has contributed to the

fostering of a creative milieu in Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos. I gathered primary data

from conducted 11 different informants. I conducted 11 semi-structured interviews, 9

of them were conducted in person, one over the telephone interview and one via email

correspondence. 10 of the informant are members of the creative class living in Lagos

and Abuja and one is a policymaker, David Okoror, director-general of the African

Diaspora Initiative.

Qualitative research is generally considered to be more concerned with words than

statistics, and is often involved in inquiries about human experiences and

perspectives. It is used like riddle-solving to interpret hints and clues in order to find

meaning (Hammersley, 2013; p1). There are a number of different approaches to

qualitative research and I will describe the approaches I am taking within this chapter

as well as my motivations for doing so.

My approach to understanding the reality of brain circulation in Nigeria would be

described as interpretivist. The data that I am collecting relates to my informants

experiences and perceptions of living and working in Nigeria, and about how they and

others like them are affected by government policy in this regard. The data I collect

will give a sense of how why Nigerians are migrating back to Nigeria to live and

work.

One main advantage of using semi-structured interviews to obtain primary data from

informants is that it allows me as the researcher to capture a fuller picture of

25

informants’ perspectives. For my study, it is important to get a detailed view of my

interviewees’ experiences (David and Hughes, 2014; p164). I wanted to find out why

creative people including return migrants chose to live in Lagos. I also wanted to

know how government policy on state and federal level had affected individuals’

work and life. Also using a small sample suits the purposes of my study as well for a

number of reasons. Firstly, time and budgetary constraints only allowed for a finite

number of interviews. It also meant that I was able to meet face-to-face with most of

my informants, which is generally considered to be advantageous because it allows an

interviewer to observe respondents and pick up on non-verbal clues, allowing for me

to probe them for further explanation where necessary.

I am using an exploratory approach to data analysis and this helped me to determine

my methods of obtaining data. My aim is to answer the research questions that I have

posed in the introduction, which concerns the effect of creativity in a number of ways

on return migration and brain circulation in Nigeria. This approach is better suited to

collecting data in order to form theoretical ideas and not in order to answer a

hypothesis, which is generally the case of quantitative research methods (David and

Hughes, 2014; p164). I have not predetermined the codes or analytic categories prior

to collecting my data but rather will derive the codes from the data I collect. I have

not selected informants at random but have used nonprobability sampling. I am also

using what informants tell me as a proxy for their actual experiences.

I am using a phenomenological approach to obtaining data from interview

participants. This involves allowing respondents to talk at length and using their own

language to describe their experiences, opinions and insights. This method also allows

for informants to contribute information that I hadn’t necessarily thought to ask about

26

but that might be relevant to my research. It also enables me to used information I

learn from the interview to direct my further questioning. I am able to probe

participants and clarify the meaning of their responses as the interview progresses

(Guest et al, 2012; p13). This research method gives informants a voice in that it

allows interviewees to direct the flow of conversation to an extent, giving more depth

to the data they contribute. This also reduces the impact of the researcher’s bias on the

data gathered as informants can give expansive answers rather than just respond to

directed questions (David and Hughes, 2014; p164).

My study is concerned with gathering information in order to contribute to knowledge

about return migration in relatively unexplored area, and to see if patterns of return

migration in other parts of the world can be observed in Nigeria as well. Using a

quantitative research method might have been useful if the purpose of my study was

to find out statistical data about how many Nigerians have been moving back to

Nigeria, for example. However, details of their motivations for doing so, a key

objective of my study, could not have captured. In addition conducting a study that

would provide reliable statistics for the rate of return migration in Nigeria would have

been likely to be beyond the scope this project and above my means as a student.

3.1.1 Interview Selection Process

I selected informants that were members of the creative class according to Florida’s

definition (described on page 9) who are currently living and working in Nigeria. I

included a people from a variety of industries, age demographics and of both genders.

I also interviewed people who had studied, worked and lived abroad, mainly in the

UK and USA as well as people who had lived in Nigeria their whole life.

27

In my interview with David Okoror, the focus wasn’t on his own experiences of living

and working in Nigeria but rather on his work with the African Diaspora Initiative. He

offered an expert view on how the federal government is approaching and has

approached formulating policy related to facilitating brain circulation.

3.1.2 Interview Structure

I wanted to find out whether or not government policies and private initiatives in

Nigeria were actually affecting return migration and/or encouraging brain circulation.

One of the key objectives of this study is to contribute to the evaluation of

government policies in relation to brain circulation. Another key objective was to find

out why Lagos is or is not a good place for highly skilled and talented people to live

and work. By asking creative people themselves it is possible to get an idea of how

government policies affect their motivations to live and work in Lagos (and Nigeria in

general) and to move back to Nigeria after living abroad in more developed parts of

the world. I can also understand how government policy affects positively or

negatively the work that creative people living in Nigeria do.

The first set of questions that I asked were aimed at getting background information

about each informant and included questions about their occupation, educational

background, and where appropriate, their experiences living abroad and of moving

back to Nigeria. The next set of questions was about their experiences of living and

working in Nigeria in their current profession. I asked about where they go to network

and how social interactions affect their business and professional lives. I then asked

about what they perceive to be the advantages and disadvantages of working and

living in Lagos/ Nigeria. I also asked if they felt international work experience gave

repatriates an advantage in their industry. The last few questions were about how they

28

perceived government policy. I asked about how government policies and private

initiatives has helped or facilitated their work in their industry specifically and in

general. I then asked about how they felt the government could help further, both in

their field and business in general.

I asked David Okoror about the specific initiatives that he had worked on with the

Nigerian federal government. I also asked him to explain how committed he felt the

Nigerian federal government are to the objective of facilitating brain circulation in

Nigeria. He also gave his perspective on what the advantages of living and working in

Nigeria are and what he thinks the incentives for Nigerians abroad to return to live

work and invest in Nigeria might be.

3.2 Procedure

I was in Nigeria from 17th July – 2nd August 2014, with most of the time spent in

Lagos apart from a 4-day trip to Abuja between 24th and 27th July. I conducted the

majority of the interviews face-to-face and one via email and another via telephone

communication. Before I left for Nigeria, I had been put in contact with two of my

interviewees who were both members of MoveBackToNigeria.com, an organization

with whom I had interned earlier this year. My cousin had moved back to Lagos

having lived in London for around 16 years to pursue a career as a model and

presenter. She currently works at a major radio station in Lagos, and she introduced

me to two radio presenters at Cool FM Lagos whom I interviewed.

My cousin also introduced me to recording artist who in turn introduced me to his

friend who is CEO and manager of talent management company. Using this method

of snowballing, I met all of my interviewees through people I already knew or met on

the trip. I arranged interviews in person when I met potential informants and also via

29

text message if we couldn’t agree on a suitable date when we first met. For those

whose contact details I had been given through my internship, I emailed to arrange

appointments. I gave all of the informants information about the course I am studying

and an overview about what this study is about. I explained how long the interviews

would take, roughly half an hour, and the kind of questions that I would ask. I told

informants prior to the interview starting that I would make notes and record the

interviews if they were comfortable with that, and that if they were no one except

myself would have access or listen to the recordings. I made it clear that participation

was voluntary and their decision to be involved in the study would be kept

confidential. I also explained that they could remain anonymous if they wished, but

none of my interviewees wished to be. All of the informants who I interviewed in

person were very forthcoming and seemed enthusiastic about participating in the

study. It seemed that meeting me in person served to reassure them about the nature

of my work and my intentions for the data I was collecting. I also met all of the

people that I interviewed face-to-face in venues that they had suggested, which mostly

appeared to be places that they normally frequent, which seemed to help make them

feel comfortable – they all gave lengthy and detailed responses to my questions. In

contrast, the telephone and email interviews were much more concise as the

informants gave shorter and comparably simple answers.

3.3 Validity

Although validity can neither be proved nor taken for granted, the best way to ensure

that a study provides valid interpretations and conclusions is to identify possible

validity threats and take steps to counteract them. In my study the use snowballing to

recruit informants potentially involves getting the perspective of people from one

social group or network and potentially excluding other valuable contributions from

30

other groups. In order to counteract this I tried as much as possible to interview

people from as many different industries and age demographics as possible. Another

validity threat to this study is the impact of researcher bias on the data being

collected. My ideas about the subject I am researching have been formed by

information passed to me through my existing social networks in Nigeria. In order to

get a more balanced perspective on my subject matter, I interviewed a number of

people outside of my social networks, and from a range of age demographics.

Informant reactivity is another validity threat to my study. Informants might

consciously or unconsciously allow their responses to be colored by what they feel is

appropriate for an academic study. The risk here may be that they form shallow or

inaccurate conclusions about their own experiences and their perceptions of others’

experiences. In order to counteract the feeling of formality that may arise when

contributing to academic research, I framed questions in a personal context and used

simple and easy to understand language.

3.4 Reliability

In order to verify the reliability of the data I was collecting, I asked the various

informants to agree and/or disagree with certain viewpoints to see how much their

opinions correlated with each other and the data I had gathered from other sources.

The level of consistency in each category gave me an idea of how reliable the data I

had collected was and enabled me to evaluate the certainty of my conclusions in

relation to each other. I interviewed people who hadn’t lived in the West before in

order to get a balanced perspective of what life was like in for creative people in

Nigeria and on the trend in return migration. Only interviewing people who are return

migrants themselves might have given skewed perspectives as they will see the

advantages of living and working in comparison to the highly developed economies

31

where they had lived. People who hadn’t lived abroad would also offer a different

perspective on the trend in return migration to those who had and having a range of

perspectives will enable me to draw more reliable conclusions from the data.

3.5 Analytical Approach

As I am using an exploratory approach to analyze the data I collect, I have formed

research questions which I will answer using the data I collect from interviewing

participants. Rather than attempting to prove or disprove a hypothesis with the data I

collect, I will analyze the data I generate from the interviews according to ideas

brought up by my interviewees. I am analyzing the data I obtain according to the

themes that run through the data I collect. As I have not predetermined the categories

by which I will analyze the data, I will look at the recurrent themes that occur in the

data and develop my analysis from there. I will compare the frequency of the codes

that occur in the data and indentify instances of code concurrence.

32

4. Nigeria

4.1 A creative city: why are creative people moving to Nigeria’s largest city,

Lagos?

Lagos is the largest port city in Nigeria and its most important economic hub (Falola

and Salm, 2004; p211). The city of Lagos has spilled out of its former boundaries of

Ikeja and the ‘islands’ to form a megacity with surrounding towns in Lagos state.

Home to approximately 21 million people, its population is still growing rapidly, and

like many other megacities in the developing world, a significant proportion of Lagos’

residents live in impoverished slums. Lagos has a reputation for its inequality and

difficulty to govern (Kaplan, 2014).

Although all of the respondents acknowledged the city had major challenges for

residents, most respondents to felt that Lagos was the best place for repatriates to live

when they first returned to Nigeria. The idea that Lagos offers the closest thing in

Nigeria to the Western lifestyle that most repatriates would have grown used to was

the reason that most interviewees gave as to why it was the best place for them to live

upon returning. One respondent, Nwuche (personal interview) said that he would even

go as far as to describe Lagos as being cosmopolitan. He felt that this was partly

because Lagos has good nightlife, beautiful beaches, international hotel chains and

American-style shopping malls. Another reason was that the population in Lagos is

considerably more ethnically diverse than other parts of Nigeria. The city, although

situated within what was historically Yorubaland, has a mix of different ethnicities

from all over Nigeria and also a significant number of foreign residents. Oguneye said

she felt that Lagos was getting increasingly diverse, and she knew an increasing

number of expatriates settling down in Nigeria and raising mixed-race families there.

33

She also mentioned the existence of other ethnic diasporas such as the Lebanese

community who were in their second or third generations. Diversity was important to

most of the respondents seemingly because they felt it was sign that Lagos was

progressive and that it was similar in that respect to the places they had lived before.

Most of the respondents had lived abroad in cities including London and San

Francisco. These responses corresponded with Florida’s contention that creative

people value on difference (Florida, 2012; p9). Coker and Okoye (personal

interviews) felt that Abuja was a more suitable place for recent returnees because of

the better road infrastructure and tightly knit re-pat community there, but they were in

the minority. Okoye (personal interview)liked the fact that there were many clubs

and restaurants that were frequented almost exclusively by Nigerians who had just

moved back from North America and Europe as he preferred to socialize with people

from similar backgrounds to his own.

Respondents also gave various industry-specific reasons why they thought creative

people moved to Lagos. For Oguneye, Rewane and Essien (personal interviews and

correspondence), InnovateLagos, a Lagos state government and private sector

initiative contributed to Lagos being a good place for people in IT and tech industries.

The superior Internet connection in the Yaba neighborhood in Lagos was one of the

key reasons that Essien (personal correspondence) gave for locating his company,

Hotels.ng there. Nwuche (personal interview) who runs and oil and gas services

business, said that the Niger Delta crisis of the late 2000s contributed to the relocation

of many people and business in the petroleum sector to Lagos. He said that major

cities in the South East such as Port Harcourt and Warri ‘died’ and the fleeing

industry brought their money, businesses and employees to Lagos.

34

Another thing that makes Lagos a good place for creative people to work and live are

the many opportunities for social interaction and networking. Ejidayo meets other

people in the tiny animation industry in hotels such as Four Points by Sheraton in

Victoria Island or at Co-Creation hub, a support and pre-incubation centre for

innovative enterprises in Yaba. Most of the people in Nigeria who work in animation

are repatriates and Oguneye (personal interview) said she feels that she knows most if

not all of them. She attributes this to the fact that formal education in animation is

largely unavailable in Nigeria and the industry is in its infancy (Ejidayo, personal

communication, 2014). It is partly for this reason Oguneye prefers to work with other

people who were trained in the West, although there are also cultural reasons as well.

She said that she worked better with people from the West as they had similar work

culture to her own (Oguneye, personal interview). In her particular field having

Western work experience was advantageous because there were much higher

expectations for the work produced from those who had worked in countries with

well-established animation industries.

In other industries however, having the right contacts was more important than

Western work experience. Nwuche (personal interview) said that potential business

partners were assessed by how well connected they were. Networking therefore was

vital to his business. There is a members-only Petroleum Club he knows many people

in the oil and gas sector are members of, although he wasn’t a member himself.

Connections can be made anywhere, and the more he sees his clients and people from

his professional networks outside the office the better it was for his business.

Information is the most important thing in his business so meeting people and trading

tips is crucial. He often meets potential business contacts in bars, clubs and even on

the golf course.

35

Asika, CEO and manager of brand management company Stargaze, felt that Lagos

was definitely the capital of Nigeria’s music industry (personal interview). Although

there are other Nigerian cities with good music scenes, Lagos was where artists

needed to be if they wanted to become internationally successful because it is where

most of the big shows happen and where the all the major labels are located (Asika,

personal interview). In Lagos there are events where recording artists, record label

representatives and investors can meet each other such as Industry Nite and

LoudNProud Live. At such events musicians who have records to promote perform

and are supported by performances from up-and-coming acts. People who are trying

to make it in the industry often attend these events especially when there are

particularly big acts performing as then there are likely to be more and higher caliber

industry professionals in attendance (Asika, personal interview). People in the music

industry mostly meet when they are booked to perform at the same shows, which

often happens around Christmas time when there are a lot of concerts, corporate

parties and weddings. Important connections can be made backstage at such events

when recording artists and their management have opportunities to meet and often

time to discuss ideas. Nightclubs are also key venues where musicians and other

industry players meet each other. Many of Nigeria’s best and most famous recording

artists frequent Lagos’ nightclubs on a regular basis (Zaccheaus, personal interview).

These interactions in Lagos have led to Nigeria pop music scene evolving over the

last 10 years to gain international recognition and acclaim. In 2014 two out of the 6

nominees in BET’s International Act Africa were Nigerian (Tiwa Savage and Davido,

who won the award) artists currently based in Lagos (BET Interactive, 2014).

Nigerian artists have also won in 6 out of 18 categories at the 2014 MTV Africa

Music Awards (Viacom International Media Networks, 2014). Major recording labels

36

have taken an interest in Nigerian musicians, from D’banj signing to Kanye West’s

G.O.O.D. Music label in 2011 (Nsehe, 2011), to P Square collaborating with

American pop star Akon and rapper Rick Ross. Similarly, Nigeria’s fashion industry,

which Lagos is also the capital of, has been enjoying international acclaim. Global

interest in Nigerian designers has been demonstrated by Andrea Panconesi, chief

executive of luxury online fashion retailer Luisaviaroma.com attending Guaranty

Trust bank Lagos Fashion & Design Week 2013 and by Michelle Obama wearing

Duro Oluwu and Maki-Oh on a state visit (Abrams, 2013).

However not all culture sectors are enjoying the same success. Engagement with

theatre in Lagos has declined, and Onu often uses musicians and comedians to attract

audiences to his productions. The decline in engagement is something that Onu

(personal interview) attributes to there being a lack of suitable venues, poor security

and not enough funding. The National Arts Theatre in Lagos despite having amazing

facilities rarely hosts any performances because it is mismanaged by the public sector.

Onu feels that the venue is likely to be privatized as a result (personal interview)

which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. The MUSON (Musical Society of Nigeria)

Centre is funded by its patrons and is run efficiently (Onu, personal interview). Some

progress had been made recently however; lighting had very recently been installed

around the grounds, which would hopefully mitigate security concerns people had

about visiting the venue (Onu, personal interview). Onu (personal interview) feels that

Nigerian theatre was only beginning to recover from the military era when he feels

theatre production and attendance was discouraged in an attempt to stamp out dissent.

The new lighting was a start but Onu (personal interview) feels that the government

could do much more to support Nigerian performing arts. He is concerned that it

37

might be difficult to gain public support for theatre without there being unwanted

influence on the work produced (Onu, personal communication).

Lagos is good place for creative people in general but not necessarily in every

particular sector. As Onu’s discussion about theatre demonstrates government policy,

and in some cases the lack thereof can have detrimental effects on creative work.

4.2 Creative Planning: how have federal and state government policies and

initiatives contributed to Lagos being an attractive place for creative people to

live and work?

The Nigerian federal and Lagos state governments have successfully intervened in a

number of other industries in Nigeria, contributing to the attractiveness of the whole

country and Lagos is particular, to creative and talented people as a place to live and

work. Facilitating brain circulation has been an objective of the Nigerian federal

government for more than a decade (ippr, 2009; p6; Okoror, personal interview). The

pertinence has been demonstrated by the comments and writing by influential

Nigerian leaders and academics (Singer, 2001). The federal government’s objectives

include effectively utilizing the resources that having a large skilled diaspora in

highly developed parts of the world provide (Federal Ministry of Labor and

Productivity, 2010; p11). Nigerians in the diaspora have financial and human capital

that can be invested in Nigeria and used to contribute to development (Okoror,

personal interview).

On a national level the federal government activity has contributed to Nigeria’s

increased attractiveness to potential investors. In 2005 the Nigerian federal

government successfully negotiated debt relief of $18bn and reduced the cost of debt

serving to the economy by around 15% to less than 1% of its GDP (BBC News, 2005;

38

Office of the Senior Special Assistant to The President on MDGs, 2013). The

countries to which Nigeria owed money took the economic reforms being made in the

country into consideration when they decided to relieve a large percentage of

Nigeria’s debt. The reforms demonstrated a departure from the corrupt practices of

previous administrations (BBC News, 2005). In 2014 Nigeria rebased its economy

and the country’s statistic’s bureau released up to date information that demonstrated

that the Nigerian economy was more diversified and much larger than previously

estimated. Nigeria’s economy is now considered to be the largest in Africa at $503bn.

The dramatic increase of 89% was due to the fact Nigeria had not calculated its GDP

since 1990, something that other countries do every few years. Nigeria’s output also

now includes several industries that had not been taken into account in previous

calculations including e-Commerce, telecommunications, and even its world famous

video production industry, Nollywood that, alongside music and sound recording, is

now valued at 1.4% of the economy (Provost, 2014).

The emergence of these new sectors demonstrates that there is innovation occurring in

at least a few places in Nigeria. The e-Commerce industry was recently valued at

$550m by Omobola Johnson, Nigeria’s Minister of Communication Technology, a

significant rise from only $35m in 2012 (Azeez, 2014). Johnson attributed this to the

many domestic and international companies have entered the Nigerian market in

recent years, leading to a development of related infrastructure including

warehousing, advertising and logistics (ibid.). The success of many of these new

companies was possible by the various accelerator schemes that have been set up in

Nigeria, mainly in Lagos. The Lagos State government and private sector initiative

InnovateLagos was set up to support innovation within the state (InnovateLagos.com,

no date). Rewane, Oguneye and Nwuche (personal interviews, 2014) all said that they

39

felt this initiative had been instrumental in the recent flourishing of the Lagos

technology scene. One of the activities of the initiative included the installation of

broadband cable in Yaba as part of a scheme to make the Yaba neighborhood in

Lagos a tech hub. As Essien’s (personal interview) decision to locate Hotels.ng there

demonstrated, the facilities available in Yaba makes it an attractive place for tech

start-ups. Johnson’s ministry of Communication Technology also supports the scheme

showing that there is support for innovation in Lagos at federal level. There are

numerous accelerator programs and incubation centers for technology start-ups apart

from the state supported Co-Creation Hub Nigeria. Some of the privately funded

schemes are foreign-owned, demonstrating that the potential of the Nigerian

technology sector is recognized internationally (see Uzor, 2014).

These centers and schemes are not only giving support to entrepreneurs but are also

solving the funding problem that many young entrepreneurs face (Uzor, 2014). Okoye

(personal interview) said that he felt that Nigerian banks don’t lend Nigerian

companies money and banks that do lend can charge up 35% interest (Uzor, 2014).

The shortage of available funding makes it extremely difficult for young

entrepreneurs to start a business. Nwuche (personal interview) said that this was the

case even in the oil and gas sector until the Nigerian government implemented laws

that promoted indigenous ownership of petroleum companies. As a result of this

change in government policy, work that would have previously been contracted out to

foreign companies must now be given to Nigerians. It also means that even large

international firms have partner with Nigerian companies to operate within the

country. Since the introduction of these ‘Local Content’ policies there has been a

noticeable increase in banks lending to Nigerian petroleum firms (Nwuche, personal

interview).

40

People working in other sectors have not been as fortunate as those in working in

petroleum or technology. Despite music, motion pictures and sound recording

bringing in an estimated 1,139,942.91 million naira in 2013 (Provost, 2014), the

copyright laws in Nigeria are not robust enough to protect the intellectual property of

filmmakers, musicians and sound technicians (Asika, personal interview). For Asika

this meant that some of the artists that he manages were losing out on revenue they

would be making if they lived in other parts of the world (Asika, personal interview).

Musicians in Nigeria can’t yet make money from royalties so must depend on

performances, digital sales and endorsements for income (Asika, personal interview).

When asked about whether or not he was hopeful that this would soon change – there

have been discussions between key stakeholders, legal professionals and government

bodies recently about the issue (see Esiri, 2012) – he said that he was not. Zaccheaus,

a recording artist also didn’t believe that the government was taking the issue

seriously enough for the necessary laws to come into place in near future. When asked

why this was he commented that there were far more pressing issues that the

government needed to address first (Zaccheaus, personal interview).

One of the serious issues that the Nigerian government is currently addressing is the

poor power infrastructure across the country. The inconstant power affects the cost of

business as well as the quality of life of essentially everyone operating and living in

Nigeria. Asika and Zaccheaus described the effect on creative people working in the

music industry. Asika described how he had spent a long time trying to convince a

recording artist he managed to move back to Nigeria from New York. The artist was

particularly concerned about how the power shortages and blackouts would affect his

creative process. The loss of electricity whilst recording could be devastating, as files

might be lost and expensive studio time wasted (Asika, personal interview). At least,

41

Asika remarked this was an individual who could afford to buy diesel to fuel a back-

up generator. Some up-and-coming artists struggle with the costs of producing music

and the inconstant power only made it more expensive (ibid.). Transport, studio time

and paying technicians were expensive enough in Lagos without the added cost of

running a generator (Zaccheaus, personal interview). Asika (personal interview)

remarked that after a few months of living in Lagos, the recording artist from New

York left to go back to take some time out from the pressures of living in Nigeria.

Asika’s illustration of how Nigeria’s infrastructural problems affect the work and life

of creative people showed correlation with Okoror’s experiences with Project Nigeria

Initiative. In 2003 when the federal government began facilitating the repatriation of

Nigerian doctors (ippr, 2009), there was initial success until the major infrastructural

problems the country has began to take its toll on the medical professionals who

moved back. Okoror said that there were reported instances were there was no fuel in

the back-up generator at hospitals and some doctors witnessed their patients die mid-

operation when the normal power supply failed. Many of these doctors moved away

from Nigeria again too (Orogun, 2014; Okoror, personal interview).

This experience led to the realization that there were many issues that needed to be

addressed before return migration could occur on the desired scale (Okoror, personal

interview). The Project Nigeria Initiative, set up in 2004 as a pilot project of the

African Diaspora Initiative found that the key areas that Nigeria needed to address as

part of its mission to attract members of its diaspora back were poverty and

development, governance and security (Okoror, personal interview, African Diaspora

Initiative, 2013a).

42

Poor governance and corruption have caused many of the problems that Nigeria

encounters today. It is estimated that $500bn has been stolen from Nigeria’s public

purse since 1960. This money could have been used in development (Okoror,

personal interview). In order to prevent further loss of funds, the African Diaspora

initiative set up the Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes summit at which law

enforcement agencies, members of the judiciary, legislators, businesses, state

governments, and religious organisations meet together to discuss how to address

various corruption related issues (Okoror, personal interview; African Diaspora

Initiative, 2013b). Some of the issues have far reaching effects. For example money-

laundering is not only used as a means for government officials to remove stolen

public money from the country but is also thought to facilitate the funding of

terrorism with the country. Figuring out how to prevent it could help in improving

security as well as aiding development (Okoror, personal interview) and in turn

making Lagos and other Nigerian cities into more attractive places for creative

Nigerians to return to.

Apart from tackling the major problems affecting life and the economy in Nigeria,

Okoror (personal interview) believes that the government must also work to create

capacity for return migration and inward investment through industry reforms. The

privatization of the telecoms sector in the 1990s allowed for many new companies to

start up and also called for the skills of Nigerians working abroad. In the oil and gas

sector Local Content policies created advantages for Nigerians and Nigerian-owned

businesses in the sector meaning that those working abroad could return home and

operate in especially favorable conditions. When similar reforms happen in other

sectors there will be opportunities from Nigerians with relevant skills and experience

to return to Nigeria to work (Okoror, personal interview).

43

4.3 Creative Returnees: how are government policy and private initiatives

influencing brain circulation in Nigeria?

Inconsistency in government policy across different sectors means that positive

knock-on effects in one industry are not necessarily observed in others. Nwuche

(personal interview) thinks that government should extend local content policy to

many more sectors especially telecoms because it has been extremely beneficial to his

own business and to other Nigerians in the oil and gas sector. Putting local content

policies in place in other sectors could encourage Nigerians with relevant skills and

expertise to move back to work in the industry to experience preferential terms of

business. Architects and civil engineers in Nigeria have also lobbying for the Nigerian

National Assembly to speed up its consideration of The Local Content in Building

and Construction Industry Bill which if passed would create similarly favorable

conditions for Nigerians in the construction industry as in the oil and gas sector

(Pinsent Masons LLP, 2014).

Nwuche moved back to Nigeria in 2004 years before the local content policies had

been implemented. He left London because he had found it hard to find a job in the

city. He moved back and got a position as a junior oil trader at a Nigerian petroleum

company. At that time he said there weren’t many Nigerians moving back from the

UK where he lived, or from anywhere else. Since then he has observed a rise in return

migration from Nigerians living in the West (Nwuche, personal interview). Oguneye

moved back to Lagos four years ago after living in San Francisco for 16 years. She

was made redundant at her job in IT so took the opportunity to fulfill her dream to

start an animation business and to live near her family who had moved back to Lagos

over the years. Okoye came to Nigeria in 2010 as he was bored of life in the UK

44

where he had grown up and lived for most of his life. Coincidentally he moved back

around the same time as five of his friends from the UK. He moved to Lagos after

living in Abuja for 2 years as he had been told Lagos was a better place to start the

business he was working on. Other respondents gave similar reasons for moving to

Nigeria. All who had lived abroad and moved back did so primarily to pursue

professional or business opportunities in Nigeria. Coker however after living in

Nigeria for a few years is moving back to the UK with her husband and three

children. Although the pharmacy that she set up in Abuja is running successfully she

feels that the British education system will be better for her children (Coker, personal

interview). She mentioned that a number of her friends were also moving back to the

UK after having only moved back to Nigeria a few years prior.

All of the respondents said they had observed an increase in return migration from

Nigerians living in the West. The increase in return migration has been observed since

the mid 2000s, which correlates with beginning of the African Diaspora Initiative’s

operations in Nigeria. It might be read that their activities along with the other

government activity discussed within this study have influenced this apparent upward

trend in migration but further research would have to be conducted to reach any

reliable conclusion. The data provided by the interviewees does show that creative

government policies have impacted the work and life of creative people in Nigeria.

This study has shown that the infrastructural problems presented by Nigeria can

adversely counteract the policies that promote return migration. People may want to

and may actually move to Nigeria to pursue creative vocations but there are other

factors that come into play. As in Coker’s case, the lack of affordable education in

45

Nigeria meant that her return to Nigeria was short-lived despite the fact that she had

successfully set up a business there.

The Nigerian market holds huge potential not only because of its size and high youth

population but also because it is still so underdeveloped. For individuals with the

tenacity to withstand the relatively harsh conditions of operating there, Nigeria offers

investors possibly enormous returns (Mark, 2014). The foremost reason that

respondents in this study gave to explain why they or others wanted to work or do

business in Nigeria was the enormous potential of the market. Nigeria’s population is

estimated at around 170 million people about 60% of who are youth (Mark, 2014;

InnovateLagos, no date). The steady economic growth over the last few years and the

recent GDP rebasing also was another reason that respondents gave for wanting to

work in Nigeria.

The rhetoric used in Fashola’s speech and other discussions about return migration of

Nigeria’s diaspora shows that there is an underlying belief that Nigerians living

abroad have a duty to contribute to the sustainable development in Nigeria. However

it is apparent that appealing to a sense of responsibility isn’t enough to encourage

return migration on scale that will be beneficial to country as large and as beset by

problems as Nigeria. The respondents in this study have demonstrated that economic

advantages on an individual basis prompted their desire to relocate. As Tsuda’s work

demonstrated historic mass return migration occurred in instance where there was a

major economic advantages for whole diasporic communities in the homeland.

For those who do feel a responsibility to their homeland but don’t necessarily want to

move back, there are a number of opportunities to contribute to Nigeria’s

development from afar. Federal Republic of Nigeria Finance Bonds and 1 year

46

treasury bills also issued by the federal government are available for purchase via the

Homestrings online investment platform. Small investments can also be made in other

Nigerian companies including Crystal Thorpe and Kohath Rice Company

(Homestrings, 2014b). This innovative business has allowed Nigerians abroad to

invest their financial capital in domestic projects, thus transferring wealth back to

Nigeria.

47

5. Conclusion

The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of how creative approaches to

government planning and policymaking has been influencing the trend in return

migration to Nigeria. This study also aimed to determine how Lagos was as a place

for creative people to work and live, and how government policy and private

initiatives had contributed to creative people wanting locate themselves and their

businesses there.

This study has shown that Lagos is a good place for creative people to work and live.

It has also shown that Lagos has some of the important components needed to foster a

creative milieu. There are many opportunities for creative people with similar

interests to meet and exchange ideas. There are some places and institutions that

facilitate such interactions such as the government funded technology hub being

developed in Yaba, as well as various members- and nightclubs. The existence of

such infrastructure has helped the different types of creative people to work in Lagos

as there are many opportunities for people to meet and exchange ideas. Government

schemes have contributed to the flourishing of the tech scene in Lagos, which is now

recognized internationally. The government funded innovation centre has proved to

be an important place to network for creative and talented return migrants working in

the technology sector.

However the study has also found that Nigeria’s on-going infrastructural problems

can counteract the positive effect government policy has had on return migration.

Some of the challenges of daily life in Nigeria are too great for some and some people

who moved back to Nigeria recently have since moved away again.

48

This study has brought Nigeria into the academic discourse surrounding brain

circulation and skilled labor return migration. It has also shown that in the global

competition for talent Nigeria has won some of its own back since the implementation

of various policies that favor Nigerian workers and that have created favorable

conditions for inward investment. All of the respondents in the study felt there had

been an increase in Nigerians repatriating from Western countries over the last 10

years. This demonstrates that return migration in today’s world is not a phenomenon

isolated to Asia’s biggest economies but it may be happening in many other

developing countries as well.

Many respondents were encouraged to move back by friends or family living in the

UK and many mentioned the fact that there were a significant number of people who

they knew had moved back to Nigeria from the West around the same time that they

did. For the interviewees who had lived abroad, having links in Nigeria was key to all

their decisions to relocate to Nigeria. However this study has demonstrated that the

‘transnational’ status presents a risk as well as the opportunities discussed by

Patterson and Saxenian. As many of the return migrants to Nigeria retain their social

and professional links with the economies they have left, there is a risk of them

returning to those countries when faced with challenges in the homeland country.

Failed return migrants may contribute to the negative perception of Nigeria within

their networks abroad and thus discourage other members of the Nigerian diaspora

from moving back.

This study provides only glimpse into return migration in Nigeria. As it is based on a

small sample it cannot demonstrate how government policy is affecting return

migration on a wider scale. Further research on the effect of government policy on

49

return migration could be carried out to determine the rate at which return migration

is happening. This could be useful in giving a more comprehensive evaluation of

various government policies that have come into place during the last 10 years.

50

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59

Appendix

List of Interviewees

1. Essien, Emmanuel ‘Mannie’. On Air Presenter and Head of Innovations,

Wazobia and Cool FM Lagos. Interview. Lagos, 21st July 2014.

2. Onu, Steve ‘Yaw’. On Air Presenter, Wazobia FM; freelance stage producer.

Interview. Lagos, 21st July 2014.

3. Okoye, Edwin. Founder and general manager, DFNG.com. Interview. Lagos,

21st July 2014.

4. Zaccheaus, Teni ‘Teezee’. Recording artist with DRBLasgidi. Interview.

Lagos, 21st July 2014.

5. Asika, Asa. CEO/manager, Stargaze. Interview. Lagos, 21st July 2014.

6. Oguneye, Ejidayo. CEO and founder, NoryMedia. Interview. Lagos, 21st July

2014.

7. Nwuche, Michael. CEO, Montego. Interview. Lagos, 22nd July 2014.

8. Rewane, Misan. CEO, Wave Hospitality Academy. Telephone interview.

Lagos, 23rd July 2014.

9. Okoror, David. Director-general, African Diaspora Initiative. Interview.

Abuja, 25th July 2014.

10. Mark Essien, founder and CEO, Hotels.ng [Hotel Booking Limited]. Personal

Correspondence.

11. Coker, Bose. Manager, HealthAid Abuja. Interview. Abuja, 25th July 2014.