FG Launches ‘Hire From Nigeria’ Campaign To Curb Youths’ Japa

The Federal Government has launched the “Hire From Nigeria” campaign to give young Nigerians access to international jobs and business opportunities without having to relocate abroad.

The initiative is aimed at positioning Nigerian talent as an exportable economic asset and creating a pathway for skilled workers to earn from the global economy while remaining in the country.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who announced the campaign in Abuja on Monday, said the changing nature of global trade meant Nigeria could no longer focus only on exporting physical commodities.

He said knowledge, skills, creativity and professional services could now cross borders digitally, providing an opportunity for Nigeria to earn foreign exchange from its human capital.

Idris said the campaign would target international employers, investors and businesses, while also reassuring young Nigerians that participation in the global economy did not necessarily require migration.

“A young Nigerian does not have to leave the country to participate in the global economy,” he said.

He explained that with the right skills, infrastructure, professional standards and access to international markets, Nigerians could live and work at home while providing services to clients and employers across the world.

According to him, such an arrangement would generate foreign exchange inflows, increase tax revenues and expand Nigeria’s skills and knowledge base.

The minister said the campaign was part of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its focus on job creation, economic diversification, skills development and youth empowerment.

He said the Federal Government was targeting one million export-linked jobs within five years, adding that the “Hire From Nigeria” campaign would be central to achieving the objective.

The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, said the success of the initiative would depend largely on the country’s ability to produce skilled and globally competitive workers.

He said Nigeria’s youthful population presented a choice between creating a demographic dividend and facing a demographic crisis if young people were not given meaningful economic opportunities.

Alausa said his ministry was therefore concentrating on practical, industry-relevant training to ensure Nigerians could secure international employment from within the country.

He disclosed that more than 200,000 Nigerians were undergoing training in over 1,200 skills centres, with programmes increasingly adopting an 80 per cent practical and 20 per cent theoretical model.

The minister also announced plans for a Digital Technology Academy that would train more than 35,000 Nigerians in areas including software development, cybersecurity, IT automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, cloud computing and quantum computing.

He said the six-to-eight-month programme would provide professional certifications to improve participants’ chances of securing international technology jobs.

Alausa said the government was also expanding digital training through partnerships with global technology companies, with nearly 50 tertiary institutions already participating in the AWS Online Academy.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said the campaign would take Nigerian talent directly to the international market.

Oduwole, who formally launched the initiative, said the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), in partnership with private-sector and development organisations, was working to position Nigeria as a trusted source of talent and digitally delivered services.

She said Nigeria already had a strong services base, a growing technology ecosystem, English-language proficiency and a time zone suited to European and African markets.

The challenge, she said, was to convert those advantages into international contracts, export earnings and jobs.

Oduwole disclosed that NATEP, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, had mapped Nigerian digital service providers across 17 sectors. More than 90 per cent of the businesses surveyed were headquartered in Nigeria, while 41 per cent of digital entrepreneurs were below 35 years.

She said established firms in the survey already served an average of 2.6 international markets, demonstrating that Nigerian businesses were already participating in the global services economy.

The campaign is expected to be taken to the international market during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the Federal Government plans to engage global employers, outsourcing companies, investors and other strategic partners.

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, said the initiative could help Nigeria replicate the success of countries that had built large technology and outsourcing industries around their human capital.

He said practical education and technical training were essential to ensuring that young Nigerians could take advantage of opportunities in the global economy.

Founder and President of Tech4Dev, Joel Ogunsola, said Nigeria had exported talent for decades, but had often failed to capture sufficient economic value from the skills of Nigerians working abroad.

He said the campaign would focus on making Nigerian talent easier to discover, trust and hire by international employers.

The “Hire From Nigeria” initiative comes amid continued concerns over the “Japa” phenomenon, the popular term for the migration of Nigerians, particularly young professionals, seeking better economic and career opportunities abroad. The continuing departure of skilled workers has raised concerns over its impact on Nigeria’s workforce and human capital.

The Federal Government hopes the new campaign will provide an alternative by allowing Nigerians to access global incomes without necessarily moving overseas.