By Kolawole Ojebisi
Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, has said he is not averse to Nigerian graduates, particularly those who studied Nursing, leaving the shores of the country for foreign land.
He maintained that Nursing graduates, like other Nigerian youths, are full of dreams and boundless energies to pursue.
Obi said that he would not discourage nurses from leaving in droves for other countries if that’s the only means they can realise their dreams.
Obi, who is also a former Governor of Anambra State stated this while addressing students of the College of Nursing Sciences in Adazi-Nnukwu over the weekend.
He noted that there’s nothing unpatriotic about looking for greener pastures as a means of finding individual fulfilment.
“I have always told the Nursing Council not to restrict you people from travelling abroad after graduation. If it is not going to work for you here, go to where it will work for you.
“We will not advise anyone to stay where it is difficult for them. If you want to seek greener pastures outside, please go. I’m sure that when we build a greater Nigeria, you will come back.
“My PA, Michael-Jude who was here with me the last time I came here has travelled abroad. He got married to a nurse, and the UK government granted his wife and her husband all rights to study, and he is now in UK. As I am now, I am looking for a new PA,” he said.
Obi made this statement a day after President Bola Tinubu advised Nigerian graduates and by extension the youth to resist the temptation of leaving the country for foreign shores, especially the developed nations.
Tinubu had said the lush pastures people find enticing in other countries were made so through the grit, sweat and sacrifices of their citizens adding that Nigeria can equally make its pastures green or even greener.
He added that young Nigerians must embrace patriotism and sense of purpose to make the Nigeria of their dream become a reality.
Tinubu made this appeal in his address at the 29th and 30th combined convocation ceremony of the University of Uyo, held at the institution’s permanent ground, Nwanniba Road, on Saturday.
The economic hardship in the country has caused Nigerians, particularly the youth, to relocate from the country in droves, and this phenomenon is now referred to as “japa syndrome” in local parlance.
