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Panelist Hetty ter Haar |
The ‘Uprooted Emigrant’: The Impact of Brain Drain, Brain Gain and Brain Circulation on Africa’s Development Godwin S. M. Okeke, Department of Political Science, University of Lagos, Nigeria
Worsening economic conditions in many
African countries have uprooted many of its people from their home
countries, voluntarily and involuntarily, in search of the ‘golden
fleece’ abroad. This has led to brain drain, brain gain and brain
circulation. Brain drain is synonymous with knowledge loss or drain.
Brain gain is the reverse side of brain drain where the Africans in
the diaspora return to their various countries with high skills to
contribute to their countries’ development. Brain circulation
entails a continuous and counter-balancing in-flow of highly skilled
personnel. The nature of most economies in Africa today has warranted
this jigsaw puzzle. The outcome of bad management of the economy and
the generalized violent conflict on the continent has not helped matters.
Some survivors in war-torn countries, both skilled and unskilled look
outside of their countries for a better life. In some African countries
people run away from economic hardship to improve their lives abroad
where things are expectedly better. This phenomenon cuts across all
manners of people, including the professionals and the like.
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