German Reunification Day: On Japa and Gratitude

"Mr Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" - From Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan Berlin Speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.

If you are from Nigeria, you probably wouldn't need an introduction to the word "Japa", a Nigerian slang derived from the Yoruba language, which simply means to run swiftly out of a dangerous situation. In recent times, it has become popularized, referring to the trend of people deciding to relocate outside of their home countries, especially to destinations like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, or some other places in Europe or Asia.

According to an IOM World Migration Report in 2020 - as of June 2019, the number of international migrants is estimated to be almost 272 million globally, and international migrants now comprise about 3.5 percent of the global population.

Over the last few weeks, I have read dozens of stories of people eager to relocate or migrate internationally. As someone who made a similar "Japa" decision a while ago, I can relate. Like most people today, my "Japa" reasons were not entirely different: I wanted a better education and a better career opportunity. I had to decide: Stay back in my home country and complain about all its associated problems, or take responsibility for my life and "Japa" elsewhere. I chose the latter. 

Frankly speaking, "Japaing" or the decision to leave everything behind in one life and begin a new life in a different country with different laws, different education, different languages and different cultural expectations requires a period of adjustment and comes with a whole lot of (unforeseen) challenges. I can still recall some of the struggles I faced while studying, entering the labour market or dealing with the infamous "German" bureaucratic system.

"Each of us must strive to be more like Matthew Henry, who, when he was robbed, wrote the following in his dairy - Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed."

But despite these challenges, I must also admit that the decision provided me with many luxuries and privileges that I had previously not experienced or had access to in my home country — good healthcare, relative security, better living standards, and job security, to mention a few. And as humans wishing our situation could be better, we might often take these luxuries and privileges for granted. This is why I decided on the occasion of German Unity Day to write this piece to express my gratitude and pay a genuine compliment to my host country for providing me with a home and community after I had "Japad".