Media personality and former reality TV star, Natacha Akide, popularly known as Tacha, has called on Nigerians to resist the urge to emigrate and instead work towards improving conditions in the country.
Speaking on the podcast Outside the Box on Sunday, Tacha encouraged Nigerians to “stay in Nigeria to check this country or to affect the change we want to see.”
She acknowledged that while other countries such as the UK offer opportunities, Nigeria also has much to offer.
“Even though living in London, a lot of the things I did see were like wow… Nigeria is great. The UK is great as well, though, but like Nigeria is great,” she said.
Tacha cautioned that leaving does not automatically guarantee success and advised against abandoning already established lives and businesses in Nigeria.
“I just feel like with the infrastructure and with the working system that they do have there, if Nigeria can, to an extent, uplift certain things here, lots of people would not want to leave because it’s not as easy as people think. People just feel, you know, when I get to the UK, greener pastures.
“If you have a working business or you have a working job, you have a car, you have your house, it doesn’t make sense for you to sell those properties and say, you know what, I want to go abroad, whether it’s South Africa, whether it’s London, whether it’s Dubai,” she added.
The media personality also warned that life overseas can be isolating and that migrants still face challenges.
“It’s not greener outside Nigeria than we all think it is. Even when you get in there, you still have to walk, like walk to the level you want yourself to be in. So if you’re comfortable here in Nigeria, travelling or like japa really shouldn’t be an option for you because you get lonelier, like there are less friends, lots of people, it’s busy. I love Lagos, Nigeria,” she said.
