Ufodike, Deputy Minister, Alberta, Canada: How Nigeria can benefit more from its citizens in diaspora

By Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye

The Deputy Minister for Immigration and Multiculturalism in Alberta, Canada, Akolisa Ufodike, who holds a role akin to a permanent secretary in Nigeria, is the highest-ranking official in the public service and operates in an apolitical capacity. Before his tenure in public service, he was a university professor specializing in accounting, with additional appointments in public policy. With a robust background in education and public administration, Ufodike in this interview, offered valuable insights into his dual roles as an educator and executive and how Nigeria can benefit from Nigerians in diaspora.

You were part of the Nigeria Diaspora Day celebration and the theme for this year was the Japa phenomenon. What message were you trying to pass during the lecture about this phenomenon?

The word ‘Japa’ in the recent past has become part of our national lexicon, representing the aspirations of many young Nigerians to do better for themselves. It recognises that borders are permeable allowing Nigerians to pursue opportunities internationally. Today, people across the world do not have to limit themselves to opportunities within their countries’ geographical boundaries. The Nigerian Diaspora Day celebration this year involved the opportunity to have conversations around how to maximise the contributions of those in the diaspora.

The diaspora has a lot to offer. Right now we think of it in traditional terms of the remittances that they send back home. And those remittances are primarily operational, so it helps in providing a safety net to family members who are back here. The discussions focused on how to increase remittances directed at more tangible projects. Whether it’s in the way of investing in projects, bringing back some of the knowledge that they have, deploying some of the relationships and social capital that they build overseas to the benefit of Nigeria. A lot of what those of us in the diaspora send back to Nigeria benefits individuals with direct or familial ties to us. The question is how do we amplify that to achieve more tangible macro benefits that are more economic and might also impact the lives of others outside of our immediate circles. So, again, emphasis on investments and capital opportunities.

What are your thoughts on the Japa syndrome? How do you advise those considering such a move?

I will come at this from two angles. The first is that Nigerians seeking to migrate should do so through a regular route. I strongly advise against any form of irregular immigration. Whether that’s travelling on a visitor’s visa with the originally declared intent that the individual will return back home, but after arrival starts to seek ways to stay permanently, Even more concerning are the thousands of Nigerians who put themselves in vulnerable positions by trying to go to Europe via some of the most tedious ways. So, I think that’s the big issue – to explore regular channels. Anyone who’s planning to migrate in the case of Canada, for example, there are numerous opportunities and avenues for anyone who’s under 45 to immigrate through the regular routes and legally. I can’t think of a good reason why anyone would want to explore an irregular route. It’s not reasonable to expect that someone who lives in Lagos or Abuja is an agent of the Canadian government. All the information required to migrate is all in the public domain. You could find them on the Government of Canada website or on all the individual provincial government websites. If it’s not on any of those websites then it simply isn’t true. Canada is not a closed society where pertinent information is not hidden and you do not need to know someone to access that information.

Our immigration programmes are on the public record and easy to access and are designed so that individuals do not need to use a lawyer or a consultant to work on their applications. Having said that, there are individuals who have migrated legally, and, it takes a while before they can transition into the workforce. And so the issue of foreign qualification recognition is one that we continue to work on and we continue to take very seriously. We have just inaugurated our foreign credential advisory council with the mandate to look at other jurisdictions. What we’re doing right now, in comparison to what other jurisdictions are doing, is a cross jurisdictional scan, to find ways to ensure that when individuals migrate they’re able to attach to the workforce here expediently.

The professional bodies are regulated by government, so that’s the responsibility of ours to ensure that these professional bodies can evaluate people’s credentials in a timely fashion and tell them what it is that they need to do to start practising their profession. So if you’re a nurse from Nigeria, India, the Philippines or from Jamaica, what’s required of you to start practising as a nurse in Alberta? To this end, the Fair Practising Regulation Act was passed a few years ago, four or five years ago, to address specifically that issue where the professional bodies are given a certain timeline to provide a response to an internationally trained professional who’s looking to get registered in the province. And now we have the advisory council that’s going to advise on the ways to strengthen the process and help facilitate conversations around substantial equivalences. So these are the things that we can do to help address some of those issues that you highlighted.

For each one of those stories about moving abroad being hard though, I will counter that you’ll find the opposite to also be true. Sixty per cent of all the Nigerians in Alberta, for example, came in the last five years, contributing substantially over the last five years. Two Nigerians have become judges, one federal, one provincial, the largest black owned law firm in the country is located in Alberta in Calgary, owned by an internationally trained lawyer. In the past five years, six Nigerians have become King’s Counsels – what you call a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and they are two Nigerian Fellows of Chartered Accountants and hundreds of doctors and nurses getting licensed each year.  Also, two years ago we produced the first black Deputy Premier in the country.

So, while I’m not trivializing the challenges faced by some, many newcomers from Nigeria continue to thrive as well.  Sometimes this might require retraining or up-skilling. Because for every society where things are done differently we might need to up-skill ourselves,. But if we’re willing to put in the hard work, there’s a clear path to getting licensed and ultimately getting into our profession. Overall, we are mindful of what we need to do to make getting into one’s profession attainable not just for Nigerians, but for all immigrants to Alberta as a whole.

You mentioned the age range of 45 and below when discussing opportunities. Does that imply there are limited prospects for those over that age?

The reality is that if someone has a bachelors degree from Nigeria, a masters and say six years experience and is 31, I think you would agree that the individual has a higher chance of adapting and settling into Canadian life than somebody with the same background but who is say 51. Who’s more likely to adapt and get into the Canadian system? Who’s more likely to say yes, I’m willing to go back to school for two years to write my professional exams?

I myself emigrated in my 20s, but if I want to emigrate right now and being over 50, I wouldn’t be willing to go back to school like I did when I immigrated originally. The ranking system rewards youths; they recognise that younger people are more adaptable. The fact that they have a lot of runway left in their life will allow them to make the changes that they need to, because they’re looking at it as a long-term play, as opposed to somebody who’s 50 and maybe has a few more years before they retire.

To the question, are there opportunities for those over 45? The answer is yes. We have investor/entrepreneur streams programmes where people with the resources can create their employment. Of course if you complete a PhD programme in Canada, and you finish the programme at 48 and have a job waiting for you as a professor, you may receive zero points for age, but there’s likely going to be other points you get that will get you above the minimum cut-off. It’s a ranking system that awards points for various factors. If you’re over 45 you get zero points for age and that is the point I was making but you might get enough points on other factors to get to the cut-off.

Concerns have been raised by both government officials and individuals regarding the impact of the “Japa syndrome” on various sectors of the economy. What is your perspective on this issue?

These are legitimate concerns, right? But human agency is also a valid consideration. I’m not sure what the number is, I’ve heard that there’s maybe 20 million Nigerians in the diaspora – Canada has a very small portion of that. There’s more Nigerian diaspora in other African countries. There’s a reason why people seek opportunities outside of their countries of birth. People will make decisions that are in their best interest. Sometimes that means practising in Ghana or Saudi Arabia or the US, maybe even Canada. What we need to be thinking of is how to maximise what the Diaspora can contribute irrespective of where they are. And I think that’s the nature of  the conversation that the Diaspora commission has been championing. I had an opportunity to be part of that conversation over the celebrations recently. When people sell services somewhere else they are exporting services, which is not a bad thing.

One more comment: The Philippines has a department of migrant workers. They recognize that they have a significant number of people in the diaspora, people who want to work overseas, in the marine industry or on cruise lines, on maritime vessels. I believe I might be wrong. I believe there’s roughly four million Filipinos working in the Middle East alone. And there’s a government agency that facilitates that, a ministry, whose responsibility is to ensure that if Filipinos want to work overseas , there’s clarity around how to do that, there’s protections for them. An alternate question could be, how can the Nigerian system negotiate protections for those working overseas to ensure that they are treated in the same way as their foreign counterparts? I think these are productive conversations, not how do we prevent individuals from leaving.

So what is your takeaway from this year’s diaspora day celebration?

I’m really amazed to learn that the Nigerian Diaspora Commission has only been around for five years. I feel that they’ve been around for longer, that’s it’s a new commission. I’m really glad to see that there’s a commission right now to help facilitate some of these conversations that we’re having, that we had during the diaspora day. The commission has a capable leader, the Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewaa who’s doing a remarkable job. I couldn’t think of someone better to be doing that role. She’s got the relationships that are required to move things forward. As you know, she was a sitting member of the House of Reps for three terms. She’s passionate about all things diaspora; she’s passionate about all things development. It feels like she’s been doing this for 10 years, but it turns out it’s only been five years. So if they have achieved all these, including the event that I attended, in five years, then I look forward to what the commission will achieve in the next five years.

How do you unwind amidst your busy schedule? What are your favourite vacation destinations and foods?

I’m a work in progress. What does that mean? It means I do not think I am where I need to be. It means I recognise that I still need growth and I need to develop myself professionally but also socially. Everyday I’m trying to be a bigger, better, stronger version of myself. Because I realise that this is not the best version of me there is.  Having said that, I have done quite a bit but what I’m the most proud of is my family. I’ve got a beautiful wife and four incredible kids, who when I look at what they’re doing in their lives right now versus when I was that age, I know they’ll achieve a lot more than I could ever dream of achieving. But as part of helping them grow to be the best version of themselves, I also need to be available. I am a big fan of “do not disturb”. There’s times when I cannot be reached. I try to disconnect so that I’m available for the kids to connect. And then when that’s done, I can become again accessible to the rest of those who are trying to get some of my attention.

In the evening, dinner around the table is a thing in my household. We sit around the table. So we can have dinner and catch up with them, especially for someone who travels as much as I do.

I’m intentional about being available to the family. I enjoy travelling, so family vacations for us is a thing. Family vacation with the kids, and, for my wife, family vacation without kids are part of our household values.

In terms of culture, I enjoy Nigerian music. My playlist has changed especially in the last 25 years. I think it’s mostly Afrobeats songs right now. I won’t get involved with the Davido versus Wizkid debate. They’re both incredible artists. But we can also add Burna Boy, BNXN, Zlatan and Asake to that list. I’m one of the biggest beneficiaries of the influx of Nigeria to Alberta. Because I moved many years ago we did not have many Nigerian restaurants. Now we have Nigerian restaurants. There’s a place where you can eat goat head, which is the best in Canada. 

My little guy, that’s my last born, his favourite food is okra soup. He harasses his grandma and she makes him okra soup and when she can’t, there are several places to easily order from. So we are blessed to have a thriving Nigerian community. There’s a part of Calgary called Nolan hills where you can get puff-puff, meat pie, do your daughter’s hair, you name it. They have it.