Chapter 3

Migration Tales

AFTER deciding to relocate to the United Kingdom, Bepo felt the need to pay attention to tales emanating from other countries – especially Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Regarding remuneration, he always knew wages there could be hourly, daily, weekly or monthly, unlike in Nigeria, where one-time salaries were the major feature of white-collar jobs. He liked the idea of hourly remuneration: it would make job schedules flexible, giving-the employee an opportunity to change jobs as often as possible. On the employer’s part, he or she could closely monitor the worker. The practice thus neutralised the Yoruba proverb that says ogá tà, ogá ò tà, owó aláàrù á pé: whether an employer records gains or not, the employee will yet take home his full pay. The pragmatic wage system, he thought, must be one of the ideals contributing to the continued growth of the developed world.

A friend of his who lived in the USA told him one could earn between $150 and $250 per day, depending on the nature of the job and the location. He learnt that one could work up to four days a week. If that happened, Bepo and many others who dreamt about japa could earn up to $2,400 monthly. They would quickly multiply that by the prevailing N1,600 rate and arrive at a comparatively big sum. What such people often forgot, however, was that they would live and spend in dollars in the USA or pounds in the UK, paying rents, taxes and other bills – in the hard currencies they earned. Yet, they felt whatever remained, if sent back home, still translated to reasonable sums, which many home-based Nigerians could not afford to save.

Also, Bepo learnt that some people earned far more than $150 or even $250 daily, suggesting there would be more to remit home or exchange for naira later. He was told that cab drivers earned more than people who worked in stores or cleaned toilets. He found the story of a Nigerian who switched from driving to facility maintenance instructive. The guy knew a bit of carpentry and was eventually invited for a maintenance job in America. He earned $500 daily. Bepo marvelled at the thought of converting the sum to naira. That meant earning up to N800,000 daily!

His survey further revealed that skilled work was among the best options for anyone in most of the countries of the West. What could be more inspiring than receiving $100 per head if you were a barber in the USA? As a result, those who understood the trends often advised intending immigrants to learn a skill

before leaving Nigeria. Bepo had also learnt house painting during his last break when it had become obvious that he too would japa.

The relocation bug had caught on in the country. Nurses, doctors, and other health workers, said to be enviably remunerated, had been migrating in alarming numbers. Even the government conceded that up to 1,000 of the country’s 3,000 doctors were migrating annually. Besides these, other people were leaving from all walks of life. Many graduates fled, especially under the pretext of pursuing master’s degrees. The fact that an education visa allowed students to travel with their spouses and children made such people desperate. Many sold all they could to pay for accommodation, fees and sundry requirements. These included houses, land, cars and furniture. There were cases of some who sold what did not belong to them, who could thus be rightly called criminals. Some took loans from various sources and fled before full repayment. Others paid back later from the countries they secretly relocated to. Yet, there were some who never even bothered to look back. Classic rogues! Bepo thought.

And he could attest to some of these crooked practices from his experience at Stardom. There was the celebrated case of Mr Nku, who took a N2,000,000 loan from the school’s cooperative and disappeared into the japa wind two days later. Also, one of the school’s drivers, who attempted to steal the bus in his custody, confessed to the police that he wanted to sell it and use the proceeds to send his son to college abroad.

Bepo credited Sola, another young Nigerian in the diaspora, with giving him a fresh perspective on life in the UK. About six months earlier, Sola had been the Home Economics teacher at Stardom. She was on ‘sick leave’ when she and her husband landed in the UK. She had called Bepo, a day after they arrived in London, and confided in him. They were close. Bepo had helped her when she faced sacking for setting up a creche near Stardom Schools. He led the investigation. Knowing how effective she was in class and that she had just had her first child, he persuaded the management – mercifully – that the creche was merely casual. Sola only faced a three-month working suspension without pay. However, monitoring by the school, while she served the punishment, revealed that she continued to work diligently. Eventually, all her entitlements were paid.

“Your kind of relocation is the most convenient, sir,” she reassured Bepo during one of their telephone conversations. “Since your wife is here already, working as a nurse, you will have little or no stress settling down. I do not know her cadre or where she works, but nurses and other health workers are generally well paid in the UK. Also, you will not be burdened with having to work to pay your wife’s school fees, as many spouses do here. In many cases, the husbands work while the wives go to school. As for me, I am working while
my husband is pursuing his master’s. He also works for some hours, anyway. You will work but not under much pressure. That is, hoping Madam cooperates with you. Another thing that makes your coming easier is that you are not borrowing your way through. Or are you?”

Bepo confirmed he did not borrow any money, while revealing he had found a teaching job in the UK.
“That is what I’m saying,” Sola added. “My husband and I sold everything and we still had to borrow about N4,000,000. But I have no regrets. We have only been here about six months in the UK, and I have changed jobs more than three times. The one I just got is more promising; it will fetch me up to £200 daily. And, lest I forget, you won’t have any challenge concerning what to do in the next two years – unlike spouses that are here for schooling. Finding the opportunity for continued stay is not child’s play. We all are just trying our luck.”
Sola said that because she and her husband could not afford up to £1,000 or £1,500 monthly rent in London, they had to stay in Manchester, where they rented an unfurnished two-bedroom apartment for £650 monthly. According to her, the space was not quite comfortable, but it solved the problem of their immediate needs.

“Happily, it is not like Nigeria where a landlord will insist you pay for a year or more in advance. We pay as we live. Gradually, we have also been equipping our home, beginning with a mattress and a small TV. The bigger the gadgets you get, the bigger your tax here,” Sola said. According to her, travelling by rail from Manchester to London takes about two hours.

Two factors convinced many who, ordinarily, would not want to relocate. These were excellent infrastructure and opportunities for their children to enjoy quality education. They were some of the qualities that principally defined developed countries, compared to what obtained in many parts of Africa, with Nigeria being a notorious example. Bepo knew much about this, having benefited indirectly. His children, Nike and Kike, enjoyed free primary and secondary education, like other children in the UK. While Kike was still in high school, Nike had, however, begun paying fees as she had entered university. Bepo’s wife did wonderfully in this regard as she paid most of the fees. In the UK, there were also education loans and scholarships for those who could not afford fees. These were the ideals many Nigerians sacrificed for, wanting their kids to benefit from a system with a solid plan for children.
“My children are already in school,” Sola told him. “And they don’t pay fees. Imagine what some supposedly privileged parents at Stardom go through to pay the millions charged.”
Bepo knew she spoke the truth. A good number of Stardom’s pupils were from well-to-do homes. Some parents even complained that the fees were too low; they felt the population became quite large because of the ‘paltry’ fees and did not want their children mixing with folks from low society. But there were other parents who struggled unimaginably hard to cope. Some pupils barely fed during fee-paying seasons. Many parents withdrew their children during recessions. And, in some cases, the death of a father ended the schooling of his children and wards.

The case of Chief Waliem, a popular, rich man, highlighted the intricacies of private school education in the country. One day, the chief, who had lived so comfortably that he bankrolled most social programmes at Stardom, slumped and died. His three children could not complete the following term because the family could not pay their fees. To everyone’s surprise, banks immediately swooped on Waliem’s assets because he was heavily indebted to them.

Sola had a wonderful testimony to share with Bepo as far as UK healthcare was concerned. Besides the fact that her children had started enjoying free healthcare services, they, like other children, must go for two medical check-ups every month, including a dental examination. If a child failed to do so, the parent answered for it. The most memorable of Sola’s testimonies had to do with her second child, Betty, who was asthmatic.

The three-year-old had an attack, and Sola called the emergency line – 999. Two ambulances and another car arrived at her home in less than five minutes! The baby was conveyed to the hospital in one of the ambulances, while Sola went in the car. The care the girl received was so impressive that the mother could not help but shed tears of joy. Betty was lucky, too. Her birthday came while she was still in the hospital. The mum told Bepo: “You needed to see how doctors, nurses and everyone showered Betty with gifts. My daughter admitted she had never had such a wonderful birthday.”

But there were feelers that neither London nor Toronto was a bed of roses. There were stories of fellows who became stranded in the otherwise posh cities. While some could not find any reasonable job, others who did could not cope with the demands. Jare, a young chap who abandoned his banking job, recounted how he burst into tears when the stark reality of caring for an old couple in London dawned on him.

Also, plans by some of the couples who migrated together sometimes crumbled like a house of cards. Such was the case of Hope, an accountant. He applied for and secured admission to a master’s programme. His wife joined him in the UK to work and earn the money that would see him through, as Sola and her husband were doing. But barely four months after they landed in London – and Hope began studying – the wife stopped providing for him. She complained that the demands of her job made it impractical to keep sponsoring him. All pleas by Hope fell on deaf ears. He contacted his wife’s parents in Nigeria, but they told him point-blank that she had explained her situation and they quite understood her position.
Of course, life is never a straitjacket, Bepo thought. Home or abroad, people have always had different results from life’s intriguing tests. He recalled how an Idoma, a Benue State indigene who was a former co-tenant of his, used to say: Owo noya cloleche no chelo longea, owoloma yaclaho-olo noihonoa, indicating that the sugar cane and the bitter leaf got different tastes from the same rain that nurtured them. “Ojò tó rọ sí’rèké t’éwé è dún, òun náà ló ro`s’éwúro t’éwé re korò,” he muttered the Yoruba version of the expression to himself.

In one recent tale, Riike, a woman who migrated to the United States, could, in less than three years after her relocation, buy two houses in Ibadan, Nigeria. But an academic who had been in the same country for over 20 years returned to Ikole, in Ekiti State, empty-handed! The sad return was, however, linked to divorce from his wife. The woman, also a Nigerian, was said to have legally stripped him of all he had after he was found guilty of bigamy.
“I will not be paying a dime as school fees for my children until 2027. That is when my first son will go to a university. But, for now, all three of them are in foundation schools where qualitative and free education is guaranteed,” Riike declared. She also helped two of her sisters to migrate to the USA. But for the visa problems Wemimo – her brother and parents’ last born – faced, he would also have joined them in God’s Own Country. She hoped to invite him as soon as he overcame the hurdles.

But compare Riike’s case with that of Akindele, who would not yet initiate the process of getting any of his children over to America. Seven years earlier, he migrated to the country at age 55. He was invited by a USA citizen he had met at a Lagos-based media company where he used to work. He and his wife, married for 18 years, had just divorced. They had three children, aged between 16 and 10. Akindele eventually got permanent residency in America, living with his new woman. His first job was freight handling, followed by an administrative beat at a correctional centre in Alabama. He said the latter job was relatively less hectic than offloading large packets from trucks. Yet, he noted that being a correctional centre official was not a tea party either.

“Imagine sitting down, alert, for 12 straight hours!” Akindele told Ige, a friend who was also dreaming of japa. “There is no easy job in America o! Oyinbo man does not want to know whether you are young or old. You will work for every dime. You get dollars per second, and you do the work per second. I always pity some older Nigerians here. Did you know that some of our people, who retired at various senior levels, including as permanent secretaries, still come here to work? I have seen 70-year-olds who migrated from Nigeria end up as casual workers in America. You would find an elderly man shaking like a leaf tossed by the wind as he tries to sort mail or whatever he does. That does not concern the Oyinbo man. Do you want to earn the dollar? You must be prepared to work for the cents.”
Akindele said he could not yet invite any member of his family, especially his children, because he needed time to fine-tune the plan with his wife, who was his host. He added that it was important to solidify one’s financial base before taking on dependents.

Here are the 50 possible JAMB questions and answers for this chapter 3

Instructions: answers each question are in bold form.

THE LEKKI HEADMASTER – CHAPTER 3: Migration Tales

Here are the 50 possible JAMB-style objective questions based on Chapter 3 of “The Lekki Headmaster,” “Migration Tales,” with their correct options:

Instructions: Choose the option that best answers each question.

1. Bepo decided to relocate to the United Kingdom primarily because he wanted to:
a) Pursue a master’s degree
b) Experience different remuneration systems
c) Join his wife who was already there
d) Avoid paying school fees for his children

2. Unlike Nigeria, remuneration in Canada, the UK, and the USA is often characterized by:
a) One-time salaries for white-collar jobs
b) Hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly payments
c) Payments strictly tied to employer’s gains
d) Fixed annual salaries regardless of job type

3. The Yoruba proverb “ogá tà, ogá ò tà, owó aláàrù á pé” means:
a) Employees always get their full pay regardless of employer’s profit.
b) Employers always monitor their workers closely.
c) Hourly wages are flexible for employees.
d) Developed countries have a pragmatic wage system.

4. According to Bepo’s friend in the USA, a person could earn how much daily?
a) Between $100 and $150
b) Between $150 and $250
c) Up to $500
d) Up to $1000

5. If Bepo worked four days a week in the USA, he could potentially earn how much monthly?
a) $1000
b) $1600
c) $2400
d) $3200

6. Nigerians often forgot that while earning in hard currencies, they would also:
a) Pay taxes and bills in naira
b) Live and spend in the same hard currencies
c) Be able to save more easily than at home
d) Not need to pay rent or taxes

7. A Nigerian who switched from driving to facility maintenance in America earned how much daily?
a) $150
b) $250
c) $500
d) $800,000 (Naira equivalent)

8. Bepo’s survey suggested that among the best options for immigrants in the West was:
a) Academic research
b) Unskilled labour
c) Skilled work
d) Managerial positions

9. What skill did Bepo learn during his last break in Nigeria?
a) Carpentry
b) Barbering
c) House painting
d) Driving

10. The term “japa” in the context of the chapter refers to:
a) A type of visa
b) A Nigerian dance
c) Emigration or relocating abroad
d) A form of investment

What alarming trend was noted regarding Nigerian health workers?
a) They were poorly paid abroad.
b) They were migrating in large numbers.
c) They were refusing to leave Nigeria.
d) They were demanding higher salaries at home.

The Nigerian government conceded that how many of the country’s 3,000 doctors were migrating annually?
a) 500
b) 1,000
c) 2,000
d) 3,000

Many graduates fled Nigeria under the pretext of:
a) Seeking asylum
b) Pursuing master’s degrees
c) Visiting relatives
d) Starting businesses abroad

The fact that an education visa allowed students to travel with their spouses and children made many desperate to:
a) Avoid paying high school fees
b) Sell all their assets to fund the move
c) Secure permanent residency quickly
d) Gain free healthcare access

What crooked practice did Bepo attest to from his experience at Stardom?
a) Teachers extorting students
b) Staff taking loans and disappearing (e.g., Mr. Nku)
c) Students forging results
d) Staff stealing school property (the driver attempting to steal the bus) – Both b and d are mentioned, but the loan disappearance is more explicitly described as a “crooked practice” with “japa wind.”

Nku took a loan of N2,000,000 from Stardom’s cooperative and:
a) Paid it back promptly
b) Invested it in a new business
c) Disappeared into the “japa wind”
d) Used it to pay his children’s fees

Sola was formerly a teacher at Stardom, specifically in:
a) English Language
b) Mathematics
c) Home Economics
d) Science

Bepo helped Sola avoid being sacked for:
a) Stealing school funds
b) Setting up a creche near Stardom Schools
c) Absenteeism
d) Falsifying student records

Sola advised Bepo that his relocation would be “most convenient” because:
a) He already had a job offer
b) His wife was already working as a nurse in the UK
c) He had learned a valuable skill
d) He was not borrowing money for the move

According to Sola, nurses and other health workers in the UK are generally:
a) Underpaid
b) Highly stressed
c) Well paid
d) Required to pay high taxes

What challenge did Sola mention regarding “spouses that are here for schooling”?
a) They struggled to find accommodation.
b) They often had difficulty getting their entitlements paid.
c) They found it hard to get an opportunity for continued stay.
d) They could not bring their children with them.

Sola and her husband could not afford London rent, so they settled in:
a) Birmingham
b) Manchester
c) Glasgow
d) Leeds

The monthly rent for Sola’s unfurnished two-bedroom apartment in Manchester was:
a) £500
b) £650
c) £1,000
d) £1,500

A key difference in rent payment between Nigeria and the UK, according to Sola, is that in the UK:
a) Landlords insist on a year or more in advance.
b) Rent is paid as one lives (monthly).
c) Rent is significantly higher.
d) Tenants often get free accommodation.

Sola mentioned that in the UK, “The bigger the gadgets you get, the bigger your ____ here.”
a) Rent
b) Tax
c) Savings
d) Insurance

How long does it take to travel by rail from Manchester to London?
a) About one hour
b) About two hours
c) About three hours
d) About four hours

What two factors convinced many Nigerians to relocate, despite initial reluctance?
a) Higher salaries and better job security
b) Excellent infrastructure and quality education for children
c) Easier visa processes and cultural diversity
d) Lower cost of living and less competition

Bepo’s children, Nike and Kike, benefited from what in the UK?
a) Free university education
b) Free primary and secondary education
c) Special scholarships for immigrants
d) Reduced tuition fees for international students

Nike, Bepo’s daughter, had started paying fees because:
a) She entered university.
b) She was attending a private school.
c) Her mother stopped paying for her.
d) She was an international student.

Who paid most of Nike’s university fees?
a) Bepo
b) Sola
c) Bepo’s wife
d) The UK government

Sola mentioned that in the UK, education loans and scholarships were available for those who:
a) Were pursuing master’s degrees
b) Were children of health workers
c) Could not afford fees
d) Had excellent academic records

What problem did parents at Stardom face regarding their children’s education in Nigeria?
a) Lack of qualified teachers
b) Overcrowded classrooms
c) Exorbitant fees
d) Poor infrastructure

What negative perception did some well-to-do parents at Stardom have about ‘paltry’ fees?
a) It meant a lower quality of education.
b) It led to a large population of students.
c) It attracted children from low society.
d) Both b and c

What happened to Chief Waliem’s children’s schooling after his death?
a) They continued with scholarships.
b) They could not complete the following term due to unpaid fees.
c) The community raised funds for them.
d) They were exempted from paying fees.

What surprised everyone after Chief Waliem’s death?
a) He had no assets.
b) Banks immediately seized his assets due to heavy debt.
c) His family quickly settled his debts.
d) He had secretly migrated abroad.

How often must children in the UK undergo medical check-ups, including dental examinations?
a) Once a year
b) Twice a year
c) Once a month
d) Twice a month

What was the most memorable part of Sola’s testimony regarding UK healthcare?
a) The quality of doctors
b) The free dental care
c) The rapid emergency response for her asthmatic daughter, Betty
d) The availability of health insurance

How many ambulances and cars arrived at Sola’s home when Betty had an asthma attack?
a) One ambulance, one car
b) Two ambulances, one car
c) One ambulance, two cars
d) Two ambulances, two cars

What did doctors, nurses, and everyone at the hospital do for Betty on her birthday?
a) Gave her a special cake.
b) Showered her with gifts.
c) Discharged her immediately.
d) Organized a party for her.

What was Jare’s profession before he abandoned it to care for an old couple in London?
a) Teacher
b) Doctor
c) Banker
d) Engineer

What happened to Hope’s plans after he migrated to the UK for a master’s programme?
a) He quickly secured a high-paying job.
b) His wife stopped providing for him after four months.
c) He dropped out due to financial difficulties.
d) He received a scholarship from the university.

Hope’s wife stopped sponsoring him because:
a) She found another partner.
b) She lost her job.
c) The demands of her job made it impractical.
d) Hope was not performing well academically.

The Idoma proverb “Owo noya cloleche no chelo longea, owoloma yaclaho-olo noihonoa” means:
a) Life is a straitjacket.
b) The sugar cane and bitter leaf get different tastes from the same rain.
c) Everyone will face challenges abroad.
d) Hard work leads to success.

Riike, a woman who migrated to the US, was able to buy two houses in Ibadan, Nigeria, in less than:
a) One year
b) Two years
c) Three years
d) Five years

An academic who had spent over 20 years in the same country as Riike returned to Ikole, Ekiti State:
a) With significant wealth
b) As a successful businessman
c) Empty-handed
d) To teach at a university

The academic’s sad return was linked to:
a) Poor investment choices
b) A divorce from his wife due to bigamy
c) Health issues
d) Visa problems

Riike declared that she would not be paying school fees for her children until:
a) They finished primary school
b) They finished secondary school
c) 2027, when her first son goes to university
d) They completed their foundation schools

Akindele migrated to the US at what age?
a) 30
b) 45
c) 55
d) 65

Akindele’s first job in America was:
a) Teaching
b) Freight handling
c) Nursing
d) Driving

What advice did Akindele give about working in America?
a) It’s easy to earn dollars quickly.
b) “Oyinbo man does not want to know whether you are young or old. You will work for every dime.”
c) Older Nigerians easily find senior positions.
d) Casual work is highly paid.