A Nigerian man has taken to social media to lament that 80 per cent of his close friends had relocated outside Nigeria in the ongoing ‘japa’ drive.
In a thread posted on his X handle, @Letter_to_Jack, the man said he took a moment recently to reflect on the number of friends he had lost to the ‘Japa syndrome’.
He said he recently took stock and discovered that most of his best friends have relocated while others are planning to leave the country due to the current state of the country.
He prayed for Nigeria to work in his lifetime so he could stop losing meaningful relationships as more people leave the country.
His thread reads:
Japa curse: I miss my friends.
Last night as I writhed in ear pains, I decided to distract myself with positive thoughts, then I asked myself how big a party we would throw if me and madam decided to have another baby.
I tried to make a list of my friends and how each of them would turn up to slay with their families on the day (as band of brothers that we are). Then it occurred to me that roughly 80% of my best friends have already left Nigeria or have plans to leave by September.
That moment, the realization dawned on me: I suddenly realized that I was half-naked, quality-friends wise, and that I needed to be open to making new friends among a list of people I was not familiar with their humble beginnings and stories.
I don’t intend to relocate, at least not in the near future but I respect people who see it as a fresh start and an escape from the torments of this country. I’m also very much aware that once people relocate they are starting new lives and prior existing relationships will never be the same again. (time difference, pressure etc).
However, I can’t help but wonder: how is it possible that, despite the fact that we are not actively at war, I’ve lost nearly 80% of my best friends—a list I carefully and meritoriously compiled over a period spanning more than 15 years—to the nefarious hands of immigration, sparked and catalysed solely by wicked and greedy SOBs that we have as leaders and their stupid policies?
Our political ruling class mismanaged our resources and the potential of our brilliant/talented younger population to the point that everything is now unstable, including human relationships. The past is depressing, the present is miserable and the future is bleak.
I appreciate having true friends. I occasionally sit with them, rubbing off on them as they do the same for me. For that reason, I have to make new friends once more, hoping (not that it’s a curse) that they are not already in the final stages of their relocation plans and as well praying that they are genuinely beautiful people. This kept me awake for most of the night…
Nigeria, please work in my lifetime. Please.”
The post he made at 7:38 AM this morning has garnered over 742,000 views.
