It is almost the dream of every African youth today to have a taste of the white man’s country. Be it Europe, America or anywhere, the young African merely wants to feel like she/he is overseas. The reason is not far fetched and could reside in the individual, the economic situation in Africa and the apparent fun that characterizes life outside Africa. Most African youth only succeed in securing student’s F1 visa to study abroad, and so they move. I know that some of our elders and founding fathers like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Julius Nyerere, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkuruma, Uhuru Kenyata, etc., also studied in foreign countries but returned immediately to Africa to practice what they read. Don’t forget that the value of dollar then wasn’t greater than the African currency, Nigerian naira, for one.

From the individual perspective, the quest for exploration could be one remote flimsy reason why African youths troop to the United States of America, London and Europe for study. Above this reason is the quest for personal academic fulfillment. Education seems to be far more organized and consistent in US and Europe than in Africa and so attracts our glare. Meanwhile, the greatest of these is the mentality of multiple opportunities of greener pasture which Africans have about Overseas. The essence of studying is self enhancement and subsequent good life. Every average African youth believes things are so rosy and that the dollar begins to flow soon after arrival in the US for example.

I wish to compare this quest to study abroad with the educational standard back home, side by side the condition of living as an international student in America. Nigeria for instance, is one country with checkered educational history and system. In 2013, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on nationwide strike action that kept undergraduates at home for about six months. The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics were actually the first to embark on strike but called theirs off momentarily while their university counterparts continued. ASUP later went back on strike abandoning kids at home for over six months till now. The question then becomes, why would Nigerians not be eager to leave the shores of their country to seek academic enhancement elsewhere. Imagine the learning environment in Nigeria. Think of teachers’ staff rooms. Visit the science laboratory. Take a peep into computer labs. Put on the switch in labs or classrooms if you see any. Check out the games equipment and recreational facilities. Enter the lecture halls during classes. Risk knowing what the hostels look like. X ray the lecturer- student relationship. Find out how projects and thesis are moderated. One thing is clear. Education is given its priority in Europe and developed countries of the world than in Africa. In the United States of America, education is on top. I don’t want to quote percentage since that sounds abstract sometimes. Federal Financial Aids are offered to US citizens in my school (of course, same applies in all other schools). As a rule, any class lost to either snow or weather condition must be regained before the close of the semester. The word “strike” is uncommon to American students. Library materials are available. Professors have one on one relationship with students. Lecture rooms are quite conducive and neat. Rest rooms are decent. Recreation centers and snack spots are usually kept. Internet facilities are all over. Since the picture most African young adults have of abroad is that of safe haven, they see further studies as an opium.

The apparent cosy nature of overseas is another issue altogether. I’ll talk about it from both personal experience and those of other international students I’ve been privileged to encounter. If truth be told, many black sisters and brothers of ours give a false picture of life overseas. Ironically too, those back home are wrongly disposed towards getting the correct picture of the way things are overseas. The consequence becomes to paint images and create phantasms that present America and Europe as last bus stop on the way to eternity. And the way things are back home contributes greatly to this.

The first thing to be understood is that America is a capitalist society. Your value is in your money. Else there is no room for you. From the moment of application for visa already, the emphasis is on the contribution one has to make in a particular trip. For international student as an example, American society is interested in the financial background of the individual. That is why Immigration focuses mostly on the person or institution sponsoring intending student. They emphasize and reemphasize on bank account and financial status of the sponsor. Hence, any one with good financial background stands better chances of securing visa.

To be contd.

-Fr.Vincent Arisukwu

wrote from Maryland, USA.

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