A response to Tiamiyu Emdee’s BBC interview: Nigerians have a reputation for pursuing postgraduate education.
Yesterday, the UK announced that from January 2024 most postgraduate students will not be allowed to bring their family to the UK. The update also means that from January 2024, students can’t switch their visas until they complete the course. Previously, students come in and some immediately switch to the health and care visa. This pattern has left many schools with many unpaid tuition fees. Some schools have taken drastic measures to ensure that students from Nigeria now pay an initial deposit of £5000–8000. Most are asking for over 50–80% of the tuition fee. As I have always said international education is not cheap, if you can afford it then ensure you pay your fees and don’t breach the terms of your visa
In another “news”, a Nigerian immigrant in the UK was recently interviewed on BBC on questions about why Nigerians study in the UK and other related questions, he made funny remarks about Nigerians mostly using education just to migrate and most are not interested in studying in the UK. I strongly condemn his generalisation as his views does not reflect the average Nigerian who are known to pursue continuos professional development in the form of postgraduate degrees. In the U.S, the annual Houston Area Survey shows that Nigerian immigrants have the highest level of education in the U.S., surpassing any other racial or ethnic groups.
The Tiamiyu guy who was interviewed by the BBC is one of many content creators from Nigeria who put out all sorts of ridiculous content that portrays a poor narrative about Nigerian immigrants. I think some immigrants foolishly think that throwing people from their home country under the bus just to be a poster child for foolery, makes them look good before the UK Government and media. No, it is just grand stupidity as they already know a pattern based on data on students’ numbers, other stats from the ONS, and lousy videos and content from Nigerians who share funny information on their social media platforms.
There are many people openly sharing information about how some people have met the visa criteria. Some even go as far as advertising Proof of funds loan services and paying to be a dependent, selling care Sponsorship certificates, and other fraudulent content. The UK Government and even the media follow and consume this content. They are well aware of what people desperately do to meet the visa requirements. So it’s not a surprise that the BBC sought the opinion of content creators like Tiamiyu. Even based on my Japa series I have been contacted by the BBC to refer students with dependants in the UK for interviews. My understanding based on that request was for them to make a case on the value student dependants bring to the UK. Some people are obsessed with media attention, the likes of Tiamiyu foolishly fuel funny narratives just to score cheap popularity.
The UK introduced the 2-year graduate visa to attract international students from countries like Nigeria. Nigeria is one of the biggest targets for international education not just because we want to migrate but because the truth is many Nigerians value postgraduate degrees.
I think Tiamiyu missed an opportunity to demonstrate that Nigerians are known to get multiple degrees and certifications to advance their careers and other personal goals. Even in Nigerian Universities, the postgraduate schools are oversubscribed, we are a people passionate about professional development. Go to Harvard executive education and other leading Universities, and you will find many Nigerians there, so it is absurd for anyone to say most Nigerians coming to study are not interested in the degree. For all immigrants who come to study overseas most often explore living and getting international experience it is only natural to do so, this is not only peculiar to Nigerian immigrants.
At different points, I have been approached for interviews and comments, but I sometimes decline. It is best practice to understand what the interviewer is trying to achieve. Do you believe in the course the story is trying a achieve? Are you the right person to give that information? How will my comment affect me, the organisation, or the communities I represent? Sometimes you see people do disclaimers that their views are not those of their organisation.
If you check the Tiamiyu guy may not have any serious professional job or affiliations in the UK, I can’t imagine turning up at work and my colleagues having funny perceptions of me and my home country because of hot takes that point a finger back at me as an immigrant.
Some people sometimes don’t know when they step their boundaries, peddle false information, openly encourage fraudulent approaches to beat the system, and other things that may put them on the radar of law enforcement. You may think you are attracting followers and increasing your viewership but this may negatively affect some people in the future, you are also fuelling a poor narrative about Nigerian immigrants.
Who is highlighting the phenomenal contributions of Nigerians in the UK to the media, I don’t see much of this but we have lousy people who are quick to grab the mic and make unfounded generalisation. At least we don’t have data suggesting that a high number of Nigerians do not complete their course.
The UK Government knows what to do to address the anomalies in the immigration system. They follow the trend and conversation for the countries with the highest number of immigrants, they know the pattern. The update yesterday also said they are going to clamp down on visa agents. Do you think the UK government doesn’t know most international students from different countries borrow money to prove they have funds to live in the UK? They do, they just chose not to address it as they actually need the student numbers.
For visitor visas, they ask for a 6-month bank statement to establish your earnings and other information but for students, they only ask for 28 days statement, does that tell you something? If the UK decides to ask people to show the full transactions in the account for a period, it will show some people cannot immediately fund their education but chose to see only 28-day bank statements and people omit the bulk payment they received from family or POF agent. They look the other way because they actually want the international students to come and pay high fees and contribute to the economy.
They also know students bring dependants who work to pay the remaining part of the fees. They are aware the remaining part of the tuition is gotten from working part-time or support from a dependant partner, it has been a long-standing part of the UK’s offering to international students, but sadly this will end in January 2024.
I believe next year they will see the impact of this decision on the UK Higher education funding and the economy, the outcome may mean they reverse this decision. The outcome of the General Election may also lead to a review of the student visa and other routes. We shall see.
