Africa's Brain Drain

I listened to an interesting interview today, in which professor Yaw Nyarko, an economist from New York University was being interviewed.  Professor Nyarko together with William Easterly have written a paper in which they argue that the Brain Drain phenomenon is actually a good thing for the African continent.

Brain drain basically means that the educated people in African countries (doctors, lawyers, nurses etc) are leaving Africa for the northern hemisphere where opportunities for work and a better standard of living are plenty in comparison. There is concern that all the talented energy could be sucked out of Africa.   Professor Yaw mentions that, on the surface this might look like a bad thing but if you dig deeper it is actually a good thing for Africa.  I'm not so sure I agree, granted I have not read the whole article, it's nevertheless interesting to see how he defends his perspective.

He says there is a "Brain Circulation" in Africa i.e people leave and they come back and sometimes leave again.  It is this circulation that is good for Africa as most of the people who come back are usually educated to a higher level then when they left.  Upon their return, he argues that they contribute more than the outlay the government contributed through the subsidised education.  He also mentions remittances, saying many of the people in the diaspora actually have an invested interest in their home nations and do sent back money to their relatives and loved ones to invest or just meet their daily needs.

Granted these are valid points, his research merely looks at educated persons in the context of people with tertiary education, I'm curious to know what percentage of  these 'educated people actually return to their motherland and make a difference.  How old are they on average when they leave and how old are they when they return?  Because if they return as pensioners than can they really contribute?

In my personal experiences, only a small percentage of the few that have returned to Tanzania have actually ended up in a position to contribute positively to the people of Tanzania.  We all know of an instance whereby the son or daughter of an influential government official has returned and made a name of themselves in Tanzania, whether this is a result of their continued education abroad, or the influence of their parents, it is debatable.  It's also debatable what can be considered 'contributing' to a nation, I mean if I leave at 21 years of age, and return at 50 and then open up a fast food restaurant (or mama ntilie), I'm a contributing?  lets be sceptical and say yes I am contributing, then there's the question could I not have opened up a mama ntilie or perhaps something better had I remained in the country?

A huge number of the my fellow country men and women who go abroad to study actually end up in dead end jobs, the number of hours they are legally allowed to work as a student leaves them unsatisfied with the money they make, you find that even thought they themselves are students, some of them are still expected to send something home to help out, the end result is working long hours illegally, their educational performance is reduced and coupled with a new way of life, it is very easy for them to get caught up and lose their way.  They wake up once they've realised that they've been away for over ten years, are still working in a factory and trying to make ends meet, granted they do have the latest music on their ipods and those vintage pairs of Air Jordans!  Where did it all go wrong?

Whether the same outcome would have taken place had they remained at home is anybody's guess, unfortunately the scenario described above is more prevalent then one where the educated African returns home as a success.

Dr. Yaw Nyarko also spoke of a double standard when speaking about African nations and western nations.  He say's the needs of the individual should be considered --as it is in the western world --rather than the needs of the community as it is in most if not all African Nations.  He mentions how the individual has a right to be able to decide what's best for themselves and immigrate to greener pastures should they wish to do so.  I am in partial agreement with his reasoning, mainly because the way of life of the western world and the developing world are totally different.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for people to be denied their rights to travel, I'm saying that African values are aimed at the community rather than the individual.  The community is structured in such a way that, what is best for  the group is more important than what is best for the individual.  Individual wants and needs are sacrificed to a certain extent for the benefit of the community as a whole.  In my opinion individuals are identified through the group dynamics, an individual cannot have rights if the group they belong to doesn't have that right...so if it is better for the community for you to stay and be a doctor in your own country then let it be so, but only if the conditions are in place for you to be able to stay and serve your community.

The government should make it easier for the brains of Africa to want to remain behind.  It's sad that to this day, no matter how highly educated you are if you don't know anybody, chances are you don't get the job.  Managers, CEO and people in influential positions would rather hire their relatives than the person most qualified for the position.  In such circumstances, how does the government hope to keep Africa's educated population within it's borders?  Is the brain drain good for Africa, partially yes in my opinion but the negatives far outweigh the positives when taking my beloved country of Tanzania into consideration.