Former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has urged Nigerians not to succumb to the growing trend of “japa” (leaving the country) but rather to stay and embrace the abundant opportunities within Nigeria.
LEADERSHIP reports that ‘Japa’ is a slang symbolising the desire to flee Nigeria due to economic hardship and perceived lack of prospects.
Amaechi’s message, delivered on the ARISE NEWS Channel programme, Perspective, stressed the need for citizens to recognize the potential for success in their own nation, despite challenges.
“I have always discouraged those who want to leave the country. You can always get 9am to 5pm jobs when you leave the country, but you can never get the kind of opportunity you get in Nigeria. You can just wake up and become a governor or a minister in Nigeria,” said Amaechi.
The former Rivers State governor shared his personal journey, noting his rise from a humble background to a prominent political leader, attributing his achievements to hard work, resilience, and belief in the possibilities that Nigeria offers
He said, “I will ask young Nigerians to look at my situation. I was born into a poor family. My father was a dispensing pharmacist; he found it difficult to train me and my siblings. I was lucky to be trained but my siblings were not able to go to university; anybody that went to university after me was trained by me. Some of them are working; some are not working. You just have to struggle. The elite would not want you to join the elite class. But you just have to push and continue to push until you push yourself to be part of the elite.”
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Reflecting on his political legacy, Amaechi noted significant infrastructure projects, including the construction of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, and the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja/Kaduna railway lines. He expressed satisfaction with the continued operation of these projects, considering them as legacies he would like to watch.
“Another thing that is interesting to me is the railway and I’m happy that the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja-Kaduna railways are still operating. These and others are legacies that I would like to watch,” he added.
After leaving office, Amaechi focused on education, enrolling in several degree programs in Law concurrently. Advising Nigerian youths, he encouraged them to persevere, citing his own experience of rising from a poor family.
Despite facing challenges in his academic pursuits after leaving office, Amaechi remains optimistic, stressing the importance of honesty and truthfulness in life.
He said, “I enrolled at the Nigerian Law School. At the same time, I got registered in King’s College for my master’s degree in Law.“Again, I was doing a first degree course in Law at the University of London. I did my last exams last year in October and you will be shocked to know that I failed two courses.
“Out of five courses, I failed two because I was combining the Nigerian Law School; I was also doing a Master’s Degree in Corporate and Company Law, and I was doing an LL.D programme at the University of London. So, because of the multiplicity of academic work, I had to fail two courses in the LL.D programme.” On life after office, he said: “I have a huge number of friends that if the politicians go, I have other friends at all times. I am not such a protocol person; so, while in office, I was like every other Nigerian.
“However, law school enabled me to have a lot of young friends in their 18s, and 20s; so, if some of my friends are not calling me again there is nothing to worry about, I will just focus on my achievements and the things I set out to do before becoming a minister and the legacies I left in Port Harcourt.
“I do rest, I have a lot of time to sleep and time for my poor wife who has not had the opportunity of seeing me as often as she should since when she got married to me. Soon after we got married, by 1999 I had become the Speaker, and from then only God knows what has happened. From speaker to governor and from governor to minister and director general of campaign of the last government twice.
“These are huge responsibilities that got my family almost seeing me as an absentee husband. My wife is such a wonderful manager, managing me, managing my responsibilities, managing the children, and helping to keep my responsibilities to the children so that they wouldn’t see me as an uncle.”
On whether he would run for political office again, he simply answered: “No comment”.
