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Many have regretted that decision but, instead of telling their stories, learned to live with them as they carry on surviving in the North American country. Living worse off than they did in Nigeria, they push on hoping for better days.
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Others choose silence, ashamed of what people would say, suffering and putting up appearances. Some Nigerian doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc., who had good jobs back home, came to the West and got trapped in the system with menial jobs they don’t like and are too ashamed to return home.
Some factors are responsible for this situation.
1. Canada has a problem with foreign credentials
This is part of why many skilled immigrants are unemployed there. You could have two degrees and a diploma and still be jobless. They say they need highly trained professionals, but highly trained professionals need jobs. In so many cases, getting foreign credentials recognized and admitted for work in Canada is a huge hassle that takes time and money, and in IT professions, credentials lose their purpose as time passes.
2. Canadian experience
That you have no job experience in Canada is often a major challenge no matter your skill and experience back home. Highly educated immigrants new to the country are easily filtered out of job opportunities based on this. Thus, professionals end up with blue-collar jobs for too long, as they are unable to enter their fields.
3. Immigration deceit?
Canada says there is a shortage of professionals, perhaps because the government wants to lure immigrants into the country to help drive down wages in the industries and increase prices of real estate for landowners and the rich. They also need the population, so they have people paying taxes to help pay off the debt incurred by the baby boomers. They probably don’t care much what happens after you get to Canada.
It appears the point of Canada’s immigration scheme is to sustain the population and growth because domestic fertility rate cannot do that.
4. Competition
When Nigerian immigrants arrive in Canada, they are competing not only with Canadians but also with Americans who are just a stone’s throw away from the country. They are then left dealing with being trapped in the system.
5. Time
The Canadian system is unfair and is designed to filter you out: You apply for a visa while in your country; it gets approved and you come in, but your credentials and qualifications are then totally disregarded, especially if you are coming from a country like Nigeria and must start all over. You come with experience but are treated like you are not bringing anything to the table—unless you studied, say, Law, then you only have a few years to study and “catch up.”
6. Saturated job market
The major states with the best jobs in Canada, like Vankuva, Ontario, etc, are saturated. There are lots of Chinese, Indian, and even American immigrants, so when you go to the smaller provinces, you are left with nothing, because economically, they are not at par with these big states. You go there and get stuck, mostly because the Chinese are deemed more qualified for STEM roles.
7. No group economics
Nigerians do not practise group economics, unlike the Chinese and Indian communities in Canada. That is, a community of Nigerian immigrants coming together and figuring out why others are excelling, and helping each other move up the ladder. This also happens with Nigerians in the UK. Yet, for Nigerian/African immigrants, there are generally more hurdles and brick walls to cross, which other nationalities don’t grapple with.
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Canada has the right setup to lure in immigrants towards raising the country’s GDP. It is important to understand this and avoid making uninformed relocation plans.
