Nigerian architect and politician, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has said bad governance is forcing many Nigerians to remain abroad, leaving families separated for years and elderly parents to suffer loneliness.
Speaking on the Afropolitan Podcast, Rhodes-Vivour, the ADC Lagos State governorship candidate, said the worsening economic situation has made it too expensive for many Nigerians in the diaspora to visit home, resulting in what he described as “WhatsApp families” who rely on video calls to stay connected.
He said, “This will be the level of loneliness that’s going to come to the Nigerian people. Their parents are not seeing their children for years because ticket prices are expensive. They now have WhatsApp family, video call family.”
According to him, many grandparents have never held their grandchildren and may not meet them until they are five or six years old, if they ever do. “Their parents are d+ing of loneliness because their children are not around them. These are real effects of bad governance,” he said.
Rhodes-Vivour added that many Nigerians do not genuinely want to live abroad but are pushed to leave by poor leadership and harsh economic conditions.
Reflecting on the late 2000s, he said many Nigerians who studied overseas returned home shortly after graduating because they believed in the country’s future. He argued that if governance improves and people regain hope, many Nigerians abroad would willingly return home.
