Bepo finally resolves to relocate and begins to listen to tales from others who have relocated earlier. He always knew that payment abroad could be hourly, daily, weekly or monthly unlike Nigeria where one-time salaries were more common. He preferred the hourly system which made it easy for the employee to change jobs as often as he wanted and for the employer to closely monitor their employees. It neutralised the Yoruba proverb which is interpreted as “whether an employer records gains or not, the employee will yet take home his full pay.” This, he believed, was why these other countries have developed.
He heard that one could earn between $150 to $ 250 per day and gather up to $2400 per month. This is a substantial amount compared to the N1600 that Nigerians earn. He also gathered that skilled work was also the best option for those relocating abroad. He learnt that nurses, doctors and other health workers have been migrating at an alarming rate (about 1000 of the country’s 3000 doctors migrate annually). Graduates are also leaving the country through education visas.
He also observed that some people use crooked means to get the resources needed to “Japa”. He remembered Mr. Nku one of the staff at Stardom who took a N2 million loan from the school’s cooperative and relocated abroad two days later and one of the school’s drivers who tried to sell the school’s bus to pay for his son’s college fees abroad.
Sola was one of his colleagues at Stardom who had relocated to the UK with her husband about six months earlier. She reassured Bepo that his settling into the UK would be without stress since his wife was already there. She relates how most couples who migrate have to share the responsibilities – while one works, the other one studies. She also narrates how she and her husband had to sell everything and borrow N4 million to fund their trip.
Most people relocate to the UK because of the opportunity for their children to enjoy quality education. Bepo’s children, Nike and Kike, enjoyed free primary and secondary education and did not have to pay fees until Nike went to university. This is unlike the kids at Stardom who pay millions of naira for their children’s education. Healthcare in the UK was also free, especially for children who enjoy mandatory regular checkups.
However, the tales from abroad were not always so good. Jare is a young man who abandoned his banking job and burst into tears when he realised he had to care for an old couple in London. An accountant named Hope who secured admission for a Master’s degree relocated to the UK with his wife. His wife worked to fund his studies. However, after a few months, his wife decided to stop providing for him. All this made Bepo realise that people “always had different results from life’s intriguing tests.” (pg. 17). He recalled a proverb from one of his former Idoma co-tenants about how the sugarcane and the bitter leaf got different tastes from the same rain that nurtured them.
There was also the question of bringing in dependents from Nigeria. While some are keen on sponsoring their relatives like Riike who invited two of her sisters to the US, others are not ready to.
