On Wednesday, September 23, 2026, researchers at the University of Chicago’s Climate Impact Lab published a stating that about 31,400 more聽 Nigerians could die from extreme heat between September 2026 and February 2027 because of El Ni帽o in Nigeria. This is the highest projected of any country on Earth, with global deaths estimated to be about 451,000.

Just to be clear, this is a projection of deaths above a normal year, not a confirmed toll. The lab itself says its full methodology is still awaiting peer review, but the researchers say the point is to that there might be fire on the mountain. But before we talk about what the Nigerian government is doing to quench that fire, let’s break down what El Ni帽o is and what it means for Nigeria and the whole world.

What is El Ni帽o and how long will it last?

is a natural warming of the Pacific Ocean that shifts weather patterns thousands of kilometres away. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it happens every two to seven years and lasts 9 to 12 months.

But this one鈥檚 a monster, according to the researchers. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Thursday, September 3, 2026, that it would and last into early 2027. On Thursday, October 8, NOAA put the of the heat rising from strong to very strong through January鈥揗arch 2027 at over 83 per cent.

Why is Nigeria top of the list?

Nigeria is in the direct path of the heat. With , Nigeria is the most populous of the four Sahel countries facing the worst of it, so the same heatwave reaches far more people. The Sahel is projected to lose 66,800 people to heat, and nearly half of those deaths would be from Nigeria.

According to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), in the days leading up to Thursday, October 22, reached 41掳C in Nguru, Yobe State, and 34掳C in Lagos.

These numbers mean thousands of Nigerians are exposed to high risks at once, with older people, young children and people with existing health conditions most at risk. Heat doesn’t announce itself. It just takes the people with the least protection.

The heat is getting wesser

In February 2026, NiMet’s Seasonal Climate Prediction, presented in Abuja by Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo, to a predominantly neutral ENSO phase, which simply means no El Ni帽o.

NiMet made an in its Seasonal Climate Prediction report on August 13, but that update said El Ni帽o’s temperature impact might not be significant between August and October.

Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency鈥檚 (NEMA) centred on the seasonal prediction and flooding. Its July 13 advisory covered flash floods in 26 states and the FCT. We found no national heat action plan, no public heat-alert system and no cooling or hydration points announced anywhere.

You have a role to play

You don鈥檛 have to wait for the government to do something before you act.

• Drink water regularly, especially if you work outdoors;聽
• Avoid strenuous activity during the hottest hours;聽
• Avoid walking under the sun for long hours if you can

Beyond personal habits, NiMet and the WHO have extended precautions to the institutional and community level. 

• Employers and schools are explicitly urged to provide shaded rest areas, ensure cross-ventilation, and mandate regular cooling breaks.聽
• Communities are advised to protect local water sources from excessive evaporation and to plant trees proactively.聽
• Check regularly on high-risk individuals, specifically babies, transport or construction workers, and neighbours managing high blood pressure or diabetes, as extreme heat rapidly worsens underlying cardiovascular and kidney strains.聽

Know the signs of heat exhaustion

• 顿颈锄锄颈苍别蝉蝉,听
• Headache
• Nausea and
• Weakness
• Confusion, seizures or fainting could mean a life-threatening emergency. Get medical help immediately if you feel unwell.

El no no 

Heat deaths are preventable, and the Climate Impact Lab lists heat warnings, outreach to vulnerable people, cooling centres, hydration stations and worker protections as ways to cut them, so here’s what to demand from the government.

Ask NiMet, NEMA and the Federal Ministry of Health for a national heat action plan for El Ni帽o, and when it will be implemented and published.

is a computer science student in China who left Nigeria in September 2024, after a visa rejection nearly made her give up on studying abroad. In this interview, she explains how a YouTube video led her to China, how her scholarship works, what she spent it on, the documents she used, and what life is really like there.

Where are you based now, and when did you leave Nigeria?

I left Nigeria in September 2024, and I currently live in Taizhou City, China.

Have you always wanted to study abroad?

Always. Since primary school! I come from an average home, so I felt like people who travel abroad needed a whole lot of money, and it felt impossible. But I knew God was going to do it, even though you still have to work towards it. Even when everything wasn’t working out, my mom just knew I wasn’t meant to go to a Nigerian university, so she told me to keep focusing on what I’d wanted from when I was small.

Okay, so what were you doing before you left?

I graduated from secondary school in 2020. Like many people, I wanted the US, the UK or Canada, because that’s where most of my friends were going. I completed a diploma course in public relations and took the IELTS, TOEFL, and SAT. I applied to schools in the US, the UK, and Canada and was admitted to different schools. Then one of the countries rejected my visa.

Want to share your japa story? Please reach out to me .

Wait, did you ever try Nigerian universities?

I did. I wrote JAMB twice. The first time, I was admitted to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) for mechatronics engineering, but I forfeited it because I already had admissions to those three countries, and my agent assured me the visa would work out. It backfired, and by the time I realised, the post-UTME writing window had passed. The second time, I wrote JAMB while preparing for SAT and TOEFL again; I passed and applied to the University of Lagos (Unilag) because it was closer to home. But right before my post-UTME, the plan to travel abroad got the green light again, so I dropped it and focused entirely on that. It didn’t work out again, and I was actually planning to write JAMB a third time when the idea of going to China came up.

Oof! How did China even come into the picture?

I think it was Canada that rejected my visa, and most of my money wasn’t refunded. You know how much we spend trying to travel out. I was shattered, and honestly, I had given up. Then I was scrolling through YouTube and saw a lady studying in China talking about how easy it is to get in. I got interested.

My mom had actually suggested Asia before that, but my mind was totally on the US, UK and Canada, so I didn’t buy it. I’d never thought about Asia at all. If someone had asked me whether I wanted to study in China, I’d have asked, “Do they even study there? Do international students go there?” I just thought it was a business country. But I started doing my research, then messaged the lady from the video to tell her what I was going through and how I got rejected. She told me China has many admission opportunities and scholarships. I’m not someone who jumps into things without research. I always want at least 70% knowledge, even if I’m going to use an agent.

How did your parents react?

My mom said Asia wasn’t a bad idea, but when I told her it was China, she began to worry in the usual way that African parents do; She asked “How well can we trust this person you saw to guide you?” But for me, this was my last result. If it didn’t work out, I wasn’t going to try again.

My dad didn’t know. After the whole European thing fell through, he took the travel talk off the table. 

During my research, I also found out that international students aren’t legally allowed to work in China, which would have been a red flag for him. So I couldn’t even tell him China was an option. I focused on my mom, and she assisted and encouraged me throughout the whole process.

Love that for you! So how did you choose your course and school?

I wasn’t even picky about the course. At that point, it was anything to take me out of Nigeria. But I wanted something easy, because studying in Asia is already difficult due to the food and the language; even though my course is taught in English, the teachers’ accents are hard to follow. I didn’t want a difficult course on top of all that. I’m a science student, so computer science was cool.

I told my agent the courses I was open to, including computer science, and she applied to computer science at about three schools. I got pre-admission letters, narrowed it down to two, and picked the one with a full freshman scholarship and the chance to apply for a continuous scholarship from my second year. Then I paid a deposit to the school and secured my admission. I’d rather not share the name of the school, though. It’s not like they pay me for adverts.

What made China beat the US and UK for you?

The scholarships in the other countries weren’t very good. Here, my tuition and accommodation would be free, and from my second year, if my academic performance was okay, I could apply for a continuous scholarship and even get paid monthly like other students. The exchange rate also helped. If my mom is sending me 鈧�100,000 for the US, UK or Canada, it’s not even up to $100. China’s rate was 鈧�208, so what my parents send from home still sustains me for a long time.

Okay, let’s talk money. What did you actually pay to apply?

I worked with an agent, and everything was in one package: her service charge, the application fee, documents I didn’t have, and the whole visa process. You pay 50% upfront before she starts anything, and then the remaining 50% after you get your pre-admission letter and you’re okay with it. I won’t call out her price because it changes with time. The application fee is usually around 400-800 RMB, depending on the school and its location.

After receiving the pre-admission letter, I paid the following deposits at the school: medical insurance, residence permit (visa extension), and room deposit. Those four things cost me about 3,000 RMB. After that, I got my admission letter.

Wow, which documents did you submit, and how long did it take?

Everything was online. I submitted my passport, medical report, police character certificate, admission letter, JW201 (the visa application form), birth certificates, and a few other things. 

Some of the documents needed authentication and legalisation by the embassy in Nigeria. For example, the Ministry of Education authenticates your WAEC results, and your police character certificate has to be legalised. It’s not impossible, and it’s actually very easy.

I didn’t have to do an interview at all, which was unlike my experience in Canada, the US, and the UK. I used an agent, but I did a lot of the work too because I like following up on whatever someone is doing for me.

The Big Daily is your weekday shortcut to the biggest news shaping Nigeria. We cut through the noise, connect the dots, and explain why the news actually matters, all in one quick read.

Was the agent the lady from YouTube?

Yes, she was! Shout-out to her. She’s been in this for the longest time and was very professional, so there were no mistakes on my end or hers.

Do you really need an agent to apply to Chinese universities?

If you’re coming to Asia, yes. It’s very stressful to apply on your own. A lot of these schools don’t put all their information, or even their scholarship opportunities, on their website, and most of them give scholarship slots to agents. It’s easier to get in through an agent, and the websites can be in Chinese, so you’d need a translator to navigate them.

Okay, tell me everything about this scholarship. How does it work?

I can only speak for my school, because every school’s scholarship is different. China has the CSC scholarship, which is awarded by the government. It’s very competitive, and you need some level of Chinese to get it. Mine is a university merit-based scholarship.

You come in with a freshman scholarship that covers your tuition and accommodation. In your second year, they evaluate your first-year performance: your CGPA, your certificates, competitions you’ve won, your contribution to the school and your attendance rate. You must have about 96% attendance, because China takes attendance really seriously, and it affects your visa extension, since we renew our visas every year. You also must not have received a punishment letter or violated any rule or law in China.

If you qualify, you pay about 8,000 RMB to apply for the continuous scholarship, which has four categories. Type A goes to about 5% of the class; you get free tuition, free accommodation and a stipend of 10000 RMB for the entire year, and your 8,000 RMB gets refunded to you. 

Type B receives free tuition, free accommodation, and a stipend of about 2,800 RMB per year, with 4,000 RMB refunded to you.

Type C gets free tuition and accommodation, and they refund 2,000 of the 8,000 you paid. Type D gets no refund of the 8,000.

That’s so helpful. What did you pack for China?

I’d been watching packing videos since I was preparing to move to the US, the UK, and Canada. For China, many people say not to bring clothes because you can buy them there. Bring food, your traditional foodstuffs, because it’s an entirely different continent. It’s not like Europe, where things are similar. The food and culture are totally different. So I mostly packed foodstuffs. I also made a video about it on my .

Okay, first week in China. What shocked you?

The first thing was how coordinated and safe everything was. I landed in Beijing very late, left my boxes outside the train station at midnight, went in to buy a ticket, and came back to find them untouched. In Nigeria, someone would have carried that box. You can leave your phone outside and come back to find it.

Second was the black celebrity lifestyle. People were fascinated by my hairstyle and my skin colour and wanted to take pictures with me, with or without permission. Some are curious about your culture, and some are trying to mock you for your complexion, so you have to learn to tell the difference. I didn’t know that at first, so I thought everybody loved me and gave that energy back!

Then the food. I couldn’t find anything edible in my first week. Thankfully, I had my agent in China, so I ate at her place for the first few days. There鈥檚 also the spitting culture. Chinese people spit everywhere and anywhere, and I find that disgusting. Also, pit toilets are almost everywhere, so you have to get used to them.

Did you have to learn Chinese?

No, that’s the one thing many people ask me. I tried learning a few basic greetings on Duolingo, but they weren’t very useful when I came. There’s a translation app, and people who work in places where you might need help also have one because they’re expecting foreigners. It’s not compulsory to learn Chinese to apply or to study here.

Aww, did you find a community there?

Easily. People think there aren’t lots of Africans in China, but there are plenty. There’s nowhere you go that you won’t meet Nigerians. Sometimes it feels like home! The only thing you don’t have is your country’s food.

What do you not love about living there?

Honestly, I don’t have many things I hate. But the visa renewal every year is one. In the US, you get your visa for the four years of your study, but here we renew every year, so what if I mess up academically next year? It affects my visa, and any little mistake can get you sent back.

I also don’t like that students can’t work, even on a scholarship. You submit a bank statement showing you can fund yourself, but you still just assume that studying abroad means you can work, like in the US.

There’s some racism here. I haven’t experienced much of it firsthand, but I have friends who have, and we can’t really speak about it because our voices are monitored.

Is it expensive? How are you funding life there?

My city is not very big, so it’s not as expensive as Shanghai or Beijing. If you’re coming to study in China, have a sponsor or a financial backbone back home, because you cannot work here. You can only do things like run a business, import and export, or work as a study agent. That’s why they ask for proof of funds, even if you’re on scholarship.

I’m an overseas communication officer for my school, so sometimes I attend government events and get paid. It doesn’t happen every time. I also work as an agent helping students come to China, and I create content.

Oh wow, can you stay in China after you graduate?

That’s another downside. There’s no permanent residence and no green card, even if you marry a Chinese person. You have to keep renewing your visa every year, and you need a reason to be here: studying or working. For a work permit, you need a company that’s willing to hire you, or you register your own business, and then you keep renewing. Registering a business costs about 20,000 RMB.

If your visa expires, you have to leave or extend it before it does, because you’ll be fined about 500 RMB per day for an illegal stay. So when I finish, I’m either furthering my education, staying to have something that keeps me here, or going back home.

Do you miss Nigeria?

Of course. I’m Nigerian! I miss the food, the culture, my family, and travelling home for Christmas because I’m an Igbo girl. I don’t have many friends in Nigeria, but I miss the few I have.

I also miss the lifestyle, even entering public transport and hearing the conductors. If I could come back for two days, not even a week, I’d eat, see my family, pack enough food and return to China. Nigeria isn’t safe, and from what I’m seeing on social media, it’s even scarier to want to go back.

If someone wanted to follow your exact route, what would you tell them?

China has changed some of its education system since I came. For undergraduates, scholarships are now harder to get because you need to write an exam called the China Scholastic Competency Assessment (CSCA). If you don’t want to write it, you can go through a foundation program, which is always paid and has no scholarships. You pay for a one-year foundation program that teaches you what you need for the exam, and then you write it here before you can apply. Master’s students don鈥檛 need to write this exam.

Schools are also getting stricter with how many students they admit and who gets scholarships. My school no longer gives the kind of scholarship it gave in my time, because they realised many students were unserious, and the school is held responsible for whatever happens to an international student, including being fined if one fails a course. So I’d advise a very good O-level result, and for a master’s, a bachelor’s degree with a very good result.

My one piece of advice is to have money and someone you can rely on for financial help. Aside from that, you’re welcome to come, because it’s a very good place to study. Not everything is about the US, UK, and Canada. I realised that when I came here.

Now the good stuff. What do you love most about living in China?

Safety, number one. I’ve never felt this safe in Nigeria. You can go out at any time. I also love the academic system because it makes students serious, especially with the attendance rule. It’s made me learn to study on my own, because most of the time I don’t understand what I’m taught in class.

China is also very clean, and your conscience won’t let you throw things on the floor as I would in Nigeria. The technology is great, and we can order almost anything online, including fresh food and appliances, and it comes to your location without anyone taking your property.

The dorm is standard and very conducive to learning, compared to the one I stayed in at my best friend’s school in Nigeria. And the teachers are nice, although some of them might be a little bit racist, but they don’t let it affect your studies.

Okay, final question. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your life in China right now?

Eight. Maybe 8.5! A solid 8.5. I’m not stressed like I’d be in Nigeria, panicking about meeting up with a lecturer who doesn’t like me. The lifestyle is smooth, and there’s no peer pressure. You could wear one shoe for a whole month, and nobody would ask. You don’t need a car, or even a bicycle, because there are public bikes you can scan, pay a little, and ride. The cost of living isn’t high, and if I got the chance to come back after my studies, I would. And if I had more money than I do now, it would be an 11 out of 10. So, have money, and you’ll enjoy your life.

On Tuesday, October 20, after an abrupt 24-hour curfew was declared in Lagos, security forces arrived at the Lekki Tollgate where unarmed protesters were sitting on the ground, waving Nigerian flags and singing the national anthem in the dark. Soldiers opened fire on the crowd.

The horrifying scene was streamed live to thousands of people around the world, shattering the illusion of safety for a whole generation. October 20 2020, became a generational turning point. For many Nigerians, that night was the exact moment their relationship with the country became irreparable.

Six years later, we asked Nigerians both at home and abroad where they were on the night of the Lekki Tollgate shooting, and what that moment changed for them.

We thought it was bangers until the hostel masters made us hit the floor 鈥� Tobi*, 22

We were just hanging out in the hostel when we heard gunshots; we had ignored it at first, thinking people were already throwing bangers ahead of Christmas.

Then we heard it again, this time faster and heavier; we got scared and jumped out of our beds. I looked out the window and saw a man with blood gushing from his shoulder being rushed to a hospital on an Okada (motorcycle). In little or no time, the hostel masters rushed in, yelling at everyone to drop flat on the floor

A few minutes later, they rounded us up and moved us to a block of classrooms right in the centre of the school compound. They kept us locked in those classrooms for about six straight hours; we didn’t fully know what was going on, but sitting in that room with my classmates was the first time I realised how quickly our reality could turn upside down.

I sat on the floor of my kitchen pantry, listening to gunshots outside my window 鈥� Funke*, 40

I didn’t go to work that day because of the sudden curfew, so I was at home with my son and daughter. Around evening, we started hearing distant gunshots, followed by people yelling and running outside in the streets.

My kids were scared, but before I could even process what was happening, they had gone to hide themselves in the kitchen pantry, begging me to come and stay with them.

I was so anxious, and I didn’t know what to do. I turned on the news, but I wasn’t even able to make sense of what was happening yet. I sat there in the pantry frozen in fear, holding my chest, unable to answer my children when they asked what was going on. The complete helplessness of that evening never left me till today.

I watched DJ Switch’s live stream from my dark living room 鈥� Dami*, 27

I had been at the protests in Ikeja all week, but the midday curfew forced me back to my apartment. By 7 PM, Twitter (X) was reporting that the billboard and streetlights at Lekki Tollgate had gone dark. Then DJ Switch went live.

I sat in my living room staring at my phone screen in disbelief. Hearing young people sing the national anthem while rapid gunfire echoed through the stream made my stomach knot up. I stayed up until my battery died at 3 AM. That was the night my faith in Nigeria completely disappeared, and I made sure to leave the country the following year.

I was studying in the UK and was deathly scared for my brother; I thought he had died 鈥� Ada*, 29

I had recently moved to the UK for school, but my mind was completely back home on this particular day. On the evening of the 20th, my phone blew up with messages from my friends to check Switch’s live stream.

I remember my younger brother telling me he was going to be out protesting on the Island that afternoon. I spent four hours redialing his number, but he wouldn’t pick up. I was in the library, completely numb and crying profusely; a friend of mine had come to pick me up, and I went to stay at her apartment for the night. At around 1 AM, he finally texted to say he was safe. I called him, and we both burst into tears. I felt like I had betrayed my brother by leaving him in Nigeria.

My mum and I started crying and praying in those moments 鈥� Kunle*, 31

I had been at the Tollgate almost daily from October 12th, helping to distribute food and water. On the 20th, when the afternoon curfew was declared, my mum called me crying, begging me to leave. I packed my bag around 4:30 PM. People around me encouraged me to stay back.

Leaving felt like betrayal at the time, so I stayed till 5 PM because my mom had been calling me endlessly. When I got home, I heard about DJ Switch鈥檚 live video, and what I saw broke my heart. My mum and I started crying and praying in those moments. It was so sad. Six months later, I submitted my Canada Express Entry application. I didn鈥檛 want to stay in a country that could kill its citizens.

October 20, 2020, remains an open wound in modern Nigerian history. For those who survived it, those who lost loved ones, and those who watched from afar, the memories are just as vivid today as they were six years ago.

I was five when the accident happened. It was a Sunday afternoon at Oke Ayo bus stop, just past Iju-Ishaga bus stop in Lagos, Nigeria. My parents had gone out, so I was left with a neighbour who could pass for family.

I was big for my age and behaved older than I was. People thought I was eight or nine then, and I think that was where my confidence came from. Looking bigger than others made me think I could dare and do everything older children did. 

The neighbour鈥檚 children were going to fetch water across a busy road, and I wanted to go with them. They didn’t want me tagging along, so they sent me inside to get my slippers because I was barefoot. By the time I came out, they had crossed the road and left me. I realised sending me to wear my slippers was a trick. They had no plan to take me along.

I chased after them. I made it past the first lane of traffic heading towards Iju Ishaga, but as I tried to cross the return lane, a commercial vehicle (Danfo) knocked me down. My leg was trapped underneath it. I lay there shouting and groaning.

Good Samaritans picked me up and took me to two nearby hospitals. They all turned me away for fear that I might die in their facility. My legs were dripping blood, and I was getting less and less conscious. I don’t remember arriving at the third hospital, but when I opened my eyes, my parents were beside me. The hospital gave me first aid and told my parents they couldn’t admit me. I needed to go to a general hospital, and fast.

At the general hospital, they put my leg in a Plaster of Paris (POP), and that was it. There was no real medical intervention. I was lying on that bed, literally dying.

A matron who was going on leave advised my parents that my condition was getting worse and that if I didn鈥檛 get better care in a few days, I might not be alive when she returned from her leave. Shortly after, a young doctor who used to stop by my bed to play with me and cheer me up came around. He looked at me and told my parents I needed a blood transfusion, and that he didn’t think I would survive another day if I didn’t get blood quickly. He also advised my parents that if they had any chance of getting me somewhere else, they should act onit. My parents took the advice. 

My parents rushed me to the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Igbobi, Yaba, Lagos. When the doctors cut the POP, the stench filled the room. My leg had rotted so badly that it no longer looked like a leg. It was more than deformed. Four of my toes were gone, and only the big one (hallux) remained. That was the beginning of my medical trials.

At Igbobi, they did a skin graft first to cover the rotten leg and then tried to see if I could walk on it. It was impossible. I spent many months in the hospital before I could even put that leg on the ground. Even then, the pain was unbearable.  Eventually, I was told the permanent solution was amputation, and that I needed to decide quickly because if I waited too long, I might lose the chance of a below-the-knee amputation.

My parents couldn’t bring themselves to do it. I was five, then six, and they kept thinking about what my life would look like as an amputee. I was discharged and went back to school with a walking stick, with wounds that never fully healed, and on painkillers. I was lean and exhausted. It took my parents almost four years to decide on the amputation, and I lived in severe pain all through that period. When they finally saw that the pain was unbearable for all of us, they agreed to the amputation. I was nine. Thankfully, we returned to the hospital in time for a below-the-knee amputation.

Escaping Self-Pity

When you are nine years old and realise you鈥檙e now an amputee, your world collapses inward. My confidence took a massive hit. I became terrified of socialising.

Children can be casually cruel. Every single day in school, my disability became the go-to for insults. If someone couldn’t win an argument with me, they brought up my leg. I remember hiding my prosthetic limb and my crutches because I didn’t want anyone to see them, but sometimes classmates would deliberately pull at my trousers to expose the prosthetic limb and laugh; as I grew older, I began to care less. I developed a thick skin. 

As time went on, something switched in me. I discovered the power of knowledge. I started reading everything I could find. I felt like my mind was in a prison, and knowledge was my way out.  

I remember reading about a US president who used a wheelchair and still led the country. I decided that if I knew as much as anyone who wasn’t disabled, my life would be easier and better. Knowledge was my way out of whatever prison this situation could put me in.

I wrote about some of my experiences navigating this phase and more in my recently published memoir, Orchestrated: Living Against The Odds. People ask me why I waited this long to tell my story. It is because I had become so comfortable in my own skin that I forgot my story could mean something to someone else. I had built a whole life around applied knowledge, and it had worked so well that I stopped thinking of myself as a person living with a disability. 

What I hated most was being treated differently. People saw my disability and assumed I was useless. So I never asked for special treatment. At school, if the teacher made late-comers kneel, I knelt. If the teacher flogged us, I took the same strokes as everyone else. I wanted as much independence as I could get. I wrote in my book that before rushing to help a person living with disability, ask them first if they need any help. Sometimes, they don鈥檛 see your gesture as help. I just wanted to be treated as equally as possible. 

Surviving an inaccessible country 

Mobility is important for an amputee, especially a child amputee like I was. And for most people, a prosthetic limb makes it better. But a prosthetic limb in Nigeria isn’t something you are given after amputation. At the government hospital, they hand you an invoice before measuring your stump. It鈥檚 cash and carry. My first one, around 2005, cost over 鈧�100,000. When I went back for an adjustment a few years later, I was still paying almost 鈧�100,000. The last time I priced one in a Nigerian hospital, it was over 鈧�250,000. I can鈥檛 imagine what the price will be today. Just last year, I helped someone get a simple polio calliper at a government hospital. We spent over 鈧�200,000, and it still wasn’t designed properly. I don’t think the person could use it.

Many people who want a prosthetic limb can’t afford it, so they just get crutches and get on with their lives. When I walk the streets of Lagos and see people with limb loss who could have been more mobile with a prosthetic, I tell myself the difference between them and me is technically just a prosthetic limb. Some street beggars resorted to begging because a lack of mobility aids left them with no choice. 

Let鈥檚 even say you get a prosthetic limb. Medicare care should not stop there, but it unfortunately does for regular Nigerians. What about rehabilitation? From my experience, there was no rehabilitation structure, no weeks of sessions on how to walk with a prosthetic limb or care for it. There鈥檚 also no one thinking about your mental health or that of your family. At best, they put you in front of a mirror after fitting; you walk up and down and get sent home to figure the rest yourself. I even learned to repair parts of my prosthetic limb myself when minor repair costs were unaffordable. 

In my book, I wrote that nobody should rush an amputee into a prosthesis because they have to be mentally ready first. Nobody in Nigeria was thinking about that. The health care system and people want you to just snap out of it after losing a part of yourself. I am currently working to fix this gap in care and support, especially for child amputees.

A world of better possibilities

I only understood how much was missing when I moved to the UK. Here, a prosthetic limb is free and optional if you get it through the government. They measure your stump, you go home, and it gets delivered to your house. They even ask whether you would love to swim or run with it so they can design it accordingly. There is also a rehabilitation programme to help you in that phase. Public buildings have lowered counters for wheelchair users. Buses and trains have ramps. In London, disabled people ride public transport for free and have priority public parking spaces.

It’s not perfect here, as there is still a lot to be done with policy implementation. But if Nigerians had even half of it, we would probably praise the government for decades to come.

Back home, you go to some banks, and there’s no ramp. Many public buildings have no ramps either. Some places are even designed with stairs only. Let鈥檚 not even go too far. The Nigerian High Commission Office in London has no provision for persons with disabilities. Not from the entrance or through the stages of service delivery. It is because it鈥檚 not ingrained in our national consciousness. 

Nigeria has a against discrimination against persons with disabilities, but it only sits on paper. I think the real problem is orientation. We don’t see people with disabilities as something we have to plan for at every level. Very few things are designed with them, with us, in mind. A law means nothing if there are no consequences. If you build a bank or a school without a ramp, you should be forced to tear down that section and rebuild it, no matter the cost.

We should also look at the national budget. If allocations are not going in that direction, then it鈥檚 not a government priority. Charities and NGOs can only do their best. Only the government, directly or indirectly through an enabling environment, can change lives at scale.

The system can surely be better, but I have never let it limit me. I worked as a journalist, covering crime, protests and conflict, and many people never knew I had a disability.

I have worked at reputable national newspapers and media organisations and thrived. People told me I could never drive, and I am now a certified driver on the right (Nigeria) and left (UK) sides of the road.  Everything people doubted I could do, I have done. And many more to tick off my bucket list.

If I could speak to a nine-year-old me, I would tell him he will thrive and not let his physical condition place a stamp on him. It is just one chapter from his life鈥檚 voluminous book, and he shouldn’t let the current page decide the next chapters. And if he is in Nigeria, I would tell him not to let the system decide how far he goes.

If you have been nursing the dream of leaving the country for a master鈥檚 or PhD but can鈥檛 because it’s so expensive, let us be the ones to tell you that getting a world-class degree abroad isn’t reserved for politicians’ children or tech bros earning six figures in dollars. 

Every single year, thousands of young Nigerians leave the country on fully or partially funded scholarships. 

To save you from scam scholarship agents, we compiled a high-value guide to the top global scholarships opening this season; what they pay, who can apply, and how to position yourself to win them.

1. Erasmus Mundus Joint Master鈥檚 (EMJM) Scholarship

Why settle for studying in one European country when you can study in three or even four? The , funded directly by the European Union (EU), is easily one of the most generous and exciting study packages in the world.

Instead of staying at a single university, an Erasmus Mundus program is run by a consortium of top European universities. You spend your degree studying across at least two (sometimes three or four) different countries and graduate with a joint or double degree.

What the funding covers

Erasmus Mundus is a full-ride. It covers 100% of your tuition fees, provides a monthly living stipend of 鈧�1,400 for up to 24 months, offers up to 鈧�4,000 annually in travel and installation grants, and includes comprehensive medical insurance across all host EU countries.

Who can apply?

Anyone holding a recognised Bachelor鈥檚 degree (or students currently in the final year of their undergraduate program). There is no strict age limit, and the program spans more than 200 master’s consortia, covering everything from Data Science, Renewable Energy, and Public Policy to Food Innovation and Marine Biology.

Details you need to know

• Application Window: Varies by program track; always check the track website.
• Language Requirements: Many programs accept an official English Medium of Instruction (MOI) letter from English-speaking African universities, though some specific tracks may require an IELTS/TOEFL certificate.
• Pro Tip: You can apply to multiple Erasmus Mundus programs in a single application cycle.
• Official Portal:

2. United Kingdom (UK) Chevening Scholarship

If your ideal study-abroad dream involves walking the streets of London in a trench coat while the British government bankrolls your life and study, Chevening is your best bet!. Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Chevening looks specifically for future leaders, decision-makers, and opinion-shapers.

Unlike scholarships that strictly evaluate academic transcripts, Chevening focuses on your leadership potential and networking skills. They want to know what you have built, led, or transformed in your home country, and how a UK master鈥檚 degree will help you scale that impact when you return.

What the funding covers

Full tuition fee coverage (with no cap for most courses), a monthly living allowance (拢1,300鈥撀�1,600 depending on whether you study inside or outside London), return economy flights to the UK, visa fees, and an arrival allowance.

Who can apply?

Applicants with a recognised undergraduate degree (equivalent to a UK 2:1 or First Class), at least two years (2,800 hours) of demonstrable work, volunteer, or internship experience, and a commitment to return to their home country for at least two years post-graduation.

Details you need to know

• Application Window: August to November.
• Eligible Programs: Any eligible 1-year taught Master鈥檚 degree at any university across the UK.
• Key Requirement: Four mandatory 500-word essays covering Leadership, Networking, UK Study Choices, and Career Goals.
• Official Portal:

3. Wageningen University, Africa Scholarship Programme (Netherlands)

If your academic background or career passion touches on Agriculture, Food Technology, Environmental Science, Biotechnology or Climate Change, Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in the Netherlands is regularly ranked #1 in the world for agricultural and environmental studies.

More importantly, Wageningen runs a dedicated scholarship bag built specifically for talented African students: the Africa Scholarship Programme (ASP), streamlining the pool of applicants.

What the funding covers

Full tuition fee coverage for the full 24-month Master鈥檚 duration, a monthly living allowance, round-trip flight tickets between your home country and the Netherlands, visa costs, and comprehensive Dutch health insurance.

Who can apply?

Citizens of an African country holding a First-Class Honours degree (or a GPA equivalent to 80% and above) who have secured unconditional admission to an eligible on-campus MSc program at Wageningen.

Details you need to know

• Application Deadline: December 1. (You must submit your full MSc application along with all degree certificates and English proficiency proofs before this date.
• Selection Style: Eligible candidates who secure unconditional admission before December 1 are shortlisted by the university committee, and final scholarship recipients are chosen via a competitive lottery.
• Official Portal:

4. Swedish Institute Scholarship for Global Professionals (SISGP)

Sweden is not just famous for Spotify and high living standards; it is one of the world’s highest-ranked destinations for innovation, sustainability, and gender equality. The Swedish Institute (SI) Scholarship is designed for ambitious professionals who want to pursue a master’s degree while connecting with a global network of sustainable development leaders.

What the funding covers

100% tuition coverage paid directly to the Swedish university, a monthly living stipend of 12,000 SEK (approximately 鈧�1,050), a one-time travel grant of 15,000 SEK, and mandatory membership in the SI Network for Future Global Professionals (NFGP).

Who can apply?

Citizens of eligible countries (including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa) who have accumulated a minimum of 3,000 hours of demonstrated work experience, leadership engagement, or civil society involvement.

Details you need to know

• The Two-Step Process:
  1. Apply for up to four eligible Master’s programs via Sweden鈥檚 central application portal () between mid-October and mid-January.
  2. Apply separately for the SI Scholarship via the SI portal during a tight 14-day window in February.
• Strict Documentation: SI provides very specific, standardised templates for CVs, proof of work experience, and reference letters. Using a generic CV format will lead to immediate disqualification.
• Official Portal:

5. DAAD EPOS Scholarship (Germany)

Germany is already legendary for charging zero tuition fees at public universities, but the DAAD EPOS (Development-Related Postgraduate Courses) scholarship takes things further: they pay you to earn your degree.

Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), EPOS targets young professionals from developing nations focused on local structural growth, governance, engineering, and healthcare.

What the funding covers

A monthly stipend of 鈧�934 for Master鈥檚 candidates (and 鈧�1,200 for PhD scholars), international travel grants, medical/accident insurance, research allowances, and mandatory, fully paid German language training prior to your academic program.

Who can apply?

Candidates holding a recognised Bachelor鈥檚 degree (earned within the last six years) and at least two years of relevant post-graduation professional experience in a ministry, Non-Governmental Organisation\(NGO), state agency, or private enterprise related to development.

Details you need to know

• Application Deadlines: August to November (deadlines vary by specific master’s course).
• Language Requirements: Courses are taught in English or German. English-taught programs require IELTS/TOEFL scores or official university proof of English-medium instruction, depending on the host institution.
• Official Portal:

6. Commonwealth Master鈥檚 & PhD Scholarships (UK)

If you are a citizen of a Commonwealth nation (like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, or Uganda), the UK Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) offers one of the most reliable routes to postgraduate study in Britain.

This scholarship places heavy emphasis on developmental impact: how will your chosen degree help solve challenges like poverty, public health crises, or infrastructure deficits in your home country?

What the funding covers

Full tuition, monthly living allowance (拢1,347 per month, or 拢1,652 for universities in the London area), return economy airfare, thesis grants, study travel allowances, and a specialised warm clothing allowance for winter.

Who can apply?

Citizens or permanent residents of Commonwealth countries holding a First Class or Second Class Upper (2:1) undergraduate degree who cannot afford to study in the UK without scholarship assistance.

Details you need to know

• Application Window: September to December.
• Application Routes: You can apply directly through the CSC portal or through designated “Nominating Agencies” (such as national ministries of education or approved non-governmental organisations).
• Development Themes: Your program must align with one of six primary themes, including Science and technology for development, Improving population health, health systems and capacity, Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, Strengthening peace, security and governance, Strengthening resilience and response to crises and Access, inclusion & opportunity
• Official Portal:

7. Gates Cambridge & Rhodes Scholarships (Oxford & Cambridge)

For candidates with stellar undergraduate records, deep intellectual curiosity, and exceptional leadership portfolios, the two most prestigious individual university awards in the world open their portals this period.

• Gates Cambridge Scholarship: Founded by a $210 million donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of Cambridge.
• Rhodes Scholarship: The world鈥檚 oldest international scholarship, bringing outstanding postgraduate scholars to the University of Oxford.

What the funding covers

Both scholarships cover 100% of Oxford or Cambridge composition fees, provide an annual personal living allowance (~拢19,000鈥撀�20,000), cover visa and health surcharge costs, and fund round-trip travel.

Who can apply?

Graduates with an exceptional academic record (typically First Class or top-of-the-class standing) alongside proven civic engagement, moral character, and strong leadership instincts.

Details you need to know?

• Application Window: September to October/early November.
• Selection Process: Requires rigorous academic proposals, multiple essays, and intensive panel interview rounds for shortlisted candidates.
• Official Portals: |

The Big Daily is your weekday shortcut to the biggest news shaping Nigeria. We cut through the noise, connect the dots, and explain why the news actually matters, all in one quick read.

8. Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is explicitly engineered to train next-generation African leaders. Rather than operating from a single centralised site, the Foundation partners with elite global and continental universities, including the University of Edinburgh, McGill University, Sciences Po, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Oxford.

What the funding covers

End-to-end funding including full tuition fees, student housing, monthly living allowances, learning materials, comprehensive health insurance, round-trip international flights, and structured leadership and career transition mentoring.

Who can apply

Young African nationals with proven academic capability who face significant socio-economic barriers or financial need, and who demonstrate a commitment to community upliftment and returning to work in Africa.

What You Need to Know

• Application Window: October to January (varies by partner university).
• How to Apply: Apply directly through the partner university’s dedicated Mastercard Foundation scholarship portal during its graduate admissions cycle.
• Official Portal:

9. Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships

If your goal is to pursue advanced scientific research, a PhD, or a post-doctoral fellowship in Europe, Switzerland hosts some of the world’s most elite research hubs (such as ETH Zurich and EPFL). The Swiss Confederation awards Government Excellence Scholarships annually to foster international scientific exchange.

What the funding covers

Full tuition fee exemption, a monthly scholarship grant (CHF 1,920 for PhD candidates), housing allowances, mandatory Swiss health insurance, and return flight support.

Who can apply?

Postgraduate researchers and Master鈥檚 degree holders under the age of 35 who hold a recognised Master鈥檚 degree, a strong academic standing, and a detailed research proposal.

Details you need to know

• Key Requirement: You must secure a formal letter of acceptance from a host professor at an eligible Swiss public university before submitting your scholarship package.
• Application Window: September to November (submitted through Swiss embassies in home countries).
• Official Portal:

How to get your application ready before the portals close 

Knowing which scholarships are open is only 20% of the battle. The remaining 80% comes down to execution. Here is how to ensure your application does not get thrown into the rejection bin:

1. Get all your documents in order now

Do not wait for portals to open before requesting official academic transcripts from your undergraduate institution. If your university takes three weeks to process transcript requests, start today. Gather your degree certificates, statement of results, birth certificates, and passport copies in a single, well-organised, easily accessible folder.

2. Address English proficiency early

While many European and UK institutions accept a Medium of Instruction (MOI) letter confirming that your undergraduate degree was taught in English, major programs such as Wageningen, the Swedish Institute, or Oxford/Cambridge have strict IELTS/TOEFL requirements. Check the official requirements for your target course immediately so you are not caught off guard.

3. Inform your referees in advance

Your lecturers, professors and former line managers are busy human beings. Reach out to them early with your CV, academic summary, and a quick outline of the scholarships you are applying for. Giving your referees a clear 3-week window to submit recommendation letters prevents missed deadlines.

4. Use AI wisely

Selection committees read tens of thousands of essays every single cycle. If your Statement of Purpose sounds like generic AI filler (“I have always been passionate about leveraging technology to synergise global frameworks…“), your application will be dismissed. Tell a clear, grounded story: What problem did you see? What did you do about it? Why this specific program? And what will you build when you finish?

The application window may seem short, but the payoff can alter the trajectory of your life. Pick your target programs, organise your documents, and get your applications in early; your future self will thank you for taking the leap today. We鈥檙e rooting for you. 

Central to the policies and strategies unveiled is the idea of a technology-driven government that delivers services digitally from the start, where data drives decisions, and citizens can interact with public institutions as easily as they use their phones. The Digital Government Policy Framework (DGPF), an ambitious blueprint launched in 2020 for a smarter, more responsive state, outlines this vision across six pillars, with initiatives like Digital by Design and Proactive Governance. However, ambition alone doesn鈥檛 build systems; it requires execution.

In theory, Digital by Design operates on the philosophy that government services should be created with technology at their core. In practice, progress has been slowed by fragmented regulations and uneven capacity across states. While some parts of the country are moving forward, others are playing catch-up, leading to a fragmented system instead of the unified digital experience that these innovations are meant to achieve. 

A similar pattern is evident in the push for a data-driven public sector. There are indeed signs that the Nigerian government is beginning to take data governance more seriously. For example, in trying to achieve a geo-political system of equity and inclusion, all 36 states were reached through the Build-A-thon programme, with learning communities set up that focused on youths and female groups. But what鈥檚 missing is consistent, disaggregated data that reflects differences across factors like gender, geography, and income levels. Without this level of detail, policies run the risk of missing the people who need them most, and data can not be effectively used to create inclusive solutions. 

The same pattern appears in Government as a Platform鈥檚 vision, which envisions an interconnected, efficient, and accessible public service. While infrastructure investments like the installation of 145,000km of fibre optic cable, which was laid, suggest that the foundation is being built, only 27% of rural LGAs are connected against a target of 60%, making the experience of navigating them still feel disjointed. The promise of seamless digital governance has yet to materialise.

Perhaps more telling is the lingering gap between openness and transparency. While the government has made efforts to engage citizens through consultations, signalling a willingness to be more transparent, limited visibility into program performance makes it difficult to assess how policies are actually working. This disconnect becomes even clearer in user-driven governance. In principle, citizens should help shape the services they use; in practice, feedback channels are often weak or inaccessible, particularly for rural areas or underserved communities. 

On the brighter side, Nigeria appears to have made real progress in building its digital backbone with broadband infrastructure expansion and continued growth in the telecommunications ecosystem. However, only about 27 percent of local governments have reliable connectivity compared to their urban counterparts. This means that for millions of Nigerians, the digital economy still feels out of reach, a divide with real consequences.

Beyond infrastructure, a deeper structural challenge is coordination. Nigeria has a deep-seated challenge of aligning efforts across different agencies working toward similar goals. Policies are developed and launched in isolation, creating a system that moves while being pulled in different directions. The startup ecosystem, for example, boasts over 12,000 registered startups and billions in investment, but still lacks stronger institutional support, which means this growth may be difficult to sustain.

Yiaga Africa鈥檚 assessment report on President Tinubu鈥檚 Renewed Hope Agenda, legal and regulatory framework is described as transitional, with important tools like the National AI Strategy and the Digital Economy Bill still in development and facing delays in enforcement. The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy (FMoCIDE) has demonstrated leadership, but execution is uneven as a result of poor interagency cooperation and limited connections in local governments. According to the policy assessment brief facilitated by Yiaga Africa, more than 12,000 registered firms and 鈧�21 billion in investments raised in 2025, the Startup Ecosystem is referred to as emerging but is not institutionalised and threatened by issues including poor budgetary integration and sluggish tax incentive disbursement.

Similarly, the national Build-A-Thon STEM effort emphasises the importance of human capital development; nonetheless, inclusion mechanisms remain inadequate, particularly for rural areas, gender-specific data, and disability inclusion. Only 7.7% of young people with training are employed in northern states due to a lack of investments in digital infrastructure. 

The path forward is one where rural connectivity must be improved through reforms like reducing right-of-way costs and investing in alternative power solutions. Policies like the Digital Economy Bill must move from draft to implementation, and coordination across different local governments must become more deliberate and unified. Ultimately, progress must be measured not just by policies announced, but by outcomes experienced by everyday Nigerians.

Read more on the #Fulfillit campaign by Yiaga Africa here

One of the strongest areas of performance is Nigeria鈥檚 startup and innovation ecosystem, which recorded the highest rating of 3.75 in the policy brief by Yiaga Africa using the GovTech index key across 9 key performance areas on a numerical performance scale of 1-5. The government significantly exceeded its target under the Startup Act, registering nearly 12,948 startups compared to the initial goal of 500. In addition, about 925 government-backed innovation hubs have been established across the country. 

While these figures reflect an active entrepreneurial landscape and growing interest in technology-driven solutions, the assessment notes that access to finance remains a major obstacle, largely because grant disbursement processes are slow and tax relief mechanisms lack transparency. 

Another area of progress is talent development, which scored 3.0. Flagship initiatives such as the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program have trained approximately 600,000 individuals as of 2025. Programs like the Build-A-Thon initiative have also exceeded expectations in reaching students and introducing them to digital skills. Despite this momentum, a key challenge lies in translating training into employment. 

According to the assessment, only 7.7 percent of trainees secured employment within six months of completing their programs, highlighting a disconnect between skills training and labour market demand. Without stronger partnerships between training programs and employers, Nigeria risks producing a large pool of skilled individuals who struggle to find opportunities to apply their knowledge.

In digital infrastructure, progress remains modest. The sector recorded a rating of 2.5, with approximately 145,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable deployed nationwide, representing about a ten percent increase compared to pre-2023 levels. While this expansion is significant, rural connectivity remains a major challenge, with only 27 percent of rural local government areas currently connected, far below the government鈥檚 target of 60 percent. 

The most concerning performance appears in e-government and digital services, which scored 1.75. Despite growing calls for government modernisation, fewer than 20 percent of federal services are fully digitised. This limits the efficiency and accessibility of public services that digital tools are supposed to enhance. Furthermore, national identification coverage remains incomplete. The National Identification Number (NIN) currently covers roughly 51 percent of the population, significantly below the 95 percent target set for 2025. 

These uneven outcomes are driven by several structural challenges. One major issue is policy fragmentation. Key institutions such as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy frequently operate in silos. Overlapping mandates in areas like data protection and cybersecurity can result in duplicated efforts and regulatory confusion. 

Infrastructure constraints further compound these challenges. High Right-of-Way (RoW) fees imposed by state governments continue to slow broadband expansion, particularly in underserved regions. In addition, unreliable power supply and expensive spectrum costs further complicate efforts to scale digital connectivity nationwide. These barriers make it difficult to extend digital services to communities that need them most. 

Another obstacle is the slow pace of legislative reform. The Digital Economy Bill, which could provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for the sector, remains pending in the National Assembly. This delay contributes to uncertainty for investors and innovators alike, potentially slowing the pace of growth in the sector. Inclusion challenges also persist with many digital programs concentrated in urban centres, limiting participation from women, persons with disabilities, and rural populations, particularly in northern states. 

To address these challenges and meet the objectives of the government鈥檚 Renewed Hope agenda by 2027, the assessment outlines several recommendations. First, stronger inter-agency coordination is essential. Establishing a dedicated Digital Economy Delivery Taskforce could help harmonise the work of institutions such as NITDA, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and Galaxy Backbone. 

The government must also accelerate reforms by prioritising the passage of the Digital Economy Bill and fully implementing the Startup Act. Furthermore, collaboration with subnational governments is crucial, as state-level ICT agencies must play a greater role in addressing last-mile connectivity challenges and reducing Right-of-Way fees that hinder broadband expansion. 

The report also emphasises the role of public鈥損rivate partnerships, particularly with major telecommunications companies such as MTN and Airtel, in scaling infrastructure and expanding digital training hubs. Finally, policymakers must take deliberate steps to promote local content, including enforcing procurement standards that prioritise indigenous digital solutions.

Overall, the assessment finds that Nigeria鈥檚 digital economy is clearly moving forward, but progress remains uneven. The country has demonstrated strong potential in innovation and talent development, yet critical weaknesses persist in governance, infrastructure, and inclusion. 

Read more on the #FulfillIt campaign by Yiaga Africa here

When Opemipo got laid off five months after moving to Sweden for work, Finland wasn’t part of the plan. In this story, she shares how her friend referred her for a life-changing role, how the company handled her full relocation to Sweden without her spending a kobo, and the one piece of advice she鈥檚 giving anyone in this job market.

Where do you currently live, and when did you leave Nigeria?

I left Nigeria in February 2022 for Sweden, but I now live in Finland

Take us back to your life in Nigeria. What was life like for you in Nigeria before the move?

Before the move, I was actually doing really well in Nigeria. I had built a life and a career that I was proud of. I was growing, learning, and beginning to feel like I was finding my place in my career.

Then life took a beautiful turn. I got married in 2019, and in 2020, I had my daughter – right at the start of the COVID lockdown. Becoming a mother changed a lot for me. Suddenly, I was thinking not just about my career, but also about the kind of life and opportunities I wanted for myself and my growing family.

Around that time, I started looking into remote opportunities. I remember interviewing with Opera Mini/Opay, and at one point, I received an offer. But because I was pregnant, the offer was eventually rescinded. Honestly, that was difficult. It felt like I was being penalised for something that was such a beautiful and important part of my life.

But that experience didn’t stop me. I kept looking, and sometimes, the opportunities you don’t get make room for the ones you were actually meant to have.

A friend of mine, Kevwe, eventually referred me for a remote Project Coordinator role. I got the opportunity and joined in 2021. At the time, I didn’t realise just how significant that moment would be. That role became the beginning of a completely new chapter for me – one that would eventually take my career and my family in a direction I never could have imagined.

So, What Happened Next?           

About six months into the job, something completely unexpected happened: the company was acquired by Klarna, the Swedish buy-now-pay-later company.

At the time, there were only about a few of us working remotely from Nigeria. We were settled into our roles and getting on with our lives, so the acquisition was already a big change in itself. But then came another surprise.

Because of GDPR requirements, Klarna couldn鈥檛 continue having us work remotely from Nigeria. Instead of simply ending our contracts, they decided to relocate us.

I remember how surreal that felt. I had only recently found my footing in this new remote career when I was suddenly told I might have the opportunity to move to Europe.

I hadn鈥檛 planned for it. Moving abroad wasn鈥檛 something I had been actively pursuing at that point. But sometimes, life opens a door you weren鈥檛 even looking for, and you have to decide whether you鈥檙e brave enough to walk through it.

That’s wild. So this wasn’t really a planned japa?

Not at all, honestly. Moving abroad wasn鈥檛 really part of some big, carefully planned 鈥渏apa鈥� strategy.

My husband is a British citizen, and around that time, with the economy the way it was, we had quietly started exploring our options. We talked about possibly moving to Scotland or somewhere else in the UK. Nothing was certain – we were just having conversations, looking at possibilities, and praying about what the right next step would be for our family.

And then, completely out of nowhere, the company was acquired.

Suddenly, an opportunity arose to relocate to Sweden. Sweden wasn鈥檛 even on our radar. We had been thinking about the UK, and here we were being offered a completely different path to Europe.

Looking back, it was one of those moments where you just have to pause and say, 鈥淥kay, God, I see what you’re doing.鈥�

We had been praying for a way forward, but we were imagining one thing, and God opened a completely different door. We didn’t plan for Sweden. We didn’t even see it coming. It just happened.

So, for me, it really did feel like one of those 鈥淕od did this鈥� moments. What we thought would require years of planning and figuring everything out somehow came together through an unexpected opportunity.

What did the company handle, and what did you have to do yourselves?

Honestly? Almost nothing on our end. Looking back, I realise just how incredibly favoured and blessed we were.

Klarna partnered with a consultant to handle almost the entire relocation process for us. They took care of the documentation, visas, and all the complicated paperwork that comes with moving to another country.

The consultant verified our marriage certificate, checked our academic records, and made sure all our documentation was legitimate and in order. We didn’t even have to provide proof of funds. In fact, there was very little we had to figure out ourselves.

We had just one appointment in Abuja, and after that, everything moved incredibly quickly. It was honestly surreal because I kept thinking, 鈥淚s this really happening?鈥�

When we arrived in Sweden, Klarna also covered our relocation costs and paid for our first month’s rent. They even arranged for a relocation specialist to help us find permanent accommodation.

So, in many ways, we didn’t have to navigate the relocation process alone. The company took care of the things that would normally be some of the most stressful parts of moving abroad, and we were able to focus on preparing ourselves and our daughter for this completely new chapter.

It was a very different experience from what I had imagined relocating to another country would be. There was still a lot of uncertainty and emotion around leaving Nigeria, but having that level of support made the transition so much easier.

That sounds almost too smooth. 

Yeah, I know, right? But there鈥檚 a catch. 

Oh no.

So when I got to Sweden, I moved from project coordinator to scrum master in my original team, but I didnt think the role was challenging enough, so I pushed to move into a role within an existing Klarna team. The thing is, there’s usually a 2-year waiting period before contractors are fully integrated into Klarna’s workforce, but I skipped that since I was already working at a company that Klarna owned. When I moved over, I was treated like a brand-new employee.

Five months later, I got laid off. “Last in, first out,” was what they told me. It was devastating. I’d just uprooted my whole family, my daughter was barely two, and now this.

How did you even survive that financially and emotionally?

Honestly, what came next was probably the most depressing period of my life. 

The excitement of relocating to Sweden had faded, and suddenly I found myself dealing with a completely different reality. I had moved my life and my family to a new country, and now I was facing uncertainty about my career and what would happen next.

Thankfully, Swedish labour law gave me a bit of a safety net. Because I still had my original employment contract from before the Klarna acquisition, I was entitled to six months’ salary upon my termination.

And that turned out to be incredibly important.

In Sweden, your residence permit can be tied to your employment, so losing your job also meant I had to think carefully about how much time I had to find another one. That six months of salary effectively gave me around nine months of breathing room, rather than the three months I would otherwise have had to find new employment.

I remember being very deliberate about how I wanted the money paid. I told them, 鈥淣o, please don’t pay it as a lump sum. Pay me monthly.鈥�

I needed that structured income. I needed to know that every month, I could still pay our bills while I focused on finding another job.

Looking back, that period was incredibly difficult emotionally. I had gone from feeling like everything was falling perfectly into place, moving to Sweden through what felt like a God-ordained opportunity, to suddenly wondering what I was going to do next. But that six-month salary gave me something I desperately needed at the time: time. Time to breathe, time to figure things out, and time to look for my next opportunity without immediately having to panic about how we were going to survive.

That’s such a specific, useful detail. What did those months of job hunting actually look like?

I knew I couldn’t sit around feeling sorry for myself. I was on LinkedIn every single day. I took online courses, attended Swedish language classes, reached out to Nigerians working at companies I was interested in, and asked for referrals, interview tips, and advice. I was willing to learn, adapt, and do whatever I could to find my footing again.

But one of the biggest things that carried me through that period was the Nigerian community in Sweden. People I had never met were willing to help me simply because they understood what it meant to be starting over in a new country.

There was one particular moment I’ll never forget. A man I’d never even met saw that I was looking for a job and offered to write a post about me on LinkedIn, in Swedish, to help me reach a wider audience.

He didn’t have to do that. He didn’t know me. But he saw someone in need and decided to help. That one simple act of kindness opened a door I never expected. 

Suddenly, I wasn’t just sitting alone in a new country trying to figure everything out. I had people to talk to, people who understood, people who could share their experiences and point me in the right direction.

It reminded me of something I’d almost forgotten during that difficult period: I wasn’t alone.

Sometimes, when you’re going through a difficult season, you don’t need someone to solve everything for you. Sometimes, you just need someone to say, 鈥淚 see you. Let me help.鈥�

And that was exactly what the Nigerian community did for me.

Six months of that must have taken a toll. How did you keep going?

My belief in God and my faith in Him kept me going.

Also, instead of applying narrowly based only on what I had done before, I started applying broadly. I stopped looking at job descriptions and thinking, 鈥淚 don’t have 100% of this.鈥� Instead, I started asking myself, 鈥淐an I learn this? Can I figure this out? Can I bring something valuable to the role?鈥�

That shift made a huge difference.

I still had moments of doubt, of course, but I stopped allowing the things I hadn’t done before to define what I believed I was capable of doing.

Looking back, I think that period taught me to be much more confident in my ability to learn and to just be audacious.

And did that pay off? 

It did. And somehow, right when my severance was about to run out in December, I finally got an offer.

But there was a catch: the job was in Finland, not Sweden.

And honestly, that broke my heart a little.

By that point, Sweden wasn’t just the country I had moved to for work anymore. It had become home. I had built a community there, made friends, found people who had supported me through one of the hardest periods of my life, and started to build a life for my family. So when the opportunity in Finland came, I was excited to finally have a job again, but I was also conflicted. I remember thinking, 鈥淩eally? Just when I’m finally finding my feet here, I have to leave again?鈥�

It felt like another chapter was closing just as I had started to settle into it.

But once again, life was taking me somewhere I hadn’t planned to go.

Wow. What was moving to Finland like?

Thankfully, this relocation was also company-funded, which made a huge difference.

They arranged for all our belongings to be moved from Sweden to Finland by boat鈥攁 16-hour journey. So, in a very literal sense, our entire life was packed up and sent across the Baltic Sea while we prepared to start yet another chapter.

The amazing thing was that we already had our housing sorted before we even arrived. So when we landed in Finland, we didn’t have to worry about temporary accommodation or figuring out where we were going to live. We could simply move straight in.

And, as if the timing couldn’t have been more interesting, my husband’s company also asked him to relocate to Estonia around the same time.

At first, it sounded like yet another major complication. But then we looked at the map and realised Estonia is only about two hours from Finland by boat. So, thankfully, it wasn’t a dealbreaker.

Looking back, I sometimes laugh at how much our family moved around in such a short period of time. We went from Nigeria to Sweden, built a life there, then moved to Finland, while my husband’s work was taking him towards Estonia.

Were there any blockers you faced when moving from Sweden to Finland?

There was actually one more hurdle before we could fully settle in Finland.

Initially, we were told that we would need to go back to Nigeria to have our marriage certificate re-certified. The Finnish authorities sought additional verification due to concerns about documentation issued by Nigeria’s Ministry of Interior.

At first, we thought, 鈥淲ait, do we really have to go all the way back to Nigeria for this?鈥�

We had already gone through the verification process for Sweden. Our marriage had been verified, our documents had been reviewed, and we had been approved to live there without issue.

So we decided to push back. We explained that we had already been thoroughly vetted for our relocation to Sweden and asked why Finland would need us to start the entire verification process from scratch.

Thankfully, they listened.

Smart. Okay, and then, please tell me Finland went smoothly.

For about a year, yes. Then I got laid off again. This time, from a startup that wanted to raise more money and needed to lay people off to satisfy investors.

No way. Again?

I had a full panic attack, honestly. I wasn’t going to lie about that.

I had just gone through so much change already, moving countries, rebuilding my life, finding my feet again and then suddenly I was faced with the possibility of losing my job all over again. It felt like everything was happening at once.

But somehow, things turned around much faster than I expected.

By March, the same month I lost my job, I had already been approached on LinkedIn by another company. I went through the process, and before I knew it, I had a new offer letter in my hands.

I remember looking at that offer and thinking about everything that had happened over the previous few months. The uncertainty, the fear, the job applications, the moments when I wondered if I was going to figure everything out鈥攁nd then suddenly, there I was, starting another chapter.

I’ve now been with that company for over three years.

When I look back at that period, I’m reminded of how quickly things can change. One moment, you can feel like everything is falling apart, and the next, a door opens that you couldn’t have seen coming.

Let’s talk life abroad. What genuinely shocked you in your first week in Sweden?

Honestly, the weather was probably the biggest culture shock.

We arrived in February, and it was cold. And not just cold, it was dark for what felt like the entire day. Coming from Nigeria, where you’re used to sunshine and warmth, I remember thinking, 鈥淲hat exactly have we gotten ourselves into?鈥�

Then summer came, and Sweden completely flipped the script. Suddenly, it felt like the sun just refused to go to bed. It would stay bright for what seemed like forever, and I remember thinking, 鈥淲ait, when does it actually get dark here?鈥�

The underground train system was another thing that completely blew my mind. I remember getting lost a few times. Coming from Nigeria, I wasn’t used to having such an organised public transport system that you could just rely on to get around. It was one of those everyday things that made me realise, 鈥淥kay, I’m really living in a different part of the world now.鈥�

And then there were the little financial and lifestyle differences you don’t necessarily think about before moving. For example, paying rent monthly instead of annually took some getting used to. In Nigeria, you often think of rent as a huge annual expense, so having it structured completely differently felt strange at first.

What’s one thing you loved about living in Sweden specifically?

. It’s this very Swedish tradition of taking a break for coffee and a small pastry or bun. I really got into it.

And what didn’t you love about Sweden?

The Swedish people themselves could feel a bit pretentious and fake, honestly, not all of them, but a good number of the ones I interacted with. The Nigerian community there, though, is incredibly warm.

How does the cost of living in Sweden compare to Finland?

Sweden’s actually cheaper, mostly because  Finland’s taxes are high. And they tax EVERYTHING.

What’s the biggest difference between the two countries for you?

Finland has way more nature, and Finnish life is more attuned to it. It鈥檚 much slower and calmer even in the capital area. Sweden felt more like an urban race track by comparison.

You鈥檝e been able to get these international jobs multiple times. What’s your job-hunting secret?

LinkedIn. Every single time.

If you’re job hunting in the Nordics, I genuinely believe you need to take LinkedIn seriously. Don’t just create a profile and forget about it; be strategic. Optimise your profile, make sure your experience is clearly presented, and let people know what you actually bring to the table.

And don’t underestimate your CV. Keep it sharp, relevant, and tailored to the role you’re applying for. But beyond the CV, learn how to talk to people.

When a recruiter or hiring manager calls you, that conversation matters. Be warm, be confident, be genuinely interested, and let your personality come through. Technical skills can get you through an application, but the way you communicate and connect with people can take you much further than you might expect.

Salary negotiation is also important, so you don’t get cheated. What’s your best salary negotiation advice?

Ask. Always ask. Once you’re in the role, there’s rarely another chance to renegotiate unless you switch jobs entirely. Companies that extend an offer are not going to rescind it because you asked for more money. The worst, they say, is 鈥渘o, the salary range for this role doesn鈥檛 go that high.鈥� Then you ask for other non-salary benefits.

What do you love most about life in Finland?

Nature is what I love most about Finland.

Do you miss Nigeria?

Honestly, no. I haven’t stopped being Nigerian just because I live abroad.

I still eat all my Nigerian food鈥攑epper soup, suya, goat meat, all of it. I’m still glued to Nigerian social media, I still follow what’s happening back home, and I still feel very connected to the culture.

But there’s another side of Nigeria that I don’t miss: the constant state of alertness.

When you’re living there, you’re often thinking about safety without even realising how much mental energy it takes. You’re thinking about where you’re going, what time you’ll get home, whether a particular road is safe, and what you’ve heard about kidnappings or other security issues. That constant awareness can really take a toll on you.

I think living abroad made me realise just how much of that stress I’d normalised.

On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate life in Finland?

An eight. It’d be a ten if not for the weather; it’s brutally cold for months. Life in Finland is very chill and slow-paced; you get to breathe fresh air daily.

Any last words for anyone reading this?

Be audacious. Genuinely. Don’t box yourself into one role or one skill set because of what you’ve done in the past. There is so much you can learn on the job. If you have the ability to learn, adapt, and figure things out, don’t disqualify yourself before you’ve even given yourself a chance.

And fight your imposter syndrome, because nobody is going to fight it for you.

There were plenty of moments when I questioned whether I was qualified enough, experienced enough, or whether I really belonged in the room. But eventually, I realised that waiting until I felt completely confident would only hold me back.

Apply anyway. Have the conversation anyway. Put yourself forward anyway. And perhaps most importantly, don’t tie your entire identity to your job.

Your job is something you do; it isn’t the entirety of who you are. You are more than your title, your company, your salary, or the role you currently hold. Especially in today’s job market, things can change incredibly quickly. I learned that the hard way.

So build your career, work hard, keep learning, but remember to build a life and an identity outside of your career too. Because when the job changes, you are still you.

Want to share your japa story? Please reach out to me .

What killed them?

The NSCDC’s Niger State Commandant, Suberu Siyaka Aniviye, said the deaths were by a suspected disease outbreak, with the suspected disease being diphtheria.聽The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has since Commandant Aniviye pending the outcome of the investigation.聽

Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, who the death toll at 37 during a Thursday press conference in Minna, however, said the cause of death hadn’t been officially established, and it was too early to draw conclusions. 

Bago disclosed that investigators were examining several possible causes, including exposure to hazardous chemicals. Meanwhile, an AFP intelligence report overcrowding and poor ventilation inside the detention facility may be the reason for the deaths.

A filmed during the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo’s, visit to some of the survivors has added another layer to the dispute. In it, one survivor says: “They sprayed something in the cell after putting us inside, and people started falling down.”

The clip has circulated widely on social media, with other survivor accounts say that around 65 to 66 people were packed into a small cell.

VIDEO: They sprayed something in the cell after putting us inside, and people started falling down.'

– One of the survivors of the NSCDC horror cell in Niger states

— Rinu Oduala (@SavvyRinu)

Families of the deceased are not buying the disease explantion and are questioning how a sudden infection could kill dozens of healthy youths in a single night while leaving facility guards untouched. The bodies have been to the General Hospital, Minna, for autopsy.

Who鈥檚 telling the truth?

The NSCDC’s Commandant General, Professor Ahmed Abubakar Audi, has an internal panel, led by the Deputy Commandant General for Intelligence and Investigation, to examine the arrests, detention conditions, medical care provided, and the circumstances of the deaths. 

Separately, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has opened its own , with its spokesman Wasiu Abiodun confirming this on Thursday, September 17.

What are people saying?

The deaths have protests in Niger State, with families and residents gathering at Minna General Hospital and demanding answers. Some protesters are calling for criminal charges if negligence is confirmed.

The bigger picture

Niger State is in gold and attracts thousands of small-scale miners, many of whom are from poor communities. Security agencies have stepped up on illegal mining sites in recent years, arguing the informal trade is smuggling and armed criminal activity. 

A 2024 found much of the region’s gold moves through global supply chains largely untracked, which is part of why crackdowns like this one keep happening.

We need answers

As of the time of this report, we don’t know the actual cause of death, and that shouldn’t take long to establish. Both investigations need to conclude quickly, and whoever’s responsible needs to be held accountable for their actions or inactions.

Central to the policies and strategies unveiled is the idea of a technology-driven government that delivers services digitally from the start, where data drives decisions, and citizens can interact with public institutions as easily as they use their phones. The Digital Government Policy Framework (DGPF), an ambitious blueprint launched in 2020 for a smarter, more responsive state, outlines this vision across six pillars, with initiatives like Digital by Design and Proactive Governance. However, ambition alone doesn鈥檛 build systems; it requires execution.

In theory, Digital by Design operates on the philosophy that government services should be created with technology at their core. In practice, progress has been slowed by fragmented regulations and uneven capacity across states. While some parts of the country are moving forward, others are playing catch-up, leading to a fragmented system instead of the unified digital experience that these innovations are meant to achieve. 

A similar pattern is evident in the push for a data-driven public sector. There are indeed signs that the Nigerian government is beginning to take data governance more seriously. For example, in trying to achieve a geo-political system of equity and inclusion, all 36 states were reached through the Build-A-thon programme, with learning communities set up that focused on youths and female groups. But what鈥檚 missing is consistent, disaggregated data that reflects differences across factors like gender, geography, and income levels. Without this level of detail, policies run the risk of missing the people who need them most, and data can not be effectively used to create inclusive solutions. 

The same pattern appears in Government as a Platform鈥檚 vision, which envisions an interconnected, efficient, and accessible public service. While infrastructure investments like the installation of 145,000km of fibre optic cable, which was laid, suggest that the foundation is being built, only 27% of rural LGAs are connected against a target of 60%, making the experience of navigating them still feel disjointed. The promise of seamless digital governance has yet to materialise.

Perhaps more telling is the lingering gap between openness and transparency. While the government has made efforts to engage citizens through consultations, signalling a willingness to be more transparent, limited visibility into program performance makes it difficult to assess how policies are actually working. This disconnect becomes even clearer in user-driven governance. In principle, citizens should help shape the services they use; in practice, feedback channels are often weak or inaccessible, particularly for rural areas or underserved communities. 

On the brighter side, Nigeria appears to have made real progress in building its digital backbone with broadband infrastructure expansion and continued growth in the telecommunications ecosystem. However, only about 27 percent of local governments have reliable connectivity compared to their urban counterparts. This means that for millions of Nigerians, the digital economy still feels out of reach, a divide with real consequences.

Beyond infrastructure, a deeper structural challenge is coordination. Nigeria has a deep-seated challenge of aligning efforts across different agencies working toward similar goals. Policies are developed and launched in isolation, creating a system that moves while being pulled in different directions. The startup ecosystem, for example, boasts over 12,000 registered startups and billions in investment, but still lacks stronger institutional support, which means this growth may be difficult to sustain.

Yiaga Africa鈥檚 assessment report on President Tinubu鈥檚 Renewed Hope Agenda, legal and regulatory framework is described as transitional, with important tools like the National AI Strategy and the Digital Economy Bill still in development and facing delays in enforcement. The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy (FMoCIDE) has demonstrated leadership, but execution is uneven as a result of poor interagency cooperation and limited connections in local governments. According to the policy assessment brief facilitated by Yiaga Africa, more than 12,000 registered firms and 鈧�21 billion in investments raised in 2025, the Startup Ecosystem is referred to as emerging but is not institutionalised and threatened by issues including poor budgetary integration and sluggish tax incentive disbursement.

Similarly, the national Build-A-Thon STEM effort emphasises the importance of human capital development; nonetheless, inclusion mechanisms remain inadequate, particularly for rural areas, gender-specific data, and disability inclusion. Only 7.7% of young people with training are employed in northern states due to a lack of investments in digital infrastructure. 

The path forward is one where rural connectivity must be improved through reforms like reducing right-of-way costs and investing in alternative power solutions. Policies like the Digital Economy Bill must move from draft to implementation, and coordination across different local governments must become more deliberate and unified. Ultimately, progress must be measured not just by policies announced, but by outcomes experienced by everyday Nigerians.

Read more on the #Fulfillit campaign by Yiaga Africa here