The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has allocated N252 million in the 2026 budget for programmes designed to dissuade Nigerian youths from emigrating, a phenomenon widely known as the ‘Japa Syndrome,’ according to a SaharaReporters review of the fiscal document.
The budget includes N77 million for a “sensitisation programme on available opportunities in Nigeria against JAPA in Kebbi State,” N35 million for “training for youths on the opportunities in Nigeria against Japa Syndrome” in a Cross River State constituency, and N140 million for a similar youth program in the Owan federal constituency.
The agency’s Director-General, Lanre Issa-Onilu, had previously stated the body planned “to sensitise three million Nigerian daily” in a recent nationwide campaign, while the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, recently pleaded with youths “to stop illegal migration to other countries,” asserting that “the government had put measures in place to empower them.”