How is life for Nigerians living in Canada? (I)

This week I have a guest columnist sharing his views on my space. I hope you find it interesting.

By Omotayo Fakinlede

I was a student in Canada more than 35 years ago. Much of what others have written here (on the topic above) could have been predictable and Nigerians need to watch out because the stories of a Canada (or any other nation) where there are no problems is an exaggeration. Everywhere in the world, people struggle to survive. In the UK, for example, apart from a certain Charles and some other members of his family, most people struggle to survive month to month! Canadians manage every month to balance their family budget (pay heating bills, clearing snow, taxes, transportation, mortgage/rent, settle various other bills, etc.) In the US, in addition to these, they also dodge bullets (it is their constitutional right to keep dodging bullets), forest fires and “migrant invasion”; realize that a major sickness can ruin their finances all the while “saluting the flag” and watching out for the next joke Trump will pull on them! Nigerians must know that their expectations in Canada or any other place in this world must be realistic and benefit from learning about differences in the culture and systems they are entering. Perhaps a little story may help. It is the experience of two of my colleagues in Alberta between 1980-85.

Let’s call the first man Andrew. Andrew was born in Calgary. His father was a plumber and he had training in plumbing and was working with his late father since he was old enough to do so. He earned a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Alberta but could not find a job as an academic. He found out that the hourly wage for a plumber was more than $40 an hour. He eventually kept his PhD on the shelve and went to work as a plumber. He made a comfortable income and had no regrets! Please note that Andrew is a white Canadian “Anglo Saxon” or “WASP” if you know what I mean.

Next comes Nnamdi (not his real name, but a Nigerian person known to me). Nnamdi came to Canada with MSc Chemistry from UNN and was admitted to the PhD program at the University of Alberta. He was here with his family and had sufficient assistantship to live on for the five years it took to get the PhD. He never planned to go back to Nigeria. Upon graduation, he worked initially as a Post-Doctoral Fellow. That provided more money than the Graduate Assistantship but was not the level of living he looked forward to. Eventually, even that ran out.

Nnamdi found out that he could earn a more stable income if he taught Chemistry in secondary school. He went back to take the required Teacher’s certificate and was eventually employed as Chemistry teacher. He too went on to live a simple quiet life and had no complaints. He was happy he could put his children in better schools than Nigeria could provide for him.

Analysis:

One of these people was an immigrant from Nigeria, the other, a Canadian from several generations. It was already happening 35 years ago! If you assume that advanced education will automatically place you in a White-Collar job and middle-class life in Canada, think again! The opportunities, culture, expectations and society are completely different from what you are used to in Nigeria! That is probably why their system works! It is primed to be efficient. You can be sacked from your work even though you have been working very hard, simply because the economy is slow, and your boss thinks that the company will benefit from laying you off, or by closing your section of the company. This does not necessarily have anything to do with your face or color! In fact, while you have a job, I think it is mandatory to have Unemployment Insurance so that the time needed to find another job will not send you down into homelessness when you lose a job!

To be concluded next week.

Fakinlede is a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Lagos.