Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday encouraged young Africans to stay in their home countries rather than emigrate to more prosperous places, saying that a new generation of leaders could reverse the “brain drain” that has hurt the continent’s development.
Speaking in Johannesburg, South Africa, Obama told a gathering of young African businesspeople and social activists they had an opportunity to create more meaningful change at home.
“Precisely because there may be less of a concentration of talent, … your chances of being transformative are going to be higher,” he said, according to Reuters.
Since leaving office, Obama has focused much of his attention on development in Africa, where population pressure, corruption and civil strife are causing heavy out-migration. His nonprofit group, the Obama Foundation, sponsors a leadership program aimed at helping talented Africans find solutions to the continent’s problems.
Obama has deep familial ties to Africa — his father was born in Kenya and returned there to work as an economist after studying in the U.S. At his Johannesburg speech, Obama called on African governments to find ways of making it more attractive for bright students like his father to pursue their goals at home.
“If we have African leaders, governments and institutions which are creating a platform for success and opportunity, then you will increasingly get more talent wanting to stay,” he said. “Once you reach a tipping point, not only will you stop the brain drain, then it will start reversing.”
Increasing migration from Africa has become a major policy problem in recent years, as millions of Africans — mostly poor, young men — have sought better economic opportunities elsewhere, especially Europe. The influx of migrants has overwhelmed social welfare systems in many of the receiving countries and sparked a backlash against illegal immigration, boosting the fortunes of right-wing populist parties across the continent. (RELATED: EU Reaches Deal On Migration, Strengthens External Borders)
Economic problems caused by a rapid population expansion are expected to cause heavy out-migration from Africa well into the foreseeable future. The continent’s total population, which sat at roughly 1.2 billion in 2017, is expected to nearly double to 2.3 billion by 2050, according to the latest United Nations population projections.
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