In recent years, Nigerians in the Diaspora have been making waves across the globe. Majority of these Nigerians are members of the working class who might not have had such opportunities if they had remained in Nigeria. Examples of such Nigerians that recently made the news include, but not limited to, the current Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Province of Alberta, Canada, Honorable Kaycee Madu, who hailed from South-Eastern part of Nigeria and educated in Nigeria before seeking greener pasture in Canada; Adewale Adeyemo, who was recently appointed as the Deputy Treasury Secretary of the most powerful nation in the world, the United States of America, by President-Elect Joe Biden; Oye Owolewa, a youth and vibrant Nigerian born pharmacist who was just elected as a Congressman in the United States of America House of Representatives representing the District of Columbia, the capital district of the United States of America; Dr. Onyema Ogbuagu, a Nigerian born physician who recently made the news for his roles in development of a novo vaccine against SARS-Cov-2 virus that causes the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is killing millions of people across the globe – the list is just too long for this article to do the deserved justice.
In addition to the foregoing, even the Nigerian government recognizes the financial gains that come with availing Nigerians opportunities for self development outside Nigeria, the opportunities that are not so much available to common Nigerians in Nigeria. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that Nigerians in Diaspora remitted a whopping $23.8 billion (about twenty four billion US dollars) to Nigeria in 2019 – that is more than half of the total amount of about $34 billion budgeted by the Nigerian government for the fiscal year of 2020. The CBN also recently surprised the nation by controlling the worsening devaluation of naira simply by allowing recipients of foreign currencies repatriated to Nigeria by Nigerians in the Diaspora to be withdrawn in US dollars from local banks instead of the previous policy that only allowed such repatriated monies to be withdrawn only in Naira in Nigeria. Following this announcement by the CBN on November 30, 2020, the naira quickly appreciated against foreign currencies in the parallel market with the exchange rate of naira to dollar crashing from around N500 to a dollar to N450 to a dollar in just about four days. This is another evidence that opportunity to travel outside Nigeria in the recent years is a powerful tool of empowering Nigerians.
While GraftWatch abhors any event that will further deprive Nigeria in particular and Africa in general, availing Nigerian youths opportunities that may assist them in achieving their full potentials in life is a worthy service that can positively contribute to the development of fellow Nigerians while our leadership works towards getting it right in Nigeria for Nigeria to become the land of opportunities that we all currently dream of. In view of this, GraftWatch recommends to any Nigerian that is qualified to apply for immigration visa into Canada under the renewed efforts of the government of Canada to accommodate more foreign nationals in Canada. This Skilled Worker Program has been ongoing for many years, but the renewed efforts of the government of Canada make this program more attractive to qualified applicants.
GraftWatch understands that a number of Nigerians have been swindled by many opportunists using this Skilled Worker Program as a bait of luring their victims into scam. Please, do not patronize any third party that is advising you to pay money for this program or that is diverting you to any website that is different from the official website of the Citizenship and Immigration of Canada (CIC). This program does not require any third party to process if you are truly qualified to apply. Please beware of fraudsters and do not be preyed upon.
If an applicant meets all the minimum requirements, the Citizenship and Immigration of Canada (CIC) will assess application based on:
- age
- education
- work experience
- whether you have a valid job offer in Canada
- English and/or French language skills
- adaptability (how well the applicant is likely to settle in Canada)
These factors are part of a 100-point grid used to assess eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Applicant earns points for how well he or she preforms in each of the above listed 6 factors. The current pass mark is 67 points.
Please go to the Citizenship and Immigration of Canada (CIC) website to assess yourself if you qualify to apply. GraftWatch wishes you best of luck. We hope you become another Nigerian that makes all of us proud while utilizing the offered opportunities.
GraftWatch will do whatever it can in helping any qualified Nigerian youth without any string attached. But note that GraftWatch has no power to influence the decision of the Citizenship and Immigration of Canada (CIC) and GraftWatch does not represent the CIC or anyone else. In addition, GraftWatch is not promising anyone anything in connection with this Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Program.
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