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The Second Boat of Africa’s New Diaspora: Looking at the Other Side of the Global Divide with an Emphasis on Sudan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2016

Ibrahim Elnur
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Extract

“Even if you cannot relocate to Nigeria immediately, visit home to see in which way you can lend a hand in rebuilding the country,” said Nigeria’s first lady Stella Obasanjo, on a recent visit to Cape Town, South Africa.

“My dad thought I was crazy for coming back,” said Osifo with a hearty laugh. “People are looking for ways to get out.”

“Why are you coming back?” (Singer 2001).

The processes of globalization have accelerated the exodus of the highly skilled from the collapsing modernization project. This article suggests that the flight of the educated elite is linked to the relative strength of the nation-state and both the length and intensity of internal conflicts. It is also suggested that the “skills exodus” may represent a major disruption in the political and social development of Africa, leading to further marginalization and affecting Africa’s capacity to revive development or envision an alternative development path. The emphasis is on Sudan’s unprecedented massive skills exodus during the past three decades, suggesting that this one case is extremely relevant to the rest of the continent, given the country’s favorable situation at the time of its independence in 1956.

Type
Part III: Country Studies
Information
African Issues , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , 2002 , pp. 37 - 41
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2002 

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References

Notes

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