The Political Economy of Brain Drain and Brain Gain

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MARCUS AMPADU 12 years ago

The Brain Drain phenomenon belongs more to the 20th century than to the 21st century - wa Thiongo, Soyinka, and Nuruddin fled their countries during the last century.
We are now in the 21st century: New Literacies are gradu ...
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The Brain Drain phenomenon belongs more to the 20th century than to the 21st century - wa Thiongo, Soyinka, and Nuruddin fled their countries during the last century.
We are now in the 21st century: New Literacies are gradually changing the way we learn and interact with each other all over the world, thanks to Internet. (Please Google The New Literacies) With DIstance learning, Social Media,instagram, Facebook, e-mail, etc one can use ICT. We have really become a global village
francis kwarteng 12 years ago

Mr. Marcus Ampadu,

Part II "The Sociocultural Mathematics of Growth and Development" will inform you that brain drain is as much a problem of the 20th century as it is of the 21st century.

You are partly right but I hav ...
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Mr. Marcus Ampadu,

Part II "The Sociocultural Mathematics of Growth and Development" will inform you that brain drain is as much a problem of the 20th century as it is of the 21st century.

You are partly right but I have to suprise you that online education is still not popular with employers.

Most universities in the world hardly accept online degrees for admission purposes. You are, therefore, wrong for the most part.

Wait for Part ll to make that comment of yours.

Thanks.
Nyansasem 12 years ago

This brain gain debate has to stop. Mainly, this comes from those who "stole" their way out of the country without helping Ghana with their skills after being educated with taxpayers money or refuse to return to the Country a ...
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This brain gain debate has to stop. Mainly, this comes from those who "stole" their way out of the country without helping Ghana with their skills after being educated with taxpayers money or refuse to return to the Country after their scholarships to be educated or trained outside. These people, like Prof. Yaw Nyarko feel guilty of their "crimes," and somehow want to pay back. However, in order to so, they want to justify why they did what they did. It is wrong. This is nothing, but a mature defense ego- Altruism, as psychologists and their counterparts, psychiatrists will tell you.

Those who paid their own tuition to educate themselves outside the country do not feel obligated to go back home and help. Even if they did that, they do so with love and not as if they are being judged by their consciences to justify why they are coming back home to help. However, those who were educated by tax-payers and left on scholarships to further their education, but refused to return or those who ran away right after their education always feel obligated to justify that and that is why they constantly write about Brain Gain. I don't know this Prof Nyarko, but if I had to check his background, he would fit perfectly among those I have listed here.

When advanced country like Canada talk about BRAIN DRAIN and BRAIN GAIN, they apply them differently from what Yaw Nyarkos and other Africans want to tell us. Why should it be so? In Canada for example, it is about their own educated people leaving on their own mainly to the United States (Brain Drain) and the Country working hard to attract the best brains or immigrants from outside (Brain gain). Unfortunately, concerning Africa, the Yaw Nyarkos equate BRAIN GAIN to those citizens who refused to come after their training or left the country without serving the country after their education or forced out of the country by Coup d'etats. It is wrong and we need to stop this and find ways to stop the brain drain instead of justify this unpatriotic act by some defense mechanism.

In Canada or United States, a medical student spends over $200,000 on his education and yet, the super uber pompous medical student pay peanuts for his education but assumes a deity position or put on pedestal by his own people to talk and walk down on everyone, including their patients and co-workers, the hard working but less paid nurses. He even chooses to lay down his stethoscope and refuses to work for no apparent reason, except for increment of his salaries. It is for this reason why we need find ways to drastically bring this brain drain to a screeching halt and stop this useless talk about brain gain. There is nothing gain from selfish, arrogant, wicked and heartless educated African returning home. They even make life more unbearable for the poor people. What have we gain from Segbefia, Kobby Acheampong, Asabee, Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, Jumah and the useless bunch who returned from Aborokyie?

I have solution for this- let those who want to leave our shores tell us before they begin their education in medicine, sciences, engineering, technology, nursing and many important fields and let us charge them heavily- no subsidy- equivalent to tuition in the States or Canada or UK where they usually run to for their educations. They can then leave right after their education and we will not be bothered. But at least, we will not miss them with super-ego and lackadaisical attitude towards work because we might use their monies to recruit the "best brains" from other countries to replace them, just like what Canadians do; That is the the real BRAIN GAIN.
francis kwarteng 12 years ago

Mr. Nyansasem,

Wait for Part ll "The Sociocultural Mathematics of Growth and Development" to see statistical and sociological data on the problem of brain drain from around the world.

I have more examples for you. Brain ...
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Mr. Nyansasem,

Wait for Part ll "The Sociocultural Mathematics of Growth and Development" to see statistical and sociological data on the problem of brain drain from around the world.

I have more examples for you. Brain drain is a global problem.

Thanks
C.Y. ANDY-K 12 years ago

Hi Francis,

I think I'd also reserve my full comments until Part II. But just to inform that I championed a new look at the qs of brain not only on Okyeame but also in Norway in the 1990s, when I took a position against it ...
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Hi Francis,

I think I'd also reserve my full comments until Part II. But just to inform that I championed a new look at the qs of brain not only on Okyeame but also in Norway in the 1990s, when I took a position against it. Data and researches particularly by the French in Francophone Africa proved me right. The Univ. of Bergen gave a 3-month study leave to the Foreign students Adviser to investigate my claims. She even visited Ghana in order to do that, came back and shocked my hand. Her husband who was the expert on immigration at CMI, who was pissed off by my polemical piece attacking the Norwegian govt policies bit the bullet and soon led the intellectual discourse to have the govt to change its policy and eventually legislation. Two well known Ghanaians who read my original polemics are Dr Nii Moi Thompson then in the US, and Prof. Akilagpa Sawyerr, who was on assignment for the UN Food agency at CMI at the time. He asked me to summarise my main points for his attention as Asoc. of African Univs. Secretary but I didn't.

The brain argument that raged in the 1960s b/n the nationalists and internationalists was essentially in reference to Asians. By the 1980s, it was clear that the internationalists had been proven right, that the so-called brain drain would be positive to the countries losing the presumed brain. Devts in Asia are there to show all the accruing benefits. Sure, there are the negative sides, even for countries like the Philippines that practically educate their nationals to secure employment abroad.

If I may ask, can we really say the lose of many, fresh univ. graduates constitute a brain drain? What brain at all? What skills in the 1st place? What Sir Arthur Lewis advised the newly installed govt in 1953 to do was to find "suitably qualified Africans" to send abroad to work in industries and gain skills, not to go to universities! The whole exx turned into getting further education, and no skills at all! So most who return home after completing their education can't even be said have gained any "brain" - skills and organisational cultural values, norms, etc. - beyond their theoretical book knowledge and caricaturised elite values of the West, accounting for their abysmal performance and anomic behaviour upon return! This must be addressed in the scholarship schemes for African students.

More later.

Andy-K
Francis Kwarteng 12 years ago

Marcus,

Real scientific work on archeology, paleotology, paleoanthropology,psychiatry, technology, inventions, etc., are not usually done in on the internet. They are done in physical structures (scientific laboratories).
...
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Marcus,

Real scientific work on archeology, paleotology, paleoanthropology,psychiatry, technology, inventions, etc., are not usually done in on the internet. They are done in physical structures (scientific laboratories).

(New York's Mayor Bloomberg) and Facebook founder created a fund (much like Nobel) to award American scientists who stay in the country, America, to invent.

Both are afraid at the rate at which American scientists are leaving the country. Brain drain is real like AIDS.
MARCUS AMPADU 12 years ago

Just try and read about the New Literacies.
Francis, I wasn't rejecting brain drain per se; I was intimating that New Literacies make it different.
Peace.

Just try and read about the New Literacies.
Francis, I wasn't rejecting brain drain per se; I was intimating that New Literacies make it different.
Peace.
Nyansasem 12 years ago

I am finding it hard to understand you. How does new Literacy make brain drain different? I think you need to expatiate on that?

I am finding it hard to understand you. How does new Literacy make brain drain different? I think you need to expatiate on that?
Francis 12 years ago

Marcus,

I know about the New Literacies which is good on paper. But, among other reservations, it has not credibly caught on with most respected institutions in the world. Thus, New Literacies is in existence but out stude ...
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Marcus,

I know about the New Literacies which is good on paper. But, among other reservations, it has not credibly caught on with most respected institutions in the world. Thus, New Literacies is in existence but out students still go to the West and elsewhere to get education. Why don't our African professors use the internet and New Literacies to train our students, especially those seeking advnaced degrees?

Unfortunately, most employers and academic institutions claim New Literacies are most if used in a “classroom” or “laboratory.” At least that is done in most parts of the West.

A biology professor friend of mine uses the technique of New Literacies in his biology class.
Nyansasem 12 years ago

I know about New Literacies but I want to hear from Marcus why he thinks brain drain belongs to the 20th century because of New Literacies.

I know about New Literacies but I want to hear from Marcus why he thinks brain drain belongs to the 20th century because of New Literacies.

francis kwarteng 12 years ago

Nyansasem,

One of my comments didn't come out right. I wanted to say that international experts on the pedagogy of New Literacies have shown that they work best in classroom settings!

Now let Marcus answer your question

Nyansasem,

One of my comments didn't come out right. I wanted to say that international experts on the pedagogy of New Literacies have shown that they work best in classroom settings!

Now let Marcus answer your question
Tekonline.org 12 years ago

Francis, you wrote:

"...Real scientific work on archeology, paleotology, paleoanthropology,psychiatry, technology, inventions, etc., are not usually done in on the internet. They are done in physical structures (scientific ...
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Francis, you wrote:

"...Real scientific work on archeology, paleotology, paleoanthropology,psychiatry, technology, inventions, etc., are not usually done in on the internet. They are done in physical structures (scientific laboratories)..."

Although that is largely true, especially for the biological and chemical sciences, there are significant exceptions and the number is steadily growing.

For instance in computer science, the development of complex algorithms can take place in any medium, including the internet (for example on some of the intellectual discussion forums on LinkedIn). And by the way, the need for an "internet", particularly email, arose in the sixties because Physicists wanted to collaborate globally (although DARPA wanted also to protect the infrastructure during a nuclear attack).

NASA and many scientific institutions use the internet for "distributing computing" as part of a complex experiment. Simulation, the phenomenon of "imitating" physical processes through mathematics and software, is now applied in all branches of science, and allows scientists to remotely collaborate. In fact, nuclear physics depends on simulations and this is what might have prompted Tim Benners-Lee to develop the hypertext technique, a precursor to the World-Wide Web. Many science departments in academic institutions have established wiki-based networks, both globally and locally, for collaboration.

Of course I get your drift; physical labs are indispensable, but bear in mind also that the most important part of any scientific endeavor is the THOUGHT PROCESS that precedes the "wet lab" activities, and the global nature of the internet greatly facilitates that process, when great minds in science need to collaborate.
Tekonline.org 12 years ago

.. and not "Distributing Computing". Pardon the error.

.. and not "Distributing Computing". Pardon the error.
francis kwarteng 12 years ago

Teckonline.org,

I havea backgrond in "simulation." I took a whole semester course on simulation.

One of my backgrounds is engineering (operations research) and matheatics. The question is much similar to forecasting. ...
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Teckonline.org,

I havea backgrond in "simulation." I took a whole semester course on simulation.

One of my backgrounds is engineering (operations research) and matheatics. The question is much similar to forecasting.

Simulation is merely applications of algorithm. It doesn't neccesarily tell you the real stuff on the ground. Further, the results you obtained via simuation must be tested on the ground (laboratories, sample testing via interviwes, etc). Simulations results are handled in conjuction with hard data from the real world.

In other words, simulation is merely a theoretical framework for understanding real life situations but they are not real situation. In fact, many simulations don't apply or are not workable in the real world. NASA uses simulations (as you a lot) but results from NASA's simulations are done on the ground, as on Arizona seserts, etc.
Tekonline.org 12 years ago

Francis, I think the application of simulation varies widely based on the discipline. For instance, in computational neuroscience, simulation
of neuronal processes are quite realistic, considering the "neural network" basis ...
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Francis, I think the application of simulation varies widely based on the discipline. For instance, in computational neuroscience, simulation
of neuronal processes are quite realistic, considering the "neural network" basis of real brain function. Often, the parameter inputs for simulation are from real lab data.

In nuclear physics, simulation makes so much sense. You wouldn't want to play around with real hydrogen bombs just to find the optimal generation of plasma energy! As for simulation of black holes for the study of say, dark matter/dark energy roles, simulation is the only option, needless to say.

I brought up the issue just to underscore what Marcus was saying: that a lot of collaboration is possible via modern electronic networks, and physical presence is becoming quite obsolete.

African government should rather take advantage of these modern tools to tap the brains of the diasporans.
For example, a tool like WebEx can enable diasporans to remotely lecture at university, guide local surgeons, or even educate government officials about the proper ways to handle problems.
Francis Kwarteng 12 years ago

See Dennis Overbye's The New York Times piece "At $3 million, New Award Gives Medical Researchers a Dose of Celebrity."

Ask Ashitey Trebi-Ollenu, NASA's robotic scientists, where most of NASA's scientific work on testing " ...
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See Dennis Overbye's The New York Times piece "At $3 million, New Award Gives Medical Researchers a Dose of Celebrity."

Ask Ashitey Trebi-Ollenu, NASA's robotic scientists, where most of NASA's scientific work on testing "soil" from space done?

Secrecy and competition from a country's enemies demand that certain things are not done via the net.

You should have known this.

Thanks.
MARCUS AMPADU 12 years ago

The Internet and social media are here to stay;
However, nobody knows where they will take us. Menuah Francis, we live in a flattened world
now.

The Internet and social media are here to stay;
However, nobody knows where they will take us. Menuah Francis, we live in a flattened world
now.
Tekonline.org 12 years ago

In the first place, NASA is made up various institutes, both NASA's own and external, spread all over the US. For instance, most of NASA's space medicine research is conducted at Stanford University.

Furthermore, almost ...
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In the first place, NASA is made up various institutes, both NASA's own and external, spread all over the US. For instance, most of NASA's space medicine research is conducted at Stanford University.

Furthermore, almost all institutions have very secure INTRANETS. Interaction and collaboration via the internet and intranets are simply inevitable.
MARCUS AMPADU 12 years ago

Tekonline, we're you addressing me?

Tekonline, we're you addressing me?
Tekonline.org 12 years ago

No, Marcus, I was addressing Francis.

No, Marcus, I was addressing Francis.

BOY KOFI 12 years ago

Too many mix up for me to understand this debate of which I am keen interested.It is not because of the English language but the trend of development concerning the brain drain and brain gain.I think sometimes we use words th ...
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Too many mix up for me to understand this debate of which I am keen interested.It is not because of the English language but the trend of development concerning the brain drain and brain gain.I think sometimes we use words that are very confusing.I think we should be talking about building a Nation than developing the country which is not specific.In some ways,it is not only highly educated persons who build Nations,we need everybody onboard to build our nation.We always talk about drain drain refering to only the highly educated people,have you all forgotten that the ordinary skill workers and even labourers are needed for Nation building?Thank you.
Kwesi Atta Sakyi 12 years ago

eature Article of Wednesday, 5 September 2012

Columnist: Sakyi, Kwesi Atta
Is the Brain Drain in Ghana a Blame Game or a Brain Gain?

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eature Article of Wednesday, 5 September 2012

Columnist: Sakyi, Kwesi Atta
Is the Brain Drain in Ghana a Blame Game or a Brain Gain?

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By Kwesi Atta Sakyi 31st August 2012

I wonder how many Ghanaian professionals or specialists are in the Diaspora out there in the USA, UK, Australia, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, China, among others. Ghanaians by nature have a penchant and passion for foreign travel. Perhaps in Africa, the Nigerians beat us to it because of their humungous population size (160 million to our 24 million). They are almost 7 times our size.

If one went to the US and UK embassies in Accra, Ghana, one would find droves upon droves of Ghanaians in queues, struggling to obtain visas or to attend visa interviews to make it over there – overseas. Some diehards have spent fortunes without success and have sought the intervention of pastors, diviners, sangomas, ngangas and jujumen to make it happen by hook or crook. It seems to me that the Government of Ghana has not got the exact statistics of her citizens abroad because some of the Ghanaians are highly mobile and they have hidden identities. I might conjecture through an educated guess that there are now about 1 million Ghanaians in the Diaspora.

In the late 70s and during the 80s, the number could have been between 2 or 3 million, because of the mass exodus to oil-rich Nigeria by our teachers, doctors, engineers, artisans etc. Currently, the World Bank estimates that there are 900,000 Ghanaians in the Diaspora. This could be those who have formal papers. The World Bank also estimates that 37% of all Ghanaian trained medical doctors are outside the country. At one time, it was held that about 10 to 20% of Ghanaians lived outside Ghana.

Now, that percentage has fallen to about 4%. On 30th December, 2011, I posted an article on Ghana web with the title, Why are many Ghanaians in the Diaspora? I followed it up with another one on 8th May, 2012, with the title, Are Ghanaian Diasporeans not Ghanaian enough? In this current write-up, I will like to revisit some of these issues and link it to the title of this article. Brain drain is the process whereby highly trained professionals and specialists of their country of origin go in search of greener pastures elsewhere.

In this day and age, this process of brain drain has been highly accelerated by the growth of ICT facilities and the process of globalization. Since independence in 1957, the government of Ghana, with assistance from cooperating partners and donors, has spent incalculable sums of money investing in human capital in training doctors, nurses, engineers, lecturers, teachers, pharmacists, journalists, soldiers, agriculturalists, artisans, scientists, lawyers, accountants, social workers, among others.

Due to poor remuneration and harsh living and working conditions in the late 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, most of our trained professionals and specialists took the risk to emigrate or drift outside the shores of Ghana to go and ply their trade in other well-off countries in Europe, Oceania, North America and the Middle East. In fact, inflation, political instability brought about by coup d’états’, high level of poverty, misgovernance, corruption, tribalism, nepotism and bad cultural practices were some of the push factors (centrifugal) that caused them to emigrate.

Some of our ladies were lured by human traffickers who promised them good jobs overseas only to land them in prostitution and drug trafficking. Some were made domestic servants and sex objects and subjected to inhuman treatment, especially in some Middle East countries. Some women fled Ghana to escape being subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or female circumcision. Many disillusioned and unskilled school leavers went abroad in search of adventure and to follow their dreams.

One might easily conclude that Ghanaians are highly materialistic and unpatriotic. Far be it from that. For some time after the coup in 1966 which ousted Nkrumah, subsequent governments became selfish, greedy and they did not care a hoot about the welfare of citizens. The leaders became elitist and egocentric. Poor governance led to outright looting of state resources. We thank God that we have come a long way and now our democracy shows a lot of transparency, probity and accountability. Whilst our professionals were treated with disdain by our former politicians on the one hand, they were on the other hand highly venerated and received by outsiders who offered them lucrative jobs.

Back home in Ghana, we find that wages and salaries are relatively very low. Besides, there are many work-related or job-context issues which are not friendly such as tribalism, corruption, apathy, lack of professionalism, nepotism, backbiting, among other ills. This reminds me of Ayi Kwei Armah’s book, The Beautyful Ones are not yet born, in which a newly arrived Ghanaian graduate from UK finds he is up against the grain at his work place, where corruption and kickbacks are the order of the day or stock in trade.

Many of such ills in the Ghanaian system put off many a professional so as to make him want to leave! Our work ethics and attitudes back home are horrible, to say the least. We do not know how to handle interpersonal relationships. Many Ghanaians do not care two hoots if they fly into a temper tantrum in front of serving a client, and they can engage in altercation, trading insults and displaying some uncouth manners. Some workers perceive their jobs as personal-to-holder. They, therefore, fail to deliver services to customers in a professional manner. I have had some bitter experiences of this poor attitude from some personnel of some high profile banks in Accra.

I think we all Ghanaians, including myself, need to take lessons in anger management as well as on how to behave professionally, even when provoked. It is sometimes sad to note that even when it comes to withdrawing money from your account, some bank staff feel jealous and treat you to a cold shoulder or they give you the run around. I shed tears when I hear stories of pensioners who have to make many trips to the SSNIT or SIC offices in Accra, chasing after their terminal benefits. It looks like our much touted decentralization exercise is yet to be fully entrenched in Ghana.

These and many other frustrations have informed and driven many a professional away to venture out to seek refuge outside, as an economic refugee. Others have had to flee home either because they were earmarked to be installed traditional chiefs in their hometowns or that they could not cope with the enormous/ heavy burden of looking after many extended family members. For example, the Akan matrilineal inheritance system puts a heavy burden on uncles, who have to take responsibility for the upkeep of their many nephews and nieces, whose fathers might have divorced their mothers, or may have passed on, or they might have eloped with another wife, or gone into the Diaspora or they are simply around but improvident (kootow!)

Uncles have had to sacrifice the welfare of their own children in order to please the offspring of their siblings. Especially in Ashanti, this avunculocal or avuncular tendency is heavily entrenched so much so that, uncles boast of how they have spent lavishly on their nephews and nieces. Besides financial commitments, uncles play a pivotal role in resolving marital and family disputes, especially in the administration of property or family heirloom, for those who die interstate (without a will). I take myself as an example.

Any time I travel home to visit, my grown up nephews and nieces in their forties and fifties give me no respite as they troop to my house in their numbers to hound me with requests upon requests, such as to buy them fishing gear, give them seed capital for their businesses, help pay school fees for their children (which I often bow to), provide them money to complete their houses, help fund engagements and weddings, ad nausea. You can imagine how hard put to it my wife is, trying to restrain me from overshooting the mark in my spending spree. There are many Ghanaian diasporeans I know of who have not visited Ghana for more than three decades.

This is because they procrastinate. Some genuinely do not have the wherewithal to travel home or some do not have green cards or residence and entry permits, so if they travel to Ghana, they may not be allowed to re-enter if they go back. These are the illegal immigrants who are under deportation threats in countries such as Israel, Japan, UK, USA, among others. Some are ashamed to go back home because it has been so long. Others sold family properties or borrowed money to travel, hoping they would make it big and come home to amortise or discharge their obligations.

These are the desporados who engage in sham or fake marriages with white ladies in order to have legal stay. (I refer readers to two of my poems published on Ghanaweb namely, Toli Toli Stori of Ghanaman in Agege of 27th June, 2011 and The Non-Returnees of 11th January 2012). Hmmmm! A lot of water has gone under the bridge since some diasporeans left many years ago and they will be stunned to see a new Ghana, especially Accra, if they venture home. They may get lost in parts of Accra or they may not be able to locate the lorry station where they can catch a bus to their home towns.

Some opportunistic diasporeans were sponsored by the Ghana government to go and undertake post-graduate studies abroad so that they return home to impart their knowledge and skills but they absconded, showing a clean pair of heels, as it were, turning their back on mother Ghana. Need we blame such? What about some greedy officials in government feathering their nests at the Scholarship Secretariat, and looting government property to build themselves castles and empires. Yes, some of the abscondees or absconders chose to be lured and enticed by the mouth-watering job offers from foreign employers.

Naturally, every human being strives to attain the highest possible indifference curve in production and consumption space, in the process of utility maximization as well as profit maximization (isoquants). This is the theory of global market equilibrium in inter temporal partial analysis of market behavior. This theory posits that in a free market, Pareto Optimality is reached when the marginal utility ratios of consumers equal the marginal rates of technical substitution of producers, such that when the tatonment (Walras) is reached, an attempt to reorganize the market will lead to nobody being better off without making another person worse off (General Equilibrium Theory) Thus, going by Adam Smith’s Theory of the invisible hand and the almighty price mechanism, Pareto efficiency or optimal behavior will ultimately order the market to achieve perfect and efficient allocation of resources in the consumer, producer, factor and macroeconomic markets.

This is granted that there are no market rigidities, information asymmetry, government failure, imperfect markets, and public and merit goods, positive and negative externalities, among other market distortions. Need we live in such idealistic state of Utopian dimensions? The truth is that the topological structure of the socio-politico-economic landscape does not allow for smooth plains. Thus interventions are needed in the form of transfer payments, price controls, subsidies, regulatory framework, fines and penalties.

Be that as it may, the fact remains that in the pursuit of happiness and selfish interest, we eventually serve the public good or promote the public interest (apologies to Adam Smith’s Treatise of 1776, The Wealth of Nations). Some Ghanaians in the Diaspora have burnt the bridge in the sense that they may have ran away with family money or engaged in some financial malfeasance while working back home in some government office. Worst still are those with many children who thought that going into the Diaspora, they would find the elusive Golden Fleece or the imaginary El Dorado, whose streets are paved with gold. They imagined themselves trooping home with big bucks to salvage the impecunious and indigent plight of both their immediate and extended families, and then atone for their sins of their long absence.

Like a mirage, they were lured and mired into irredeemable financial imbroglio in the Diaspora, making their return recede like a whirlwind in the sun. For decades, many diasporeans have been hoping against hope that the big break will occur soon for them to go home. For decades, some have not yet obtained their green cards or residence or work permits. Their European and American dreams are yet to be realized. Yet, most of these still see some light at the end of the pitch dark tunnel. Some Ghanaian diasporeans cannot call it quits and return home because they have married foreign spouses and sowed their wild oats in the four corners of the world.

Some have dual citizenship and they want the best of both worlds, as they are entitled to fat pensions and huge loans or mortgages where they are now. After working in Ghana for say 30 to 40 years, the highest amount an average retiree such as a teacher or nurse will get will not exceed the equivalent of 20,000 or 30,000 dollars. Perhaps, after the implementation of the Single Spine Salary Scale (SSSS), things might improve. However, as it is often stated, money is not everything. There are so many Ghanaians who opted to stay in Ghana and they are far much better off than some of us who voted with our legs to venture out into the Diaspora.

Do we have to blame ourselves? Our exit created chances or elbow room for them to rise like cream to the top. Those of us who left home have lost out on many fronts such as a break in our social networks or bonding with our immediate family members, as well as with our extended families. When we go home, we are strangers to our own kith and kin. Some of those who stayed back home, may have bought themselves expensive cars and built themselves mighty mansions. Some may have cranked levers in the system or crooked their relatives abroad to get this far, or may have cut corners in the system back home in Ghana.

Yet there are those who genuinely worked hard to make it. I know of some teachers and nurses back home who besides their jobs, they took to arable and livestock farming, trading and having second jobs to supplement their incomes. I salute this latter group for their industry and tenacity of purpose. There are those of us in the Diaspora who took to ostentatious and luxurious lifestyles, living on credit cards and doing more than one job, forgetting that this cannot continue ad infinitum. Some diasporeans have made it big in their consultancies, trading and other professions.

Some of these successful diasporeans find it hard to wind up and go home. Equally, those who have not broken through also fear to go back to Ghana, as if they would starve to death if they went home, or they would become street adult beggars. This latter group have become used to the relative high standards of living abroad, such as high quality Medicare, education, efficient transport, high levels of sanitation, among others. They detest the idea of taking their children home to the so called filth, dirt, squalor and disease back home. It is often said that east, west, home is best.

Some Ghanaian burghers/been-tos/diasporeans have lived so long overseas that they have lost touch with many aspects of Ghanaian culture. They have become acculturated anomies or aliens or guest workers. They neither belong to Ghana nor entirely to where they are domiciled, because they try to adjust to living in two worlds, hence they are caught between two stools or on the horns of a dilemma. They have since overcome their cultural shock, yet it is impossible for them to erase their Ghanaianishness or mannerisms.

The harsh reality is that in some instances, they are heavily discriminated against in subtle ways, in terms of promotion on the job, or entitlement to certain citizenship rights. Some Ghanaians abroad have developed sweet tooth and alien taste buds, so much so that they despise our rich traditional dishes such as aprapransa, ampesi, fufu, waakye, banku, emo tuo, koobi, kako, kontomire and egusi stew, okra soup, peanut butter soup, aponkye nkaakra, black star, Ga Kome Ke shito, among others. Some of them say that our foods are full of carbohydrates and starch. Well, that is our lot and we have to be proud of who we are, and our identity.

Some Ghanaians abroad are extremely wealthy, yet they have neglected their alma maters in Ghana, as well as their own parents and siblings. Even though it is granted that living abroad is full of risks and hazards, yet it will be nice to practice some Individual Social Responsibility (ISR) towards our own kith and kin back home. Or is it because some believe in being bewitched, they turn their backs on their own relatives? Hmmm, the Abena Kobuas of this world! In the worst case scenario, some Diasporeans who arrive in Ghana, choose to live in hotels or stay in plush hotels in Accra, without going home to visit and pay homage to their chiefs and people.

Some people overseas have the erroneous notion that the artificial environment they live in is far superior to the low profile and sedate lifestyle back home. I disagree in toto. (Of course, that is my opinion). Quantify and factor in the hidden or imputed cost of stress, strain, alienation, high cholesterol foods, and the inclement weather endured, plus unfriendly or hostile vibes and neighbourhoods, then you realise that there is more to it than meets the eye. Some youths in Ghana swear that they would rather land in overseas jails than famish or face extreme deprivation in Ghana. Some of these youth were the ones who ventured out to Europe by means such as trekking across the Sahara Desert, and then they entered North African countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Egypt, en route to Europe.

From North Africa, they crossed the Mediterranean Sea by boats, barges, ships or any available craft available to enter Southern European countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Cyprus, Israel and Turkey. Some went on to the Middle Eastern oil- rich countries such as Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain and Qatar. Stories abound that many perished whilst crossing the Sahara Desert because of thirst, dehydration, exhaustion, and attacks from the Tuaregs and Berbers (desert nomads and marauders).

Many Ghanaians in the Diaspora can be termed as non-returnees. I wonder whether some of these Kpafoka (can never return) know of the services rendered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This outfit can help professionals abroad to relocate, back to their countries of origin, and they are an agency of the United Nations. These Ghanaian Kpafoka, are those who left in the 60s and 70s and have never once touched home. It could be that these have not financially broken even, or they are cash strapped. At this juncture, I pose the question, at what age should one call it quits and go back home?

I think you should not go home when you are too old to be useful to yourself or to your people. In this regard, I propose you can go home when you are in your late fifties or early sixties. However, it all depends on your circumstances. About 10 years ago, I wanted to retire and go home for good, but a friend in South Africa advised that so far as I was not 65 years, I should hang on. Hmm! Are you waiting to build your dream house in Ghana or buy your dream car before you go home?

In conclusion, I pose he question, is the brain drain an indictment on the incompetence of our previous governments, or was it due to some exogenous and extraneous global forces such as our heavy national debt? Has the brain drain accrued more benefits to Ghana than the cost incurred? Do we have the moral high ground to start blaming those who left? Are many diasporeans not good ambassadors of Ghana? Haven’t we lifted high the flag of Ghana in every corner of the global village? What about the Ghanaian quartet at NASA such as Dr Isaiah Blankson, Dr Ave Kludze, Dr Ashitey Tsebi Ollennu, and Dr McBonglurin? What about Busumbrum Kofi Annan, Dr Muhammad Ibn Chambas, renowned drummer; Guy Warren, alias Saka Acquaye, novelist Ayi Kwei Armah, diplomat K.Y.Amoako, Dr T.A Mensah of fibre optics fame, among others?

Many Ghanaians abroad have acquired a lot of knowledge and experience which they can share with those at home. No one should blame anyone who went outside. In a way, it helped to solve the unemployment problem at home and it reduced the socio-politico-economic pressure associated with population explosion. In my opinion, the term brain drain is now a misnomer, especially in a globalised world. National statistics indicate that remittances from Ghanaians abroad now constitute the third largest foreign exchange earner after gold and cocoa.

Thus, the brain drain has turned into a brain gain, thus the blame game should cease. Those who are far away from home should visit Ghana once a while to avoid a disconnect, and to see for themselves developments on the ground. They should not rely solely on foreign media reports or hearsay from travelers. It is said that the sweetness of the pudding is in the eating. If you have ideas, it is half the battle won. Capital can be sourced later. You can come home to a warm Akwaaba. Make it happen soon in your town or village.

It is said that the brain drain had deleterious effects on Ghana’s economy, leading to critical shortages of skilled staff in sectors such as education and medicine. It is held that the falling standard in education in Ghana is due to mass exodus of our teachers. Strangely enough, after the exodus, Ghana has picked up the pieces and our economy is experiencing one of the fastest GDP growths in the world. What is the secret? Is it due to our newly discovered oil wealth? Contact: kwesiattasakyi449@gmail.com
MARCUS AMPADU 12 years ago

Interesting, to say the least. Francis should read this.

Interesting, to say the least. Francis should read this.
Tekonline.org 12 years ago

mitpress.mit.edu/books/scientific-collaboration-internet

mitpress.mit.edu/books/scientific-collaboration-internet
francis kwarteng 12 years ago

Get Yaw Nyrako's original papers which I cite in the article. There is more.

Go to New York University's "Africa House" where most of the important work (in the world besides the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentr ...
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Get Yaw Nyrako's original papers which I cite in the article. There is more.

Go to New York University's "Africa House" where most of the important work (in the world besides the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies) on Africa is done. There is more research papers on "brain drain" and "brain gain."

People talk about developments in Ghana but per capita income (and other such data) have not gotten better since the days of Nkrumah. Our education has improved significantly (better) since the days of Nkrumha. Many students still go to school under trees. Ghanaian graduates can find jobs (also in the West), etc.

I have many friends in Ghana who still want to travel outside to seek employment even with their multipe degrees. Some come to the US and don't go back. PhDs from India, China, Bangladesh, etc., come to Canada and the US to drive taxis because they make more money driving taxis than using their degrees in their countries. Many Ghanaians with Master's come to the US to do what they will never do in Ghana.

There is a real problem fpr us.
kwarteng 12 years ago

Thanks for your contribution. I just want to say that brain drain is real. Brain drain is not a misnomer.

Most of my mates back home in Ghana and most of the mates of friends here in the states want to come to America to w ...
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Thanks for your contribution. I just want to say that brain drain is real. Brain drain is not a misnomer.

Most of my mates back home in Ghana and most of the mates of friends here in the states want to come to America to work.

Like I said elsewhere, many tell us they are okay in Ghana but come here and don't return to Ghana. Ghanaians with Master's come here to work as nursing assistants cleaning feces, etc. Yet they like it because it gives them what Ghana can't give them. There are many Ghanains with multiple degrees driving taxis in New York. Some are my friends. They couldn't get anything to do with their degrees back home.

We have to be careful how we interprete the date. Ghana has not improved much since we got independence.
Tekonline.org 12 years ago

Point well taken: we do have a problem and hopefully, your sequel would provide plenty of viable solutions.

In the meantime, we have to be realistic and rather find creative ways to REMOTELY tap the brains of our diasporan ...
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Point well taken: we do have a problem and hopefully, your sequel would provide plenty of viable solutions.

In the meantime, we have to be realistic and rather find creative ways to REMOTELY tap the brains of our diasporans.
francis kwarteng 12 years ago

We are producing graduates we don’t need’ – Dep. Minister
Ghanaweb (Thursday, 1 August 2013)…www.Montiefm.com
A deputy Minister of Education in charge of pre-tertiary education, Alex Kyeremeh is worried at the rate ...
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We are producing graduates we don’t need’ – Dep. Minister
Ghanaweb (Thursday, 1 August 2013)…www.Montiefm.com
A deputy Minister of Education in charge of pre-tertiary education, Alex Kyeremeh is worried at the rate the country is producing graduates for nonexistent jobs.

This phenomenon according to him can be blamed on what he calls irrelevant courses been studied at some of the universities and colleagues in the country.

Mr.Kyeremeh in an interview with Accra based *Montie fm* on Wednesday, said most of the over fifty private universities and colleagues in the country are only running business related courses to the neglect of relevant courses like engineering, ICT and the science related courses.

‘’Most of the accredited private universities in Ghana are running business and management courses . Question is, are the jobs available for these graduates when they leave school?’’

He disclosed that the country is currently lacking manpower in fields such as engineering, ICT, amongst others, adding that this has been one of the root causes of the current graduate unemployment in the country because there is a mismatch between the supply by the schools and the demand in the labour market in terms of skills required by employers.

The deputy Education minister said, government wants to ensure the production of a well-educated, skilled and informed population. A population that is capable of utilizing its knowledge and skills to transform the key sectors of the economy for wealth creation and poverty reduction is most desirable.

‘’ All the stakeholders need to come together to find a lasting solution to this problem. For example, the nation can allocate some resources to motivate the private universities to train students in the most relevant areas like engineering….’’he said.
BOY KOFI 12 years ago

You don't build a Nation with only intellectuals or University graduates.Ghana has a lot to gain from the pool of Ghanaian skill workers who are contributing positively to their host countries.Whenever I go to Ghana I observe ...
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You don't build a Nation with only intellectuals or University graduates.Ghana has a lot to gain from the pool of Ghanaian skill workers who are contributing positively to their host countries.Whenever I go to Ghana I observe with pains in my heart the kind of inaccuracies and unprofessional attitude amongst our poorly trained workers.Thank you.
Tekonline.org 12 years ago

Francis, it is quite obvious that computational neuroscience is not about the organic brain. Any neuroscientist with IN-DEPTH knowledge about the brain would attest to the fact that the brain is not entirely digital. There ar ...
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Francis, it is quite obvious that computational neuroscience is not about the organic brain. Any neuroscientist with IN-DEPTH knowledge about the brain would attest to the fact that the brain is not entirely digital. There are far more analog systems involved in the processing of neuronal information than a lay person like you could ever imagine.

The whole idea of simulation is to tackle just one aspect of a phenomenon. Conputational neuroscience is concerned ONLY with how the brain processes signals leading to learning, memory, and human intelligence. (And it would be quite difficult to get humans to donate their brains LIVE for such studies, wouldn't it?).

Now, be very careful what you say about "how the brain works", especially when talking to a neuroscientist. It is very easy to fall into the stereotypic trap:

"...Modern science is only familiar with about a third of how the brain actually functions...

I don't know how you came up with that "third". No neuroscientist studies the entire brain, and there are many aspects to it not all dealing with information processing. I will spare the audience the technical details.

Dr. Benjamin Carson is a neuroSURGEON,(and a darned good one too). Of course he needs to thoroughly know three things: the parts of the brain, exactly where they are located, and their functions. He doesn't have to know the MOLECULAR underpinnings of say how a signal is transmitted from one side of a synapse to another, not to mention the complex interplay of abot 100 different protein molecules involved. Neurosurgery is an applied science, and the task of figuring out how parts of the brain function rests with PURE, BASIC, neuroscientists.
And since you care so much about race, one leading black neuroscientist is Dr Peter MacLeash.
In the 80's while at Rockefeller University, he provided the electrophysiologic data that enabled his colleague David Hubel to explain how the brain processes vision (if I can oversimplify) leading to Hubel's Nobel Prize in Medicine.

As for the rest of your response, they are mostly political and have very little usefulness to me. Sorry to admit, but I care only about Science and Technology, and there is not much anybody can do about that!

F. Kwarteng 12 years ago

I should've said "biochemistry" instead of "organic chemistry."

I should've said "biochemistry" instead of "organic chemistry."
F. Kwarteng 12 years ago

Please do read the writings of Dr. Ben Carson (I have read all his books) to know what one needs to know to be a neurosurgeon. I have also listened to most of his interviews (he and other five top African American neurosurge ...
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Please do read the writings of Dr. Ben Carson (I have read all his books) to know what one needs to know to be a neurosurgeon. I have also listened to most of his interviews (he and other five top African American neurosurgeons. You may also want to read about Vivien Thomas, also African American, who trained many of America’s most prominent neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins; he was a high-school graduate. Thomas was noted for his discoveries on Crush syndrome and blue baby syndrome). Yes, “the molecular underpinnings of say how a signal is transmitted from one side of a synapse to another…” is one of the things you need to know as a neurosurgeon.

Generally, pre-medical (nurses, etc) students have to learn that as part of organic chemistry (plus “anatomy and physiology,” which I have also studied.

After all, you need that knowledge to help you perform successful “plasticity,” which Dr. Carson is noted for. Moreover, pharmacists (even nurses, physical therapists, experts on spine reconstruction (like Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei) etc., who may not directly require the “molecular underpinnings of say how a signal is transmitted from one side of a synapse to another” in their work still have to learn that. My kid brother, a doctor of pharmacy has to learn in that school). Operating on children with seizure via “plasticity” demands great circumspection on where exactly a neurosurgeon places his needle, otherwise you remove the wrong part of the brain. Therefore, a molecular understanding of synaptic communication between the hemispherical brains is a must for neurosurgeons. Moreover, “plasticity” ensures that when half of the brain is removed as a result of seizure, the remaining half assumes the functions of the lost half. A neurosurgeon needs more than molecular understanding of synaptic communication before dealing with the functional tension between the “left brain” and the “right brain.” Do you know how many times Dr. Carson prays before every so as not to remove the wrong part of the brain? How do you do that if you don’t have that molecular understanding?

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The Political Economy of Brain Drain and Brain Gain

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