For young Nigeria and African talents, the struggle to secure decent work is often framed as a skills deficit. Yet, a recent viral exchange on social media has reopened a conversation about this. What if the issue is not a lack of ability, but a lack of opportunity tied to geography?
As global labour shortages deepen in parts of Europe and North America, stories of qualified Africans being overlooked simply because of where they live are gaining renewed attention.
The online debate was triggered by posts suggesting that changing one’s location on professional platforms could dramatically improve visibility to foreign recruiters. This conversation spilled into the open on social media this week after a viral exchange on X (formerly Twitter), where Nigerian professionals shared experiences that changing their location alone altered how recruiters engaged with them.
The conversation resonated widely because it reinforced a belief for many African professionals, that the barrier to employment is not skill, but geography and that reality continues to legitimise the urge to leave in search of better prospects.
What You Need to Know
The conversation gained momentum after a Twitter post by Dauda Sulaimon Abiola, popularly known as Omoalhaja, which struck a chord with thousands of users. Abiola, the founder of Skill Afrika, a talent hub that trains and connects African professionals to global work opportunities, wrote that changing his online location to Germany led to recruiter interest within hours.
“I changed my location to Germany and surprisingly received a job offer within hours. Crazy stuff,” he posted.
The claim quickly went viral, with many interpreting it as evidence that African professionals are routinely overlooked by global employers simply because of their geographic location.
The debate intensified when Corey Odonis, a Nigerian product manager and UX designer, shared a similar experience, noting that switching his LinkedIn location to the United States resulted in contact from a senior recruiter at Microsoft. He got an interview invitation.
“At that point, I knew I wasn’t the problem. My location was,” Odonis wrote, reinforcing a sentiment that resonated widely across the platform.
Is Nigeria Short of Jobs or Overwhelmed by Applicants?
The viral posts also reopen a more uncomfortable question: Is Nigeria truly lacking jobs, or simply overwhelmed by the number of people competing for them?
With a population exceeding 220 million and a youthful workforce growing rapidly each year, even well-intentioned job creation efforts struggle to keep pace. A single mid-level role in Nigeria can attract hundreds, sometimes thousands of qualified applicants, driving wages down and making recruitment intensely competitive.
In contrast, countries like Germany face the opposite problem, where there are more vacancies than available workers, particularly in specialised fields. This imbalance explains why location alone can dramatically change a candidate’s prospects, at least at the screening stage.
While the viral posts have sparked necessary conversations, labour experts also caution against drawing overly simplistic conclusions.
Changing a LinkedIn location does not bypass visa rules, credential recognition, language requirements or relocation costs. Nor does recruiter outreach guarantee employment. For every success story, there are countless candidates who still face rejection due to regulatory and economic realities.
Experts say what the conversation does highlight, however, is a structural mismatch in the global labour market, where talent is unevenly distributed, opportunities are geographically concentrated, and mobility remains constrained by policy.
What This Means for “Japa”
The stories from Abiola and Odonis reflect what many labour market analysts call the “location filter” effect, where recruiters often prioritise candidates based on geography, visa status and proximity, even when skills match.
The viral posts have also fuelled the long-running “japa syndrome”: the Nigerian term for emigration, where young professionals seek better prospects abroad, not necessarily because they lack skills, but because local labour markets cannot absorb them at scale.
Economists say one of the central dilemmas in Nigeria is less about an absence of work and more about mismatch and quality.
“Global labour markets are segmented. Talent in Africa is abundant, but exposure and legitimacy are often linked to Western networks, reputational signalling and legal work status,” Aisha Jimoh, a Lagos based labour economist told Techparley Africa.
That means a highly skilled software developer in Lagos or Abuja may struggle to be visible to a Berlin or Seattle recruiter unless they already have a work permit, local network, or the appearance of local presence.
“Nigeria’s job market is highly informal, and most roles are subsistence or low skill. There are jobs, but not in the sectors or at the professional levels that highly educated youth aspire to,” Aisha added.
She emphasised that many university graduates struggle to find formal roles that match their qualifications, leading to high competition for limited openings.
For African governments, industry analysts say the moment is both a warning and an opportunity. Without sustained investment in job creation, remote-work infrastructure and global talent pipelines, more professionals will continue to look outward.
Talking Points
It is striking how a simple change in online location sparked widespread debate about global hiring practices, reinforcing a long-held belief among African professionals that skills alone do not determine opportunity.
The viral posts resonate because they reflect a structural imbalance: while many Nigerians are employable and globally competitive, local labour markets are oversaturated, making visibility and fair compensation increasingly difficult to attain.
At Techparley, we see this conversation as part of a broader pattern where geography acts as an invisible filter in recruitment, shaping who gets seen, shortlisted, or contacted, long before competence is assessed.
The reactions also help explain the persistence of Nigeria’s japa syndrome, which for many is less about aspiration and more about navigating an economy where good jobs are scarce and competition is intense.
However, these anecdotes should not be overstated. Recruiter outreach or interview invitations do not guarantee employment, and migration remains constrained by visas, credential recognition, and policy barriers.
Still, the discussion offers an important signal to policymakers and employers alike. Africa’s talent pool is deep, but access to opportunity remains uneven. Addressing this gap will require both local job creation and more inclusive global hiring systems that look beyond location to potential.
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