At least 36,934 Nigerians applied for asylum in foreign countries in 2024, according to newly released figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The numbers highlight the worsening hardship and instability many say has intensified under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The UN data show that Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom were the top destinations for Nigerian asylum seekers. But despite the surge, the majority of applications were rejected.
Overall, 74 percent of asylum claims from Nigerians were dismissed, with approval rates only significantly higher in less conventional destinations such as Chad and Tunisia.
In Canada, 13,222 Nigerians sought asylum, but just 2,196 were approved.
In Italy, 4,292 applications were filed, with only 650 approved.
In the UK, just 446 out of 2,841 Nigerian asylum claims succeeded.
Other countries also recorded significant numbers.
Ireland received 4,037 Nigerian applications, while the United States processed 2,827 claims but granted asylum to only 84.
Applications also poured into Germany, France, Egypt, the Netherlands, Cameroon, Cyprus, Belgium, Tunisia, South Korea, Chad, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Brazil, Mauritania, Austria, Portugal, Israel, South Africa, and Morocco, underscoring the scale of the exodus.
A former Nigerian Ambassador to Singapore, Ogbole Amedu-Ode, said the wave of asylum applications mirrors Nigeria’s worsening economic and security climate.
“The urge to travel out of the country is primarily a function of the performance of our national economy.
The economic doldrums have pushed compatriots to get into the Japa mode,” he explained.
He warned that the trend is unlikely to slow down unless there is a significant turnaround in Nigeria’s economic fortunes.
Despite promises from the Tinubu administration to stabilize the economy and bring relief, inflation, mass unemployment, currency collapse, and worsening insecurity continue to push thousands of young Nigerians to seek survival abroad.
Critics argue that Tinubu’s reforms, including the controversial fuel subsidy removal and naira devaluation, have deepened poverty rather than alleviated it.
For many Nigerians, the asylum statistics are not just numbers but proof of a systemic failure at home that is draining the country of its workforce, talents, and hope.
As one Lagos-based travel analyst said, “The fact that nearly 37,000 people are willing to risk rejection and humiliation abroad rather than endure life here says everything about the state of the nation.”