02 Nov 2023
According to a report by the Guardian, over 15,000 Nigerians were living in Australia in 2021. These Nigerian migrants travel to Australia in a bid to find reasonable means of earning so that they can send money to Nigeria to offer financial support to their families back home.
One of the core reasons for migrating to Australia from Nigeria is that Nigeria is a small African country with a poor economy. A majority of Nigerians cannot find sustainable jobs in their native country, which leads to poverty, making life difficult for them.
Therefore, they travel to developed countries for jobs with better prospects. Developed countries, including Australia, can easily offer jobs to job-seeking expatriates, including Nigerians, due to their robust economies and expansive job markets.
A report by the World Bank said that the Nigerians sent back about $20.13 billion in inward remittances in 2022 from foreign countries.
Although the presence of several financial institutions offers many ways tosend money to Nigeria, working abroad is not just about earning a living and sending financial support back home. It is a set of many challenges – some significant, others small.
Do you know what these challenges are? What is the one challenge that overshadows several other challenges?
Well, the biggest challenge is to navigate your way through the myriad hurdles that come with the culture of a new country you have gone to.
While it is pretty fascinating to learn about the culture of a new country, it is equally difficult to fully understand it and then be a part of it, which is essential to excel in foreign countries.
Otherwise, you run the risk of being left out! The culture of Australia, therefore, for Nigerians is no exception. This blog will throw light on the essential aspects of Australian culture so that you can understand it well before arriving in the country to begin your expatriate life smoothly.
But before understanding Australian culture, let’s first take a look at the reasons prompting migration from Nigeria.
As mentioned earlier, Nigeria is an African country with a poor economy which cannot provide for the country’s entire population. This births the following few challenges.
The level of poverty has risen sharply in recent years, making Nigerians more miserable than they were a few years ago. In 2018, about 82.9 million Nigerians lived in extreme poverty. A World Bank report said. This number rose to 90 million in 2021.
11 million more are expected to be added by 2022, the same report projected. Furthermore, Nigeria had an inflation rate of 15.6% in December 2021, which was among the highest worldwide.
Many young and educated Nigerians are struggling to find employment in the country. Recently, the rate of youth unemployment rose to a record high of 42.5%. This forces the educated youth to indulge in social vices leading to a law and order situation.
This also forces people to leave the country to travel abroad, earn a living and support their families financially through a money transfer to Nigeria.
Human development is the least of priorities for the Nigerian government. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the country dropped by three positions in Human Development, from 161 in 2019 to 158 in 2018, out of a total of 189 countries.
We have always maintained that a quality education can pave the way to success for the people of poor countries. But ironically, education never gets the kind of attention and priority it should get in Nigeria. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stated that Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children worldwide. Consider also the following:
Nigeria is one of the most insecure countries worldwide. A 2021 Global Peace Index report ranked Nigeria as the 8th most insecure country in the world because insecurity challenges have been on the rise for the past several years now.
All of these reasons together prompt migration from Nigeria, whose people live abroad, earn a living and send financial aid back home through the cheapest way to send money to Nigeria from Australia.
Now let’s navigate through Australian culture. But first, learn all you must about the cultural shock and tips to handle it.
Australia is a diverse country and home to several cultures as many migrants have chosen Australia as their home. Here’s a bunch of reasons behind it!
Australians have an easy-going and friendly attitude towards life. Whatever comes their way, they take it lightly and respond to the challenges in a casual manner. They put aside stress and focus on the positives of life.
Australians have a passion for making friends and rather treating even strangers as friends. You can consider it their national trait. Being extremely affable themselves, Australians are welcoming and also more helpful when they know you have come to their country to earn a living and wish to send money to Nigeria from Australia because you have to support your family financially back home.
Since Australia is blessed with some of the most awe-inspiring landscapes, such as the red sands of Uluru, and the blue waters of the Great Barrier Reef, its people naturally have a love for the outdoors. Instead of spending their free time indoors, they prefer going outdoors.
If you want to eat alone, you will be frowned upon in Australia because Australians love to enjoy food with their loved ones around a shared table. Coming together for meals is integral to the Australian culture.
Nothing excites Australians more than sports. They are pretty passionate about sports. No wonder, then, that Australia has produced some of the best players in different sports like cricket, tennis, rugby, soccer, and more.
The Australian calendar is filled with some exciting events and festivals. And the people are passionate about celebrating all of these events but the best part is that the people love to celebrate these festivities together to add more joy to the celebrations.
Australians are extremely conscious of punctuality. When it comes to meetings, they make sure that they arrive a few minutes earlier than the desired time, but getting late for a minute or so is not acceptable. So, make sure to be punctual while in Australia.
Finding a job in Australia may be easy, but be careful while choosing a remittance transfer service provider to send money online to Nigeria. If you want to save on your money transfers, your best bet is ACE Money Transfer, as the firm charges you low fees and offers swift transfers with wide service access and availability with live and market-competitive exchange rates from just one stop.
Nigerians leave their native country to find work elsewhere because, in Nigeria, the poverty level is high, a majority of the youth are unemployed, the quality of education is poor, and human development is the least of priorities for the Nigerian government.
You should consider Australia for job opportunities because of the country’s robust economy, expansive and thriving job market, fine work-life balance, and the cost of living in Australia is fairly low.
Australia has a diverse culture. Its people are affable; they love sports, they love to have meals together, and they also celebrate events and festivals together; they are punctual people and love to live by the rules.
You must understand the culture of Australia if you go there because it helps you settle down easily. You will also be able to mix and get with the locals, which you need to excel in foreign countries.
You should avoid getting late for meetings; you must avoid eating alone; you should avoid staying indoors; you must also avoid celebrating festivities alone and rather try to enjoy celebrations together with the locals.
Resources
