Last year, I sought the opinion of Nairalanders concerning my plan to move to Australia.
My major worry was my age (48) and also considering that my net salary in Nigeria was a little over a million Naira per month as the financial controller of a manufacturing company in Onitsha.
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Below is the link to the thread I opened to seek peoples advice and I recommend that you go through the thread to fully appreciate
the story that follows.
[url=https://www.nairaland.com/7825207/japa-confused-please-advise][/url]. I promised to tell my story after 3 months of my stay in Australia.
I finally left Nigeria on December 7th, 2023 and arrived the country on December 9th with my children. Today, I am exactly 3 months, 2 weeks and 6 days old in Sydney, australia.
This is not a hearsay, it is not an eye witness account, it is my story.
This is intended to guide people who maybe planning to travel outside Nigeria. Should you migrate at an age over 45 or not?
Those who told me not to go are right and those who told me to travel are also right.
Given another opportunity, will I take the decision to move out of Nigeria at 48? Have I made a mistake? How am I surviving?
You will find out in this thread.
To be continued shortly ………
Before I commence my story, I want to specifically thank those who advised me not to travel. Your advise was borne out of genuine love and concern. One stated clearly that I should not leave known for unknown.
However, taking the bold step to leave Nigeria at the time I did was the best decision I ever made in my life. In fact, given the same scenario and even if I am 52 and my salary was #2million per month, I will still leave Nigeria.
The first 2 months was very difficult. The mistake I made was my insistence on getting accounting job. I did over 60 applications and all of them were rejected. I have no Australian experience neither do I have Australian certification.
My wifey was indeed an angle in human form. She provided the needed support. She shouldered all the financial responsibilities all by herself. This is the part that almost pushed me into depression. As an Igboman, we consider it a taboo for our women to feed, house and cloth us.
After two months, I decided it was time to re-strategize. I enrolled for a forklift training and within two week, I obtained my forklift license.
Not satisfied with that, I took some courses and did some checks that will qualify me to go into disability support work. I obtained First aid certificate, Diploma in mental health, certificate in infection prevention and control, certificate in care for the aged and disabled, police check, working with children checks, NDIS worker check, NDIS orientation certificate and many more.
I started applying for warehouse jobs. In fact, I had to reject a lot of them. I settled for one of the warehouses and it has been awesome working for the organization.
I have not gotten what I am looking for yet. I am using the warehouse to keep body and soul together. In the warehouse where I work, you will see people of different ages. from 18 years to 65 years working and making a good living. in Australia, there is always something to do.
The only thing I miss, is the big man mentality we have in Nigeria. Where I will sit in my office, call one of my staff in intercom and ask for a cup of coffee; and it will be brought to me in seconds. You can’t try that rubbish here.
The level of security here is top notch. I have no fear, i move about anytime of the day/night.
After one week in Australia, I concluded that Nigeria is a completely lawless country and an animal jungle. Here everything is ordered. I am yet to hear a driver blow his car horn while driving. There are no touts, there are no omoniles. Electricity has never blinked for one second. water is constant, gas is there. I have never seen two persons fighting in the street. I have never seen a mad man or woman on the road or street beggars. The air we breath here is different from the air we breath in Nigeria.
It was in Australia that I realized that the saying in Nigeria that Nigerian police is your friend is actually true. Break the law in Nigeria and police catches you, just give them #2,000 you are off the hook. And the circle of lawlessness continues. Here, it is a different ball game. Proposing bribe will be used as evidence against you. It doesn’t matter who you are. Every one is civil.
While in Nigeria I suffered malaria every month. There is no month I don’t treat malaria. Since I got to this country, I have never had headache let alone malaria.
Children are doing wonderfully well at school and are already speaking through their nose.
In conclusion, I made the best choice. Even though I have not really found the kind of job I want to do, the little I am doing now contributes in paying bills and I have savings more than my monthly gross per month in Nigeria.
If you are above 45 years and have your partner already in this country, and you are an employee of a company, it is in your best interest to leave Nigeria. Provided, of course, that you are healthy and you are not lazy.
One dark side to moving abroad is that you have more chances of being divorced by your wife. This is a story for another day as I have gathered enough reason on why families divorce and will create a thread on this someday.
I am open to any question you may have.
