University Press of Florida Journal of Third World Studies

University Press of Florida
BRAIN DRAIN AND AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT: A DESCRIPTIVE FRAMEWORK FOR

DERIVING INDIRECT BENEFITS
Author(s): Godson C. Obia
Source: Journal of Third World Studies, Vol. 10, No. 2, THIRD WORLD PROBLEMS AND
ISSUES (FALL, 1993), pp. 74-97
Published by: University Press of Florida
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BRAIN DRAIN AND AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT:
A DESCRIPTIVE FRAMEWORK FOR DERIVING
INDIRECT BENEFITS
By Godson C. Obia*
INTRODUCTION
Clearly, African countries in the throes of economic and

political instability are consistently reducing financial support
to their state-owned and operated institutions of higher learn-
ing. Managing budget deficits has become a critical and oner-
ous task for these institutions, which, in turn, have devised
stringent measures to help weather the storm. One important
area of critical need is the funding of scholarly research; there
has been a decline of about 35 percent in total research output
since the mid-1960's, while African institutions are spending
an average of 2.7 percent of their operating budgets on
research.1 Though many countries are simply muddling
through at the present, the future appears even more bleak, in
light of the proclamation of a "new world order" by former U.S.
President George Bush, which hardly mentioned Africa in the
scenario.2 The unmistakable message is that Africa and
Africans must build from within. According to Mulinde
Musoke, "Africans must examine their own capacity and abili-
ty to lead their people into the next century and beyond."3
Within this background, therefore, it behooves Africans every-
* Associate Professor of Geography, Department of Geography and

Earth Science, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Kearney, Nebraska
68849. Dr. Obia's teaching and research interests include Regional Geogra-
phy of Africa, African Economic Development, Agricultural Policy, Rural
Land Use, and Urban Geography. He has published numerous articles and
research reports in scholarly periodicals, and is currently engaged in
research pertaining to 'The Environmental and Socio-Economic Impact of
Petroleum Production in the Rural Areas of Nigeria."
Journal of Third World Studies , Vol. X, No. 2

© 1993 by Association of Third World Studies, Inc.
74
Obia/Brain Drain and African Development
where to rally to the call for African development, by making

contributions to help alleviate the problems of the continent.
African professionals living and working in the western world
possess unique advantages of training and experience to lead
in solving Africa's problems.
In 1984, several participants in a UNESCO-sponsored
International Conference on Population argued for a considera-
tion of two advantages of brain drain, which professionals liv-
ing in other countries could provide for their home countries.4
First, an emigrant who keeps a close relationship with the pro-
fessionals in his own country, may act as a communication
channel,"5 and "through him, his country can forge better links
with the world network of knowledge."6 Furthermore, the U.S.
House of Representatives suggested that countries of origin
can reap both direct and indirect benefits; direct benefits from
the contributions of returnees who help in nation-building, and
indirect benefits "from the success of their nationals abroad
who participate in advancing knowledge."7
The purpose of this paper is to present a descriptive
framework, which I developed to help African countries derive
indirect benefits from their professionals and experts living and
working abroad, through voluntary contributions in research and
development, and consulting services. In this context, I call this
descriptive framework the Return Educational Migration
Investment Targets and Strategies, to be referred to subse-
quently as (REMITS). REMITS will identify and describe 'Tar-
gets" or areas of critical need for economic development, and sug-
gest "Strategies" for problem solving. The primary objective of
REMITS is to help developing countries of Africa recoup losses
(real or potential) suffered as a result of the permanent residence
of their professional citizens abroad, and, at the same time,
engender a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship
between professionals abroad and their counterparts in Africa.
BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW
Brain drain is "a migration of professional people (as

scientists, professors, or physicians) from one country to
75
JOURNAL OF THIRD WORLD STUDIES
another, usually for higher salaries or better living conditions."8

Despite the clarity of this definition, most efforts to halt the
brain drain or reverse the process, especially in the developing
countries, seem to pay little attention to the economic and social
imperative to brain drain, and, instead, center on appeals to the
spirit of nationalism and patriotism. In extreme cases, some gov-
ernments threaten to hire foreign professionals as replacement
labor for those who have left - a more complicated and costly
option. The solutions have been weak, at best, in striking a cord
of conviction in those who migrate to seek greener pastures else-
where. The following crucial questions often seem to be lost in
the heat of rhetoric: First, if brain drain is an economic and
social problem, can the process be reversed by employing politi-
cal solutions? Second, do professionals who live and work outside
their countries constitute a loss to economic development, or do
they possess advantages that could make them assets to their
countries? Third, how can affected countries recoup some of the
losses already incurred from years of brain drain?
The primary cause of brain drain is the difference among
countries in economic and professional opportunities,9 hence the
imperative for people to move from one area to another to
improve their social and economic status.10 For most Africans
who migrate, brain drain has a direct relationship to levels of
education attainment, and access to training and employment
opportunities abroad. In the past, African countries blamed the
problem of brain drain on the lack of patriotic spirit of those who
left. Increasingly, however, more African leaders and policy mak-
ers are beginning to acknowledge the real cause of brain drain,
and their incapacity to benefit from the training of their profes-
sionals. A statement attributed to Nigeria's Chief Moshood Abio-
la, sums up the reality for Africa:
Think of the number of years spent to produce a

Ph.D. Unfortunately, most developing countries
now find themselves incapable of reaping the
fruits of this investment because they lack the
resources to employ and reward the possessors of
the skill. The result is the brain drain, in which
76
countries lacking in skilled human resources

export their very scarce, hard-earned skills to
countries vastly more abundantly endowed....11
Brain drain is seen here as a complex problem created by both

endogenous and exogenous factors, which prey on the disparity
between the technologically developed and industrialized
world, and the poorer developing countries. The primary con-
tention of this paper is that any solution to the brain drain
problem must refrain from political rhetoric, and address other
fundamental rights-of-access to the education, expertise, and
professional experience of those African citizens living and
working in the developed countries.
In general, empirical studies of brain drain can be divided
into two categories: those that deal with "general statements and
aggregate global statistics about the problem and its implica-
tions for international development," and those that evaluate the
process at the national or regional levels.12 While the empirical
studies recognize brain drain as a serious international problem,
they vary markedly in suggestions to solve the problem.
In his empirical study of the attitudes of African students
to return home after completing their studies in the US, Man
Singh Das concluded that students migrated to improve their
socioeconomic conditions, and would return home if they had
equal or better opportunities at home to apply their training.13
This view is supported by Da-Hsiang Donald Lien, who argued
that "although creating an upward bias in the social value of
high-income type research... may directly increase the probability
that a student who will return home.. .[it] induces more students
to stay abroad in order to take advantage of their increased out-
put."14 J. Connell and B.J. Engels, in their study of Indian physi-
cians in Australia, concluded, among other things, that these
highly skilled Indians migrate primarily because they are better
rewarded in rich countries.15 The much debated, yet controver-
sial, issue of compensatory taxation is seen by some as one
method of paying the countries of origin of those students who
finish their studies and stay back. J.N. Bhagwati, an ardent pro-
ponent of the taxation solution, has proposed the use of taxation
77
to compensate nations which have been affected by brain drain.16

Some developing nations have established schemes to
encourage a return migration of their citizens abroad. A survey
in Guyana assessed the effectiveness of the country's struc-
tured attempt to operate a return migration scheme: between
1970 and 1977, 385 Guyanese returned under the scheme,
which is managed by the Personnel Development Units.17 A
return migration to migrants' countries of origin is, however,
fraught with problems. In some cases, even those who return
do not sometimes avail their home countries of the advantages
of their training abroad.18 Saneya Saleh provides evidence of
the problems of adjustment when migrants return home: "...as
they return to their mother country they tend to be rather list-
less, disillusioned, and less enthusiastic and idealistic than
they were before."19
Despite the validity of the aforementioned perspectives
on brain drain, there has been a limited inquiry into the posi-
tive aspects of brain drain, particularly the indirect, compen-
sating benefits that migrants could bring to their home coun-
tries while they are working abroad. The inquiry into these
indirect benefits is particularly crucial, in light of the fact that
few of those who "drain" to the West have returned.20 Although
the reasons for not returning vary widely, Bernard I. Logan, in
an American case study, argues that migrants:
...become tied to the American economy unless

they make a deliberate decision to break the link
by giving up their jobs and going home, and this
is unlikely to occur, given that the imperative to
migrate in the first place was to improve their
standard of living...21
Thus, even when there are compelling reasons for keeping

migrants away from their countries of birth, the countries of
Africa can still benefit from the skills and expertise of their
nationals living and working abroad by deriving the indirect
advantages of brain drain. In the following section of the
paper, I present the structure of the REMITS framework.
78
GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS OF THE REMITS MODEL
In the context of this paper, and based on evidence from

the literature on the subject of brain drain, the following gen-
eral conditions are assumed necessary to reduce the complexi-
ty of interacting factors in the process of educational migra-
tion:
1. Educational migration refers to the movement of 'pro-

fessional, technical and kindred' (PTK) workers, often perma-
nently, from relatively poor countries to relatively rich coun-
tries, including students who leave their home countries for
educational opportunities in richer countries without returning
home.22
2. Governments do not possess any effective legal
instruments to compel migrants to come home.
3. Migrants are seen as valuable resources in the eco-
nomic development of their home countries.
4. Migrants are already working in the halls of global
political and economic power, and can use their connections to
benefit their countries without going home.
5. Migrants who do not return home can still provide a
vital shot in the arm to the research and development efforts of
African universities, by cooperating with their colleagues in
Africa on projects of common interest.
6. Most African countries have weak currencies (com-
pared to other international currencies) and would benefit
from the transfer of capital by migrants. At a personal level,
most migrants are already supporting their families and rela-
tives in their home countries, and an extension of their ser-
vices and expertise to the government would constitute an
essential aid to economic and social development.
THE REMITS CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Figure 1 is a sketch of the broad conceptual framework,

organized around five targets and two strategies. The five tar-
gets are: Agriculture and Rural Development; Environmental
79
Issues and Water Resources; Urban and Industrial Develop-

ment; Science, Technology and Medicine; and Social, Cultural
and Political Development. Two strategies are considered vital
to solving problems within the targets - Consulting Services
and Research and Development.
The REMITS framework is a functional conceptualiza-
tion of problem areas (Targets) and potential solutions (Strate-
gies), designed to produce a synergistic effect on development.
In this context, each target represents a synthesis of critical
variables of development within a specified subject area; thus,
each target highlights crucial issues of development to be con-
sidered by REMITS participants in a certain area of special-
ization. In the strictest sense, targets determine how partici-
pants will be allocated to groups according to their affinity to,
and training in certain subject areas, while, at the same time,
providing participants with an incipient organizational frame-
work for cooperative research and consulting enterprise.
Targets, however, must be seen only as guiding formula-
tions, and should not be construed as mutually exclusive parts.
Rather, all targets have arbitrary boundaries, which can be
expanded or contracted to facilitate or achieve synergism in the
system. For example, there is a clear interface between the agri-
cultural/rural development target and the environmental/water
resources target; therefore, working across this interface is nec-
essary - and is encouraged - to achieve desired goals.
In view of the academic and professional orientation of
prospective participants in the program, two strategies are
suggested that can readily appropriate knowledge, skills, and
experience already acquired by these professionals in the
course of their education abroad, and in their home countries:
the first is through consulting activities, and the second is by
utilizing grant monies to tackle research and development
problems. The remaining part of this paper will be devoted to a
description of REMITS targets and strategies; an evaluation
of potential bottlenecks in operationalizing and implementing
REMITS; and a discussion of the implications of the proposi-
tion.
80
RETURN EDUCATIONAL MIGRATION INVESTMENT TARGETS AND STRATEGIES [REMITS]
I REMIT TARGETS I
I TARGET I TARGET II ļ
!Ì
1 AGRIC. & RURAL DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT & WATER RESOURCES §
if . Agricultural and Food Policy
Û . . Agricultural Rural Infrastructure and Policy ' prestato. ^
I . . Farming Techniques & Land Mngt • J01 Er°s'?.n4 « , *
1 . . Rural Development Policy • So,ļ and Water Conservation « , u
. Education for Rural Development • Colid and Toxic Waste Management ~
H . Extension Services and Training • Pollution -- Industrial & Agrie. ^
. Population Pressure on Rural Land • Elooding/Floodplain Management ^
Jś . . Marginal Lands and Productivity • Environmental Education
á . Agricultural Labor and Women • Urtian/Rural Sanitation
I . Landownership and Land Tenure . Oil Spills/ Land & Water Pollution
'j . River Basin Development • Water Supply and Demand
ļ . Hunger and Nutritional Requirements • Overgrazing & Arid Land Mngt.
. Capital Availability for Agriculture
j TARGET III TARGET IV

Ą URBAN-INDUSTRIAL/ECONOMIC DEV. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE
i . Overcrowding & Housing Needs . Development of Appropriate Tech.
. Employment and Training . Transfer of Appropriate Tech.
í . Transportations Mass Transit . Incentives for Development
« . Provision of Utilities/Infrastructure . Science Education
"1 . Education and Social Services . Petrochemical Development
¡ . Job Creation . Improved Medical Care Delivery
. Curbing Industrial Pollution . Population Planning & Control
. Recreation and Leisure . Improving Medical Research
> . Urban Waste Disposal . Production of Medicines
J . Small Business Development . Rural Medical Care Access
^^ POLITICAL,
TARGET V
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL BENEFIT J
Ą . Political Institutions . Land Use Control Legislation
i . Social Organizations . Military Regimes/Democratic Governments
. Traditions and Culture . Structural Adjuxtments and Economic Development
%5 . Law, Order and Crime
I STRATEGIES |
I [CU) (RDU)
I CONSULTING UNITS RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT UNITS I
Figure 1
81
DESCRIPTION OF REMITS TARGETS
Target I: Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD)
This target is designed to attract research on new

advances and production techniques in agriculture and rural
development. Participants will seek to introduce innovative
types of rural development that can integrate the problems of
rapidly increasing populations, rising pressure on rural farm-
land, and the growing demand for food and fiber. Another focus
will be to try to find ways of incorporating agricultural and
nonagricultural occupations, and the adoption and transfer of
farming techniques which are carefully adapted to local needs
and environment.
There are various aspects of the development of agricul-
ture and rural areas that need to be addressed specifically.
First, rural areas suffer from the "identification of agriculture
with lack of education and the latter with non-agricultural
employment."23 The need exists within ARD to set the agenda
for a new kind of rural development; one that would involve
the broadening of rural opportunities beyond farming, and the
training of people to live and work in rural areas and respect
rural life. Second, "unequal access to good farmlands, unsatis-
factory livelihood security among the rural... poor, and uncon-
scionable greediness of commercial exploiters... have driven
growing numbers of people into marginal lands..."24 This prob-
lem is a major factor in rural-urban migration. Third, develop-
ing countries need an understanding of African soils in order to
know the best methods of utilization and conservation. It
seems deplorable that "due to the rapid population growth in
rural areas, the general practice of allowing the soil to rest,
and thus develop vegetative cover, is becoming a thing of the
past."25 ARD should include a comprehensive study of rural
poverty and its impact on rural productive capacity; the role of
women in rural agriculture; existing obstacles to landowner-
ship and land tenure, and ways of improving them; improve-
ments in local methods of harvesting, storing, preserving, and
82
processing local raw materials; and making capital and equip-

ment accessible to rural producers.
Target II: Environmental Issues and Water Resources

(EIWR)
There was a time when some developing countries

thought of environmental protection as a calculated attempt by
the industrialized nations to impose a nonindustrial, noncom-
petitive type of economic development upon them. Today, most
developing countries are embracing policies which purport to
integrate environmental issues into conventional forms of
national economic planning. While this enthusiasm is refresh-
ing, there remains a yawning gap in public knowledge of envi-
ronmental problems - whether they are agriculture- or urban-
related - which must be filled before they can be any effective
solutions to the problem.
EIWR experts must ensure that policy makers are pro-
vided with accurate and current information on environmental
issues and water resource management. Understanding envi-
ronmental interactions and linkages is an arduous task, far
beyond the existing technological and research capabilities of
most developing countries of Africa. REMITS participants are
already working in these fields in the developed nations and,
therefore, possess the education, training, and multicultural
experience to adapt those systems to suit the needs of the
developing countries of Africa. The idea here is not to reinvent
the wheel, but to veer wheels already in motion in the direction
of these developing countries, to help them in their effort to
pursue an environmentally-safe development.
Specifically, participants can serve as a vital resource to
polity makers, by making them aware of, as well as suggesting
possible solutions to problems of deforestation, soil erosion,
solid and toxic waste management, agricultural and industrial
pollution, drought, desertification and dryland agriculture,
flooding and floodplain management, oil spills and their indi-
83
vidual and/or collective impacts on natural ecological systems

and human land use activities. Above all, EIWR should create
national, regional, and local frameworks for environmental
education (formal and informal); especially, the type of educa-
tion that addresses what Akin L. Mabogunje calls "the environ-
mental problems of poverty."26
Target III: Urban Industrial Development (UID)
This is the domain of people with training and experi-

ence in such fields as urban and regional planning, urban stud-
ies, urban and settlement geography, industrial and production
engineering, population studies, demography, sociology, politi-
cal science, environmental engineering, transportation, land
management, architecture and estate management, banking
and finance, water resource management, civil and mechanical
engineering, business and marketing, criminal justice and
criminology, legal and paralegal studies, computer information
systems, etc.
The principal objective of UID is to use new strategies
of urban-industrial development to encourage job creation and
employment opportunities, and to transform domestic raw
materials into finished industrial products. In addition, UID
should develop the expertise needed to solve problems of over-
crowding and housing, lack of skilled jobs, urban poverty,
industrial pollution and sanitation, urban mass transit, infras-
tructural deterioration, inadequate water and electricity sup-
plies, and rising crime rates in the city. In the context of
achieving a balance between the urban-industrial centers and
the rural hinterlands, expertise should be applied to a reexam-
ination of the traditional core-periphery models, which have
helped to create parasitic cities, rather than centers from
which development "trickles" down to the rural countryside.
84
Target IV: Science, Medicine and Technology (SMT)
Many Africans abroad are associated with institutions

at the cutting edge of scientific, technological, and medical
developments. These professionals include medical personnel,
research scientists, industrial technologists, college professors,
and other related business people. This target should explore
the possibilities of introducing innovative techniques of treat-
ing diseases, appropriate technology suited to African condi-
tions, proper ways of technology transfer, research and
development into the use of domestic raw materials, especially
the study of proper strategies of utilizing natural resources
more effectively through refining, and the establishment of
ancillary industries.
Target V: Political, Social, and Cultural Development

(PSCD):
Africa is, without doubt, a primary area of political and

social instability. Though Africa has achieved complete decolo-
nization, the prospects of democracy in most African states
seem to be dimmer now that at independence. Minority domi-
nation, ethnic and racial disharmony, cruel dictatorships, poor
and inept leadership, and retrogressive work ethics have
become perennial stumbling blocks for unity and cooperation
in the continent. In general, Africans living abroad have the
tendency to criticize and condemn, and to be frustrated and
alienated from Africa because of what often seems to be a lack
of progress.
REMITS provides experts in this category the opportu-
nity to renew the debate on what constitutes a proper political
and social machine for individual countries of Africa. Impor-
tant issues to consider are: the nature of political institutions
in Africa; the share of a country's GDP that is allocated to mili-
tary and defense operations; the breakdown of law and order
and how education and public awareness can help to amelio-
85
rate the problem; debt, aid and structural adjustments - who

benefits and who pays?; proper methods of land allocation,
land tenure and land use control; the promotion of social and
cultural ties within and among countries; and the preservation
of the African heritage and culture.
STRATEGIES FOR AN EFFECTIVE REMITS PROGRAM
The four targets of REMITS are not mutually exclu-

sive, therefore, creating a model with no fixed boundaries has
the advantage of encouraging cross-disciplinary exchanges and
cooperation in cases of overlapping interests. There are, how-
ever, key strategies that must be utilized by governments or
their appointed institutions to generate productive interaction
within each target. These strategies are explained in the fol-
lowing sections.
Consulting Units (CUs)
Each target will consist of consulting units made up of

people, at home and abroad, who share common training, expe-
rience, and expertise in particular fields. All members of
REMITS need not become consultants; membership must be
voluntary.
The principal objective of the CUs is to establish a net-
work of professionals from which African universities and
research institutions, as well as government and private agen-
cies can draw to fulfill a variety of development needs. CUs
have several advantages:
1. The citizens abroad bring their knowledge, expertise,
skills, and experience to apply to their countiy's development.
Although some critics might argue that those citizens abroad
ought to come home as a matter of patriotism toward their
nation, it must be reiterated that brain drain is a function of
the imbalance of economic and social opportunities between
countries. The countries concerned are able to reap the bene-
86
fits of the foreign education of their nationals residing abroad.

2. CUs can substitute for foreign consultants and advis-
ers, who, sometimes, charge outrageously high fees to do no
more than collate the results of research by citizens, at home
and abroad; and in some fields, consulting fees to foreign
experts pay for such avoidable expenses as extended stay in
the country to understand the culture of the people before pro-
ceeding with normal consulting activities. Since CUs possess
both local and foreign experiences, consulting services can be
provided, perhaps at a lower cost.
3. CU participants are paid in local currency, thus
boosting the local economy, and reducing foreign exchange
depletions; the African consultants from abroad already have
their employment overseas, therefore, the attraction to trans-
fer their consulting remuneration abroad is reduced. Thus, the
local economy is strengthened through local expenditures, and
foreign exchange problems are minimized.
4. Part of the consulting work may involve advanced
laboratory and technological hardware and software, as well as
require sophisticated data processing techniques and interpre-
tation. The local country benefits by having the advanced work
done by the consultants overseas with existing facilities in
their work places, with the ultimate aim to study the most effi-
cacious ways of transferring such technologies (technologies
that are yet to be integral to the country's production environ-
ment) with a minimum of negative impact on the cultural, eco-
nomic, and environmental conditions of the country. If accom-
plished, the advantage is that the user only pays for access to
such equipment, not for the start-up cost of hardware and soft-
ware. This would mean tremendous savings for the country
involved.
Research and Development Units (RDUs)
Research and development (R&D), with a focus on

Africa, is a multi-billion dollar business, especially through the
United Nations and its constituent agencies, the United States
87
government, Europe and numerous foundations and not-for-

profit organizations. The major complaint often heard from
some Africans working abroad, particularly those in the aca-
demic and research fields, is that millions of dollars for African
research are awarded to non-Africans, most of whom, they con-
tend, have limited knowledge and experience about Africa.
Whether this is a credible issue or not, the fact remains that
grant-seeking has become an ultra-competitive business,
requiring skills that have been carefully honed to the needs
and requirements of granting agencies and institutions, and a
vast network of professionals, grantors, and public relations
experts.
RDU provides the incipient network of professionals
and experts abroad, to help them facilitate access to research
and development funds for African R&D, and make them com-
petitive and credible partners in seeking African research
funds. The primary objective of RDU is to seek outside funds
for research and development on African problems, through
cooperative grant-writing efforts.
Several general characteristics of participants would
assure a successful organization of RDU: First, the profession-
als abroad, more than those at home, are in positions that give
them access to funding agency and institutional grant
announcements and deadlines; a prompt access to this infor-
mation is a sine qua non for a successful grant application.
Second, the professionals abroad have access to technological
and communication resources which are vital to producing a
competitive proposal. More specifically, access to funding agen-
cies and donor organizations leads to pre-proposal lists and
inquiries, follow up calls, and on-site visits to the agencies
(most international agencies and foundations are headquar-
tered in the developed world). Finally, Africans abroad can pro-
vide technical support for the grant - computers, laboratory
and library resources, and research personnel.
Since some grants for Africa require evidence of locally-
trained personnel and resources for the research and develop-
ment projects, members abroad must coordinate their projects
88
with home-country experts to provide such evidence. This will

invariably promote cooperative research ventures between
those at home and abroad. The home country is rewarded
because outside funds are generated to study local problems.
In addition, the research results become vital inputs into the
decision making process of the countries concerned. Moreover,
this type of cooperation supports African research and educa-
tional institutions, which are hard-pressed for research
development money.
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
Implementing the REMITS framework, with its volun-

tary focus and non-agency affiliation, presents some potential
problems. First, who initiates and constructs the database -
the foundation of a successful REMITS program? The
approach outlined in the REMITS framework needs more
than fragmented individual experiments to be successful; it
requires coordination by organizations which have access to a
pool of African and Africanist scholars. The scholarly organiza-
tion would lend credibility to the implementation process, and
provide the incipient database of names and affiliations of
members registered in the association. Since these organiza-
tions comprise Africans and Africanists, both in the western-
ized world and Africa, the association can work with interested
members, to seek grants to compile a more comprehensive
database. Associations that seem to have the best chance of
success are the African Studies Association, the Association of
Third World Studies, the African Students Unions, and Uni-
versity Departments with strong African Studies programs.
Beyond the contributions of the organizations in compiling a
database, individuals interested in African research and coor-
dination with other Africans and Africanists, could share the
responsibility for initiating necessary contacts, preparing propos-
als, applying for consulting jobs, and making any other arrange-
ments which are judged vital to the success of the program.
89
Second, through what channels can experts at home

and abroad cooperate in research and consulting activities? It
is important to emphasize the critical need for experts abroad
to complement their local counterparts working and residing in
their mother countries. To make this possible, the database
should contain a pool of experts from both the home country
and abroad, thus begging the question of accessible data
sources for creating the database. Within Africa, potential
sources include: The Council for the Development of Economic
and Social Research in Africa; the Association of African Uni-
versities; national and private universities in Africa; and
research institutes affiliated with universities or the govern-
ment (for example, Legon's Institute of Social Studies and Eco-
nomic Research in Ghana, the Nigerian Institute of Social and
Economic Research, the Association of African Social Scien-
tists, and Nairobi's Institute of Development Studies, to name
a few),. Other potential sources outside Africa include, but not
limited to: The World Bank, The United Nations Development
Program (UNDP), the Ford and Rockfeller Foundations, the
International Development Research Center in Canada, and
the Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation in Developing
Countries. With regard to UNDP, The Transfer of Knowledge
Through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN) program was estab-
lished in 1977 to "...mobilize[s] expert knowledge acquired
abroad, channeling it through individuals who are naturally
aware of the constraints of their home environment and able to
communicate readily within that environment."27 TOKEN has
a database, coded by national origin of experts from developing
countries currently residing abroad.28 This database may con-
tain relevant data on Africa, and access to it should be
explored.
The third implementation question in whether there is
a need for establishing a regional expert pool, and the rational-
ization for such regionalization. In the TOKTEN program, par-
ticipants are selected according to their national origins. How-
ever, the participants seem to be limited to a few countries.29
To help solve this problem, Bernard I. Logan has proposed "a
90
strategy for applying TOKTEN in Africa by relaxing the ...

home-country rule..." while adopting some criteria for regional-
ization.30 The posture taken in REMITS, however, is that indi-
vidual participants are responsible for defining their research
regions within Africa, and should be left to stay within or cross
national boundaries, as their capabilities allow. National ori-
gin, or regional affiliation, should serve only to facilitate the
establishment of a database.
IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
The general conditions of the world economic order

point to an increasing disparity between the 'haves' and 'have-
nots' countries of the world. Most of these poorer countries are
in Africa, and many are experiencing rapidly declining stan-
dards of living. A quick reality check, however, would suggest
that prospects for assistance to African countries are, at best,
on the down swing, and could be reduced drastically in the
years to come, as the West is now beset with new challenges
from the newly-born democracies of Europe and the former
Soviet Union. It stands to reason that Africa will receive less,
not more, assistance from the West. It is to be expected that
the West will continue to offer attractions to the trained per-
sonnel and professionals from these poorer countries, as dis-
parities widen. There is, therefore, an urgent need for African
countries to seek alternative strategies to make themselves
competitive in the global market for development funds. This
paper has examined one such alternative; one that could help
African countries apply the expertise of their personnel abroad
to accelerate the process of socioeconomic development.
It is unlikely that African professionals and trained per-
sonnel working abroad will pack up and go back to their home
countries. What is clear is that these African professionals
should not be seen as obstacles to the development of their
respective countries, which is how they have been perceived in
the past. This perception has been instrumental in policies
that have sought to solve the brain drain problem through a
91
narrowly defined return-back migration process, which, as evi-

dence from the literature indicates, has met with minimal suc-
cess. On the contrary, these experts should be seen as assets to
development, even when their residences are abroad.
The professionals have always realized their potential
for aiding in the development process of the countries con-
cerned, as can be attested to by the many organizations (for
example, in the United States) which purport to cater to the
interests of Africa and Africans. Examples abound: an organi-
zation in New York has published "The African Professional
Directory - TAPROD," which lists African businesses in Africa
and the U.S.A., to promote interaction with American busi-
nesses;31 the "All-African Student Conference" brings together
annually African Students' organizations from across the Unit-
ed States and Canada, "to discuss issues related to Africa's
problems and to seek solutions to them;"32 the Association of
Nigerian Professionals promotes and encourages research and
scholarly exchanges for the benefit of Nigerian development;
and there are other regional, national, and intranational orga-
nizations whose main objective is to create a network of
Africans for mutual political, cultural, and economic benefits.
In the past, many of these organizations encountered severe
opposition, or did not receive encouragement or support from
their respective governments. It is important, therefore, to rely
on the internal functioning of the REMITS network, at least
initially, before seeking help from individual African countries.
In order to make REMITS a viable, independent net-
work, there should be a readily available information base,
which is accessible to all Africans and Africanists at home and
abroad, African governments, foreign governments and nation-
als, and other institutions and agencies with interests in
African development. Africans themselves should take the ini-
tiative, and the following steps are recommended:
1. The development of a REMITS database (preferably com-

puterized) which will contain information on African profes-
sionals abroad, possibly divided by country of origin. Such a
92
database will be based on voluntary participation; thus, any-

one who offers such information becomes a member of
REMITS network. The database should contain names and
addresses, qualifications, areas of research and development
interest, institutional affiliations, current professional activi-
ties, and any other pertinent information. For organizational
reasons, two data banks could be assembled, one for North
America and one for Europe - the two main regions with the
most population of African professionals. A tertiary database
should also be developed for African professionals and experts
living in Africa, to encourage cooperative activities between
them and the professionals abroad.
2. The distribution of database information to participants to

encourage mutual communication among members with com-
mon interests. This communication is expected to galvanize
members into action, through the formation of research teams,
and the creation of data bases on funding agencies and institu-
tions related to specific areas of research and development.
3. The initiation of individual contacts and the formation of

groups to facilitate agreements on the formulation of competi-
tive proposals for grants in selected subjects of mutual inter-
est, depending on whether the groups are interested in consult-
ing activities, or research and development projects. In a broad
context, the REMITS database serves as a resource instru-
ment for participating members.
4. Active liaison of groups with professionals working in Africa,

to get them involved in the development of research and con-
sulting proposals. The success of this joint effort will lie in
accepting those professionals living in the home country as
equal partners, despite the degree of technological superiority
that the professionals abroad may possess.
The conceptual framework suggested in this paper
underscores the growing realization in Africa and elsewhere,
that Africa and Africans have the inevitable responsibility to
93
control their destiny. This responsibility should be shared by

all Africans, at home and abroad. As Africa's problems deepen
in many fronts - political, economical, social, and environ-
mental - Africans abroad can provide, in the least, an infor-
mation base for understanding these problems, which is a sine
qua non for sensible and sustainable growth. Even if the
attempts will not jump-start the moribund economies of many
African countries, there is hope that trying will, at least, pro-
vide a sense of identification with what is possible and what is
not.
NOTES
1. Coleen Lowe Morna, "Scholarly Research Drying Up at

African Universities as Financial and Political Prob-
lems Force Cutbacks," Chronicle of Higher Education,
(August 7, 1991), p. A28.
2. Mulinde Musoke, "Reform Must Come from Within,"
World Press Review (August 1991), p. 11.
3. Ibid., p. 14.
4. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, Population Distribution, Migration and
Development. (New York, NY: Department of Interna-
tional Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations,
1984). See especially pp. 427-441.
5. Ibid., p. 429.
6. See G. Henderson, "Emigration of Highly Skilled:
Research Report." Manpower from the Developing
Countries, 3. (New York: UNITAR, 1970); and United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organiza-
tion, Population Distribution, Migration and Develop-
ment, p. 429.
7. See J. Whelan, Brain Drain: A Study of the Persistent
Issue of International Scientific Mobility. (Washington,
DC: 1974). As cited in United Nations Educational, Sci-
entific and Cultural Organization, Population Distribu-
94
tion, Migration and Development, p. 429

8. G & C Merriam Company, Webster's New Collegiate
Dictionary. (Springfield, MA: G & C Merriam Company,
1975), p. 133.
9. See United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultur-
al Organization, Population Distribution, Migration
and Development-, and Bernard I. Logan "The Reverse
Transfer of Technology From Sub-Saharan Africa to the
United States." The Journal of Modern African Studies,
(1987), No. 4, Vol. 25, pp. 597-612.
10. Man Singh Das, "Brain Drain Controversy and African
Scholars." Studies in Comparative International
Development, (1974), No. 1, Vol. 9, pp. 74-83.
11. Anthony Egbe, "The New Breeds and Technology Trans-
fer," Nigeria Abroad, (1990 May 15-31), p. 13.
12. Bernard I. Logan, "The Reverse Transfer of Technology
From Sub-Saharan Africa to the United States," p. 602.
13. Mau Singh Das, "Brain Drain Controversy and African
Scholars," pp. 74-83.
14. Da-Hsiang Donald Lien, "Appropriate Scientific
Research and Brain Drain." Journal of Development
Economics, (1988), Vol. 29, pp. 77-87.
15. J. Connell and B.J. Engels, "Indian Doctors in Aus-
tralia: Costs and Benefits of the Brain Drain." Aus-
tralian Geographer (1983), Vol. 15, pp. 308-318.
16. J.N. Bhagwati, (ed.). The Brain Drain and Taxation,
Volume I and Volume II. (New York, NY: North Holland
Publishing Company, 1976).
17. A.J. Strachan, "Government Sponsored Return Migra-
tion to Guyana." Area, (1980), No. 2, Vol. 12, pp. 165-
169.
18. Saneya Saleh, The Brain Drain in Egypt. The Cairo
Papers in Social Science, 2 (Monograph 5). (Cairo: AUC,
1979); cited in Nazih Ayubi "The Egyptian 'Brain
Drain:' A Multidimensional Problem." International
Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 15, pp. 431-450.
19. Nazih Ayubi, "The Egyptian 'Brain Drain:' A Multidi-
95
mensional Problem," pp. 431-450.

20. Ibid.
21. Bernard I. Logan, "The Reverse Transfer of Technology
From Sub-Saharan Africa to the United States," p. 611.
22. J. Connell and B.J. Engels, "Indian Doctors in Aus-
tralia: Costs and Benefits of the Brain Drain." Aus-
tralian Geographer (1983), Vol. 15, pp. 308-318.
23. L. Alegwu Ega and Segun Famoriyo, "Basic Contradic-
tion Between Rural Development Strategies and Rural
Welfare in Nigeria." International Journal of Environ-
mental Studies (1988), Vol.31, pp. 157-165.
24. Edward S. Ayensu, "Beyond the Crisis in African Agri-
culture: Balancing Conservation and Development," in
John Allen (ed.) Environment 89/90, Eight Edition
(Sluice Dock, CT: The Dushkin Publishing Company,
1989), pp. 33-37. See especially p. 33.
25. See Michael J. Dover and Lee M. Talbot, "Feeding the
Earth: An Agroecological Solution," in John Allen (ed.).
Environment 89/90, Eight Edition, pp. 15-21. See espe-
cially p. 16; and Edward S. Ayensu "Beyond the Crisis
in African Agriculture: Balancing Conservation and
Development," especially p. 34.
26. Akin L. Mabogunje, "Regional and International Coor-
dination: Africa." in Daniel M. Dworkin (ed). Environ-
ment and Development (Indianapolis, IN: Scope Miscel-
laneous Publication, 1974), p. 346.
27. United Nations Development Program Report of the
Third International Conference of the Transfer of
Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals. (New York,
NY: UNDP, 1985), quoted in Bernard I. Logan, "An
Assessment of the Potential Application of the Transfer
of Knowledge Through Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN)
Programme in Sub-Saharan Africa." Applied Geogra-
phy (1990), Vol. 10, pp. 223-236. Especially p. 226.
28. Bernard I. Logan, "An Assessment of the Potential
Application of the Transfer of Knowledge Through
Expatriate Nationals (TOKTEN) Programme in Sub
96
Saharan Africa," pp. 223-226.

29. Ibid, y p. 229.
30. Ibid., p. 235.
31. "Advertisement - TAPROD." Nigeria Abroad (1991,
April 1-15), p. 14.
32. "From Across the U.S.A. - All-African Student Confer-
ence for OSU .n Nigeria Abroad (1991, March 1-15), p. 7.
97

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BRAIN DRAIN AND AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT: A DESCRIPTIVE FRAMEWORK FOR

Clearly, African countries in the throes of economic and

* Associate Professor of Geography, Department of Geography and

Journal of Third World Studies , Vol. X, No. 2

where to rally to the call for African development, by making

BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW

Brain drain is "a migration of professional people (as

another, usually for higher salaries or better living conditions."8

Think of the number of years spent to produce a

countries lacking in skilled human resources

Brain drain is seen here as a complex problem created by both

to compensate nations which have been affected by brain drain.16

...become tied to the American economy unless

Thus, even when there are compelling reasons for keeping

GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS OF THE REMITS MODEL

In the context of this paper, and based on evidence from

1. Educational migration refers to the movement of 'pro-

THE REMITS CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Figure 1 is a sketch of the broad conceptual framework,

Issues and Water Resources; Urban and Industrial Develop-

RETURN EDUCATIONAL MIGRATION INVESTMENT TARGETS AND STRATEGIES [REMITS]

j TARGET III TARGET IV

DESCRIPTION OF REMITS TARGETS

Target I: Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD)

This target is designed to attract research on new

processing local raw materials; and making capital and equip-

Target II: Environmental Issues and Water Resources

There was a time when some developing countries

vidual and/or collective impacts on natural ecological systems

Target III: Urban Industrial Development (UID)

This is the domain of people with training and experi-

Target IV: Science, Medicine and Technology (SMT)

Many Africans abroad are associated with institutions

Target V: Political, Social, and Cultural Development

Africa is, without doubt, a primary area of political and

rate the problem; debt, aid and structural adjustments - who

STRATEGIES FOR AN EFFECTIVE REMITS PROGRAM

The four targets of REMITS are not mutually exclu-

Consulting Units (CUs)

Each target will consist of consulting units made up of

fits of the foreign education of their nationals residing abroad.

Research and Development Units (RDUs)

Research and development (R&D), with a focus on

government, Europe and numerous foundations and not-for-

with home-country experts to provide such evidence. This will

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Implementing the REMITS framework, with its volun-

Second, through what channels can experts at home

strategy for applying TOKTEN in Africa by relaxing the ...

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

The general conditions of the world economic order

narrowly defined return-back migration process, which, as evi-

1. The development of a REMITS database (preferably com-

database will be based on voluntary participation; thus, any-

2. The distribution of database information to participants to

3. The initiation of individual contacts and the formation of

4. Active liaison of groups with professionals working in Africa,

control their destiny. This responsibility should be shared by