Video: Why I pray UK deports Nigerians who left my company — Keji Giwa

2026-03-01 - 18:37

Nigerian businessman, Keji Giwa, has sparked outrage on social media after saying he prays that the United Kingdom deports Nigerians who relocated abroad so they can return to work for him. Giwa, owner of Giwa Gardens, Lekki Party Villa and Carnelian, made the remarks during an appearance on the podcast Talk It With Ruth, uploaded on Friday. Speaking on the impact of brain drain on his businesses, Giwa revealed that more than 100 of his employees had relocated abroad in recent years. Video: Why I pray UK deports Nigerians who left my company — Keji Giwa pic.twitter.com/sA5zbTsByY — Vanguard Newspapers (@vanguardngrnews) March 1, 2026 “Over a hundred of my employees have left the country, you know. If I had known, I wouldn’t have hired them,” he said. When asked why he felt that way, Giwa responded: “Because I feel that they’ve used and abused me.” He acknowledged that employee training often leads to migration but expressed frustration over the scale at which it has affected his operations. “Obviously, with time you will train them and they will leave. Yeah, but we have now trained all of them to the point that most of them have left the country. They’ve now left the country. What do we have left now?” he said. While admitting he still has capable staff, Giwa suggested that many of them would also relocate if visa policies were less restrictive. “But the only reason they’re still good and around is because they’ve not left. If not for the UK putting stringent rules and Canada putting stringent rules on their visa application, you think they wouldn’t have left?” he added. His comments have since triggered mixed reactions online, with many Nigerians criticising his stance amid ongoing conversations about migration and economic opportunities abroad.