Becoming Britico: An Immigrant’s Story of Survival

With more green passport holders frantically seeking for greener pastures outside their home country Nigeria, Tobi Adewusi’s fictional narrative projects the reality of relocating abroad alongside its pains and gains, Yinka Olatunbosun writes

Everyone knows someone or a family who has left a beautiful home, a lucrative job or business to start a new life abroad. While the news may be shocking or even disturbing for those on the outside, the fact is that many Nigerian immigrants in our contemporary time are looking for better opportunities and good quality of life that may not be available in Nigeria despite their financial or educational status.

In her 150-page book titled ‘Becoming Britico,’ Adewusi tells this story of Faith, a middle-class woman whose family had to relocate to the United Kingdom after suffering a huge financial investment. From paying back investors when their crypto-business crashed to making new plans to relocate, Faith’s story is somewhat typical of the life of a Nigerian immigrant.

As the narrative reveals, immigration is a serious business in Nigeria. While it appears to be a loss to the country’s workforce, it is profitable to those who work off the radar to provide visa services, proof of funds, decluttering and other ancillary services.

The theme of survival is interwoven with the subject matters of emotional dislocation and love. Through the character of Grandma, the writer shows how relocation takes its toll on family bond. For many young middle-class families that relocate, this is a major crisis particularly if their aged parents and grandparents live with chronic illnesses as depicted in the story. Often, Grandma would need Faith’s reminder to take her medication promptly. However, the writer leaves the readers to figure out how the immigration would affect the aged family member who would be left behind in Nigeria.

Through Faith’s career trajectory, the writer demonstrates how being self-employed does not shield one from the financial burden of being a Nigerian. Every Nigerian is like a mini-government- you pay for your security, provide your own power and water supply and be your own health care insurer. 

Perhaps, one of the reasons for writing ‘Becoming Britico’ is to inspire Nigerians in diaspora who are struggling to adjust into a new life. Faith had to endure the high cost of living and several failed attempts to secure a job in the UK but she persevered and eventually got a job. 

While ‘Becoming Britico’ is not written to persuade Nigerians to search for a new life outside the shores, the author seems to empathise with those who are compelled to relocate with their family just because that is what their spouse wants or needs at that critical point in their lives.

Though non-exhaustive in narration, this journalistic easy-read seems like an expose on migration and the unwitting abandonment of a country that is fast losing its ‘home-sweet-home’ appeal.