In this second and final part of our enlightening conversation with Gabriella Chinaza Okorie, we dive even deeper into her journey of self-discovery and growth in Germany. From reflecting on the contrasts between Nigerian and German lifestyles, to her thoughts on career aspirations, overcoming challenges, and the realities of living abroad, Gabriella offers a thoughtful and candid perspective that resonates with anyone navigating the complexities of migration. Join us as she shares invaluable insights, some laughs, and advice that’s sure to inspire anyone considering the japa journey.

Japa Media Host:

What do you miss most about Nigeria?

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie: 

I miss the community lifestyle. Most people in this place mind their business, and I think it’s a big part of German culture to mind your business. For example, even if a German sees you literally walking with two heads on the road, a German will never comment about it. They are trained to look at you and look away. They will never stop to question you why you are carrying two heads. It’s that serious. Although there is an advantage to it. People minding their business and not wanting to be in your personal space. But the disadvantage to it is that, it hinders the possibility of creating a community lifestyle. Where for example, you can visit a friend without even calling them and stuffs like that.

“You can walk down the road with two heads literally, and a German will look at you and look away. They are trained to mind their business.”

Also, in Nigeria, you can have a great conversation with a stranger and laugh with them, without even knowing them. So, I miss the community lifestyle of Nigerians, I miss the parties, the weddings. I also miss the food. There are not many Nigerian restaurants in Germany and eating out is generally expensive here. I mean the Nigerian food is expensive. I miss being able to buy street Nigerian foods.

“I miss the community lifestyle. In Nigeria, you can have a great conversation with a stranger and laugh with them, but you can’t have that in Germany.”

So, it’s basically, food, culture, community lifestyle, and the weather. I miss the sun. It’s about 10 months of cold here in Germany, no sun. And I learnt prolonged cold weather causes what is referred to as winter depression. I came here with a lot of clothes and heels, but there is nowhere to wear those kinds of clothes to. You are forced to adapt to just the jeans and sneakers-wearing culture. 

Japa Media Host:

How did your family react to your decision to relocate, and how do you maintain relationship with loved ones back home? 

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie:

My family supported me. In fact, my mother even encouraged me about Germany. So, my family is very supportive of me relocating. I’m the first child, it helps to make similar ambition easier for my younger ones too if they decide to relocate. We communicate via WhatsApp a lot. I had to teach my mom how to use WhatsApp, because it’s preferable than offline calls.

Japa Media Host:

Do you plan to return to Nigeria permanently someday? Why or why not?

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie:

Yes, I do, Nigeria is home no matter what. Right now, there is no solid plans as to when, but I know it will get to a point where I will have to bring all experience, I am gathering back to Nigeria someday. I see my time abroad as a time to gather experience. Even now, there is a kind of opportunity I will get in Nigeria, I can pack my things and move back. Lol. But I haven’t seen any yet. And I am not even sure if there is really anybody who leaves Nigeria and do not plan to come back someday. No matter how long you have lived abroad, you will always want to come back. In fact, there was a time back then in my undergraduate days in Nigeria, my plan was to travel for my masters abroad and come back immediately after completion, because Nigeria was not as it is today back then. It was still very attractive to live in Nigeria then. A lot of lecturers back home are Harvard graduates, they travel and come back, but things have changed now because of the situation of the country.

Japa Media Host:

How would you compare the overall cost of living in Germany to Nigeria, in terms of housing, groceries, food, transportation, utility, healthcare, etc?

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie 

If I am to compare the Nigeria that I left in 2020, I will say, we were really enjoying compared to what I met in Germany, but what I saw in February 2024, when I visited Nigeria, it has totally changed. Nigeria is very tough now, compared to 4 or 5 years ago when I left. 

Back then in Nigeria, I was not earning a lot of money, but I could still cover my annual rent, with like 3 to 4 months of saving. While the rest went into food, savings and other expenses. But here in Germany, we pay 45% tax, that’s like collecting half of what you are earning. It’s a socialist economy. And out of that half, you will still pay your rent monthly, and my rent takes about 25% of the 55% left of my salary. And then other bills come in like phone bills, electricity, TV bills (whether you watched it or not), savings, other personal stuffs and emergency funds comes in.  

Compared to Nigeria back then, after paying for annual rent, I can actually choose to save like 70% of my salary at some point. But you cannot do it in Germany because all the bills I mentioned earlier must be paid monthly and it is automatic deduction.

The only thing I will say that’s better here in Germany, is that in Nigeria, unforeseeable circumstances are not in your favour. In Germany healthcare is free, because it’s part of your tax. But in Nigeria, after saving probably the 70% of your monthly salary, if someone falls sick, it is possible to spend the entire savings on hospital bills. So, there are up sides and down sides when you compare Nigeria and Germany.

Japa Media Host:

What are some of the things you enjoy most about living in Germany?

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie:

I enjoy a stable system. Any problem you have, there is a solution for it. You don’t have to bribe anybody for anything. If you have a problem, you call whatever office responsible or go there in person, they will find a way to help you or solve it without expecting anything in return. The system works!

Corruption is a very bad thing, and I did not know until I left Nigeria, and came to a country that has zero tolerance for corruption. I mean 0%. You can get on a bus or public transport in Germany and your ticket will not be checked because they trust that you will do the right thing and pay for it. Funny enough, even though it is hardly checked, most people still pay. You can imagine if such a system existed in Nigeria. You will find out that so many things we find difficult in Nigeria, it’s not because it’s difficult, but because of the corrupt system. 

A lot of frustration that you experience in Nigeria that shouldn’t be there, simply because people are kept in different positions to frustrate people in Nigeria. But it’s different here in Germany. You can report any office to the government if you feel you’re being treated wrongly, so because of that, people are very careful, and they want to give you the best customer service. They are willing to help you. So, I enjoy a working system. 

Another thing I enjoy about Germany is the fact that if you have the qualifications, there are a lot of jobs for you. There are jobs for skilled people. 

Germany is also a family-oriented country. Married people with children will find it very easy here because the country have been setup in a way to support the family system. You will not really have to bother much about school fees. Your children will go to school for free even though you are paying it in tax, Lol.  Government takes care of children. If it happens today that you don’t have money to take care of your child, government will take it over. Basically, the government works for the people. 

“In Germany, the government works for the people. If you can’t afford to take care of your child, the government will step in.”

Japa Media Host:

What do you think is the biggest myth about living abroad or address common misconceptions about living abroad as an African?

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie: 

Honestly, I’m not going to say the very cliché thing of saying that I thought it was going to be like plucking money from the tree, because I have never believed that. I never believed that myth that when you go abroad, you will make it immediately. If you had a lazy attitude where you are coming from, and you still continue with the lazy attitude here, you will still have the same result. So, the similar thing about Nigeria and Germany is that you have to put in the work. Living in Germany does not give you the license to be less hardworking.

“Living abroad doesn’t make you less hardworking. If you were lazy before, you will still get the same results here.”

Japa Media Host:

As we start to round off. Looking back, do you have any regrets about your decision to Japa? What would you do differently?

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie: 

The first answer is no. I do not regret my decision to japa. As regards what I would do differently, honestly, I can’t think of anything that I would have done differently because I feel like everything that happened has happened for a reason. I mean, before I would have said, I wish I relocated earlier, but yeah, it’s one thing that leads to another, and in everything I believe God’s plan will still prevail.

Japa Media Host:

Would you recommend Germany as a destination for other Nigerians considering Japa? Why or why not?

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie:

Whenever people ask me this question or ask me to help them move to Germany. I don’t just go straight to helping them, because if I do, without finding out certain things about you, I’m not really helping you. Right? Because being in this country, let me be realistic. This country favors foreigners, first of all, who are skilled and mostly people who are skilled in STEM. So, I always tell people who asked me this question, because I’ve had friends who had backgrounds in the arts, commerce, law and similar fields, and my advice is that, it is doable, but it’s better to go the US where those field are more appreciated. Germany is more about engineering, and tech. In fact, jobs will pursue you if you are in these fields. But if you are doing law and want to come to Germany, what would take you 1 year to achieve in the US, might take you 5 years to achieve in Germany in terms of career progression, because first you have to go through the route of learning the language, and you must follow the process strictly. You might need to write some prerequisite exams. Something you could have started immediately if you were in the US. 

So, Germany is fantastic country for STEM, because of their tech advancement, but it is not the best for only English speakers in the arts and commercial sector. 

“Germany is a fantastic country for STEM. If you’re in engineering or tech, jobs will pursue you.”

Japa Media Host:

How has living abroad changed you as a person? What skills or qualities have you developed?

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie:

One interesting thing about change that I have noticed is that, people come here, and because they see that it’s a working country, they forget about God. That’s to show you that 70% of Nigerians are only going to church because of what they can get from God or what God would do for them. Because how do you explain it that most Nigerians that come here, some have been here for 5 years, 10 years, and they’ve never entered into a church premises. And then they start talking like Germans who are mostly atheist. These are Nigerians who were born and brought up in the church, but when they come here, they will tell you to forget about the things of God, some even get to the point of also believing there is no God, because they have seen a working country. Meanwhile in Nigeria, they were more devoted Christians than any other person. So, living abroad tests your love for God and things of God. It tests your faith. It’s even difficult to find a church in some cities, unlike Nigeria where there is a church in every street.

It also tests your prayer life. In Nigeria, you can easily go to your pastor, and he will pray for you when you have a challenge. But here, pastor is not available like Nigeria, you have to pray for yourself. That’s if you still believe in prayer. So, when you come to a country, where you don’t need to pray for things, you just need to do what you are supposed to do, and the thing would work. It then looks as if, what do you need God for.

So, personally, living abroad has helped my relationship with God. It has help me to find God in ways that I never did when I was in Nigeria, surrounded by religion and surrounded by different churches. It has helped me to find God for myself.

Aside church and faith, I think being here has helped me to build some kind of patience because I used to have challenge with being patient, even my mum testifies about it. Lol. It has helped my tolerance and emotional intelligence. I haven’t had any cause to argue with anybody in the bank or fight a bus conductor over a change… Lol.  

So, I have developed a kind of patience, even when I go to Nigeria, certain things that will happen and I would normally react, I don’t react to them anymore because to me, they are not worth my emotions being heightened unnecessarily. Funny enough, you would learn good characters from Germans compared to Nigerians. You will learn how to be polite from Germans. How you don’t speak to people in certain ways, how you have to be sensitive to people’s emotions. You don’t cut into conversations without being invited.

“I’ve developed patience and tolerance since moving abroad. I’ve learned to be more emotionally intelligent, and that has helped me even back in Nigeria.”

You will learn the real composure, and they are this polite because they like you or are trying to please you. They are doing it because that is how they are trained. Sheer respect for each other and learning how to mind your business. It’s a culture for them. For example, you don’t have to be older than me, for me to respect you. A 60-year-old man can respect you even more than your own age mate. Even though I am calling you by your name, but there is a respect to it. You are respected as a human being, not because of age, tribe and stuffs like that.

Japa Media Host:

Would you recommend the schools you attended to prospective students? And what are some of the pros and cons of the education system in Germany compared to Nigeria?

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie:

I can’t recommend any school, but I would say that anyone who wants to study here, they should research the course, the university, and the city as well, very important. They should research the city, its environment, and the job prospect in the city, because you don’t want to go to a place where you are hurrying to leave. You want to go to a place where you can establish yourself and be grounded. There is an advantage to being well established in a place and being connected to a community of people. It helps to gain a good root. What happened to me was that I had to leave the city where I started because I didn’t like the place, and in the process, I had to leave all the friends and connection I had built there. Try to choose a school in a city where you will like to live for the long term.

“If you want to study abroad, research the city, the job prospects, and the environment. You don’t want to be rushing to leave after building a community.”

Japa Media Host:

What are your aspirations for the future?

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie: 

While I couldn’t get the oil company job as I dreamt about in Nigeria. I got into renewable energy, which is something I didn’t really consider back in Nigeria, and one thing about here is that once you get into a particular industry, there is tendency you will keep going in that industry because experience is huge in Germany.

For example, you get into communication or human resources, the tendency for you to keep going in that sector is high because the next job would want to see that you have experience in that field. If you want to do a career change, it will be more difficult for you, because you have to prove work experience.

So, I got into renewable energy, and I’m happy because it’s not so far away from oil and gas. I mean, oil and gas at the moment still pays more. But renewable energy is the future. My aspiration is to explore the industry, and just like in Nigeria or anywhere else, I keep trying to develop myself. I keep taking courses to build my capacity. I don’t relax because I am now living abroad. I completed a course in December last year, and I am preparing to take another one before the end of this year. I even have a friend who had to go and do a part-time masters in the UK, just so he can be promoted to another role. That’s why your friends and close community are very important. Having friends who are developing themselves and inspires you to be better helps a lot. I’m hopeful about the future, and by the grace of God where it leads me in the industry where I find myself. 

“Have friends who are developing themselves. Your close community can inspire you to be better.”

Japa Media Host:

Awesome. Any one last word generally for people who wants to japa (relocate)?

Gabriella Chinaza Okorie: 

Yeah. Don’t just japa because everybody is japaing. Sit down, strategize and come up with a plan for yourself. If you move without a plan, you will just be floating like the other thousands of people who are also floating, it’s very easy to float if you don’t have direction. 

“Don’t Japa just because everyone is doing it. If you move without a plan, you will be floating like the other thousands who are also floating.”

Have a plan. Because one thing that I’ve always found out that works, is writing down my plans. I write all of my plans. I write out the timeline, even if it doesn’t work out that way. But at least I have something to work towards. And most importantly, I put my plans in the hands of God because it doesn’t matter what I do or how much I do, there are people who have done more than me, but with less result. All I can do is play my part and then God would water it. 

“It’s very easy to float if you don’t have direction. Write out your plans and work towards them, even if they don’t happen exactly as planned.”

I would say, in all your plans, put it in the hands of God. Do the best you can do and leave the rest for God.