A Nigerian nurse based abroad has sparked debate online after criticising men living overseas who travel to Africa to find wives they intend to bring abroad and encourage to study nursing.
In a viral video, the nurse questioned why some men specifically seek African women with the expectation that they would relocate and pursue nursing careers, arguing that established professionals in the healthcare sector rarely engage in such relationships for that purpose.
She suggested that some of the men involved may be unemployed or unwilling to invest in their own education, instead expecting their wives to become financially supportive after qualifying as nurses.
Citing examples of healthcare professionals, including nurses, doctors, physician assistants and X-ray technicians, she challenged viewers to identify established professionals who return to Africa to find wives specifically to bring them abroad for nursing studies.
In her words:
“Have you ever seen a nurse or a doctor, a physician assistant, X-ray technician, have you ever seen any of them go back to Africa to go get a wife, to come here to study nursing? I haven’t seen.”
She further alleged that some men pursuing this arrangement were unwilling to further their own education and instead expected their wives to provide financial support.
“It’s always the ones that are jobless, it’s always the ones that don’t want to put themselves through school, that go back to Africa to go look for a woman that will come over here and study nursing and be their cash cow,” she stated.
“You can go to nursing school yourself”
The nurse maintained that men who desire to pursue nursing or other professional qualifications should consider undertaking the training themselves rather than placing that expectation on their partners.
“You yourself can go to nursing school. Okay? Goodbye,” she concluded.
Her comments have generated conversations about relationships, financial expectations, migration and the pressure sometimes placed on women to pursue particular careers after relocating abroad.