You know the video.

Soft Afrobeats in the background. A young man in a puffer jacket stands in a spotless Canadian supermarket, holding up a pack of chicken like it’s a trophy. On-screen text: “Nigeria will not finish me. #Japa.” Cut to a clean street. Cut to a pay slip. Cut to him smiling in the snow.

Millions of views. Thousands of comments: “God when?”

I’ve seen that video too. Then I did something slightly unhinged: I watched 150 of them, carefully, with a coding sheet.

I watched 150 Japa videos so you don’t have to

As part of my doctoral research at Lagos State University, I analysed 150 TikTok videos about Nigerian emigration, posted between May 2023 and May 2026, the first three years of the current administration. I wanted to know three things: how dominant the Japa story is, what reasons for leaving it highlights, and what it leaves out.

Here’s what I found.

Japa isn’t one story. It’s the story. Of the 150 videos, 121 (80.7%) framed migration as Japa: leaving Nigeria as an escape. On TikTok, moving abroad is almost never “a career move.” It’s a jailbreak.

Every single Japa video starts in Nigeria. All 121 cited at least one reason to leave: economic hardship, unemployment, inflation. Not one video relied only on the attractions of the destination. Most (87.6%) paired “what’s wrong at home” with “what’s great abroad.”

In other words, TikTok’s Canada is defined by what Nigeria isn’t. It’s a before-and-after movie, and we’re always the “before.”

And the plot twist? Insecurity, despite years of headlines about kidnapping and banditry, appeared in only 6 Japa videos (5%). On TikTok, Nigerians aren’t fleeing danger. They’re fleeing the price of bread.

That tells us something important: TikTok is selective about why we leave. Which means it’s probably selective about what we meet on the other side, too.

I’m not the first to notice. A 2025 study by Timi-Wood found that 88% of social media posts on Nigerian migration were framed around success. The algorithm loves a glow-up. It is less fond of month eight.

What the 60-second video skips

1. Winter is not an aesthetic. The snow looks lovely in slow motion. It looks different at 7 a.m. at a bus stop when the wind feels personal. Canadian winters are long, dark and expensive: boots, coats and heating bills are part of the budget, not optional extras.

2. Your degree may need its own visa. Many regulated professions in Canada, from nursing to engineering, require your credentials to be assessed or re-licensed. That can take time and money. TikTok shows the engineer who made it, not the engineer stacking shelves while waiting for paperwork.

3. “It’s so cheap here” is a conversion trick. That chicken looks cheap when you convert dollars to naira. But you’ll be earning and spending in dollars, and in big cities, rent can swallow a frightening share of your income. The real question isn’t “What does it cost in naira?” It’s “What does it cost in hours worked?”

4. Loneliness doesn’t trend. Nobody posts “Day 47: ate jollof alone and cried a little.” But ask anyone who’s moved: the first year can be isolating. No owambe on Saturday. No aunty checking on you. Building community from scratch is real work.

5. Immigration rules change. Videos don’t. Canada has tightened its rules for international students in recent years, including caps on study permits. A video from 2023 may be giving you 2023 advice. The algorithm doesn’t add an expiry date.

So… should you japa?

This isn’t an anti-Japa post. I’m applying to Canadian universities myself. People leave for real reasons, and my research confirms those reasons are overwhelmingly economic and deeply felt.

But watch TikTok the way you watch a movie trailer: it shows you the best scenes and none of the boring bits in between. Before you sell your car, do this:

• Follow people who’ve been there three years or more, not three weeks.
• Ask what they earned in year one, not year five.
• Check whether your profession needs re-licensing before you land.
• Budget for your first winter like it’s a second rent.
• Check today’s official immigration rules, not last year’s videos.

The airport selfie gets the views. But the real Japa story starts the morning after, when the music stops and life begins.

And that’s the part worth preparing for.

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