From Japa to Udvandre: Should Nigerians be looking all the way to Greenland?

For most Nigerians, Greenland has traditionally occupied a distant corner of the imagination, somewhere between “ice”, “maps we never zoom into”, and trivia-night geography. But history has a way of pulling unlikely places into focus. In recent weeks, Greenland has once again surfaced in global conversations, driven by geopolitics, critical minerals, climate strategy, and renewed international interest in the Arctic.

For a Nigerian business audience, this raises a natural set of questions: Is there anything here for Nigerians: investment, work, or even relocation? Would we want to? Could we? And how would it actually work?

These are not idle questions. Nigerians are already among the world’s most mobile and entrepreneurial people. We have turned japa into both a social phenomenon and an economic strategy. And if Nigerians have shown the bravery and logistical discipline to host destination weddings in Iceland, perhaps it is not entirely unreasonable to ask: why not one step further north, Greenland?

A northern encounter: Nigerians forget we already had

Long before Greenland became a subject of modern geopolitical intrigue, a Nigerian had already ventured into the far north. Olaudah Equiano, writer, abolitionist, sailor, adventurer, and one of the most remarkable global figures of the 18th century, took part in a British Arctic expedition in 1773, sailing toward the North Pole aboard HMS Racehorse.

Equiano never reached Greenland, but he did experience the Arctic firsthand near Svalbard. In his writings, he described towering ice, endless snowfields, and a cold so severe it tested both body and spirit. For a man born in what is now southeastern Nigeria, it was a journey to what must have felt like the edge of the world. That encounter makes Equiano the first known Nigerian to reach the Arctic, a reminder that Nigerian engagement with extreme frontiers did not begin in the 21st century.

Greenland by the numbers (and why they matter)

Greenland today has a population of roughly 56,000 people. Its land area is about 2.16 million square kilometres, more than twice the size of Nigeria, which spans just under one million square kilometres.

Put differently: Greenland is around 2.3 times Nigeria’s size, with a population you could fit into a single Lagos neighbourhood, think Ikoyi or Victoria Island on a quiet census day. That imbalance between land and people explains almost everything about Greenland’s economy: opportunity exists, but always at a small scale, at a high cost, and with limited room for error.

The climate reality Nigerians must take seriously

Before any talk of opportunity, Greenland’s climate deserves respect because it shapes daily life as much as economics.

In winter, temperatures in many parts of Greenland regularly fall to –20°C to –30°C, and in inland or northern areas can plunge even lower. Alongside the cold comes darkness. In much of the country, especially above the Arctic Circle, the sun does not rise at all for weeks, and in some places, months. Winter days can consist entirely of twilight and night.

Then, in a dramatic reversal, summer arrives. During the peak months, Greenland experiences the midnight sun, where daylight lasts 24 hours a day. The sun simply circles the sky and never sets. For newcomers, this constant light can be as disorienting as winter darkness; sleep becomes something you schedule deliberately, not something the environment encourages.

For Nigerians accustomed to reliable sunlight and modest seasonal variation, this is not a small adjustment. The climate in Greenland is not just background; it is a central character in everyday life.

Where Greenland’s economy actually works

Greenland is not a diversified economy. It is a focused one. Fishing and seafood dominate exports and employment. Tourism, Arctic cruises, ice fjords, and “end-of-the-world” experiences are growing but remain niche. Mining and critical minerals have attracted global attention, particularly as the energy transition reshapes supply chains. Infrastructure, energy, and Arctic logistics sit quietly underneath all of this, essential but capital-intensive.

For Nigerians, this means opportunity is real but specialised. Greenland is not a place for improvisation or informal hustle. It is a place for partnerships, long timelines, and technical credibility.

Investing, working, relocating: what’s realistic?

Investment opportunities for Nigerians are most plausible through partnerships, co-investing in mining projects, participating in supply chains, financing logistics, or engaging through tourism distribution rather than physical asset ownership.

Work opportunities exist primarily for scarce skills: healthcare professionals, engineers, technical trades, infrastructure specialists, and some seasonal tourism roles.

Relocation, however, is where expectations must be managed carefully.

When Japa meets Udvandre

Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, and its immigration system is tightly controlled. Nordic citizens enjoy broad freedom of movement. Everyone else, including Nigerians, faces a far narrower path.

In practice, relocation usually requires a firm job offer and a Greenland-specific residence and work permit processed through Danish authorities. Greenland is also not part of the Schengen Area, meaning common European Union mobility assumptions do not apply.

This is not a mass Japa destination. Or, to borrow the Danish term, Greenland is not an easy place to udvandre.

Would Nigerians even want to?

Some would. Nigerians have always found opportunity in unlikely places, especially where specialised skills or frontier industries are involved. But for most Nigerians weighing migration options, Greenland competes with destinations that offer larger job markets, clearer immigration pathways, established diasporas, and climates that do not demand months of adaptation to darkness or perpetual daylight.

Still, connections already exist in unexpected ways. Nigeria imports significant quantities of dried fish from Norway every year, stockfish that has quietly become part of Nigerian cuisine. While Greenlandic fish is not yet a direct presence on Nigerian plates, the Arctic waters surrounding Greenland belong to the same northern ecosystem supplying global seafood markets. Even here, the North is closer than it seems.

And the money question

Recent reports have fuelled speculation about financial incentives for Greenland’s residents as global powers rethink their Arctic strategies. Social media, predictably, escalated this into rumours of life-changing payouts.

Even if such ideas were ever realised, the Nigerian instinctive response would be practical: What happens after the money? Relocation is not just a financial decision; it is legal, cultural, social, and environmental. No check can shorten winter darkness or make -30°C feel normal.

The real takeaway

Greenland is not the next Canada. It is not the next Portugal. It is not even the next Iceland, though Nigerians have already proved they can celebrate love on volcanic rock surrounded by ice.

Greenland is something else entirely: a high-stakes, low-population frontier, where opportunity exists mainly for those with very specific reasons to be there and the resilience to handle its extremes.

For Nigerians, the lesson is not to rush northward but to recognise that even the most unlikely places are now part of the global opportunity map, if approached with realism, patience, and respect for local realities.

Japa may be global.

‘Udvandre’ may sound exotic.

But Greenland remains a place for serious people with serious reasons and perhaps that is exactly why it is suddenly worth paying attention to.

Dr Wiebe Boer, Chief Growth Officer, the JIPA Network & Editorial Advisory Board Member, BusinessDay

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