Crossword Genius

One exits West African countries to avoid duty (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

malinger

'to avoid duty' is the definition.

'one exits west african countries' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'one' could be 'li' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'li' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'manger' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

(Other definitions for malinger that I've seen before include "Avoid work by feigning illness" , "Germinal (anag.)" , "skive off school, maybe" , "Feign illness to avoid work" , "Loaf or procrastinate" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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