Despite that many young Nigerians have been sent to their early graves by the infamous voyage of discovery, some are still willing to subject themselves to Illegal migration, not minding the grave consequences. Timothy Opaluwa writes various ways of curbing the expedition to foreign lands.
Family members worked themselves into a frenzy of joy when Osaze Eromon, 28, declared his intention to travel out of the country in search of a greener pasture, after been unemployed for four years. But having
spent their hard earned money to train their beloved son in the university, Eromon’s parent’s joy new no bound when their son broke the news to them.
Surprisingly, six years after Eromon left the shores of the country, his family members are yet to hear from him. According to his father, Eromon George, their son has disappeared into the thin air. “If we had known, we would have discouraged him from travelling out of country. After six years, we have not heard from him; he disappeared just like that. I still believe he is alive and would communicate us as soon as possible”, he noted.
The pains, trauma and difficulties that many Nigerians experience in their bid to seek greener pastures abroad are better imagined than felt. The successful ones seldom have the courage to narrate their predicaments and bitter experiences to the people back at home and like Eromon, many never returned to even tell the story.
The experiences each of them undergo in the various countries, be it destination or transit countries, are never pleasing to the ears or befitting for someone who hitherto boasted so much about travelling abroad.
Migration experts have said that their sad experiences, when critically examined, are based on grounds that they are illegal migrants, possessing no proper travelling documents, but are desperate to cross to the west, irrespective of the means, while others who are actually legal migrants are said to be suffering genuinely in the hands of law enforcement agents over established cases of crime.
Interestingly, some of these youths did not migrate willingly. They were lured by promises of better life outside the country. Others are being forced into child labour and sexual slavery. LEADERSHIP Weekend investigation revealed that even the young men- skilled and semi-skilled- who are known to be under-employed engage in all manner of menial jobs abroad because of false promises of untold wealth outside the shores. Unfortunately, it is an indisputable fact that several other irregular migrants had no basis for traveling out and, as such, could not secure proper traveling documents.
Investigation further revealed that, while several of these illegal migrants are being held for simple immigration offences, others are languishing in jail over drugs related offences. Over 10,000 Nigerian illegal migrants, in their bid to cross to Europe, had reportedly died on the high seas.
Undermining and ignoring the numerous risks, some still travelled as illegal migrants and are presently having it very rough in various transit countries, while waiting for the opportunities to cross to Europe. Many of these illegal migrants are presently in foreign prisons, some of them on death row, others executed, while those who are not in prisons are always on the run from security agents.
Moved by the spate of illegal migration in the country, a migration expert Henry Gabriel advised that Nigerians should stay back and develop their country. “It is expedient for Nigerian youths to have a rethink and stay back to make their contributions to develop the country. When Nigerians illegally migrate to other countries rather than staying in the country to put in their own contributions, they are going out as parasites and would certainly be treated as one.
“Life is not worst here than those places where they think are greener pastures. The activities of illegal migrants and those who go out there to commit crimes, have, over the years, caused a lot of damage to the nation’s international image such that even those with valid documents and genuine motives suffer embarrassment at various International Airports,” Gabriel added.
Revealing the ordeal of these youngsters further, he said, “On arrival at the airports, if you are a man, no matter how handsome and corporately dressed you look, you are seen as a drug courier. For the women, no matter how beautiful, well dressed and corporate you appear, you are seen as a prostitute. Surprisingly, even after the sniffer dogs have absolved you of carrying drugs, the foreign security agents at these airports would hardly believe the report. The misconception is that the Nigerian in his or her ingenuity might have made the dog to perceive nothing, even when there was nothing to perceive.”
There is no doubt that Illegal migration has proven itself to be bad in every ramification. But stakeholders express concern as to why some Nigerian youths still take the risk of travelling through illegal channels despite the efforts of the government to stop this so far.
In an effort to curb the menace, another migration expert, Mr. Amuche Elumelu said that it is important that all stakeholders get actively involved in the task of curbing illegal migration. According to him, failure on the path of those in the right position to tackle the problem today will result in the loss of more young men and women who will ignorantly embark on the futile journey. “This is the time we must all rise to this challenge and think creatively. If we don’t start to think creatively, our people, our children will embark on the destructive journey”, Elumelu warned.
Enumerating the dangers and vulnerability of illegal travellers to include being robbed or killed, chances of being conscripted into rebel armies, women being sold into sex slavery, among others, Elumelu said that with such practical steps like information sharing among security agencies, integrated boarder management and continuous creation of awareness that empowers Nigerians with informed decision making, the ugly trend can be curbed.
On his own part, the Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, said the elimination of poverty, unemployment and a conflict-free society will drastically reduce illegal immigration from Africa to Europe.
“It is time for the international community, and particularly African leaders, to take a good look at the factors responsible for the death and destruction by illegal migration of youths from Africa and address the causes in an honest, responsible, humane and holistic manner rather than the current futile attempt to half-heartedly deal with the symptoms rather than the cause.
“The sure way of prevention is the elimination of conflict and abject poverty and creation of employment in the countries where migrants originate,” Obasanjo stated.
For the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, many skilled youths engage in irregular migration with its attendant danger due to lack of information.
Ngige, therefore, called on International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to do more in the area of advocacy, publicity and sensitisation through the newly established Migrant Resource Centre under the 10th European Union Development Project.
“Irregular migration is one of the worst problems because some of these migrants have skills and vocations that can actually put them on the part of regular migration, but because of the absence of information and knowledge they veer off and undertake the part of irregular migration which has caused them a lot of hazard,” the minister averred.
Ngige said that the ministry’s partnership with IOM will afford skilled Nigerians the opportunity to work abroad as regular migrants with relevant documents thereby reducing the spate of irregular migration and the danger it posed to the youths.
Despite that many young Nigerians have been sent to their early graves by the infamous voyage of discovery, some are still willing to subject themselves to Illegal migration, not minding the grave consequences. Timothy Opaluwa writes various ways of curbing the expedition to foreign lands.
Family members worked themselves into a frenzy of joy when Osaze Eromon, 28, declared his intention to travel out of the country in search of a greener pasture, after been unemployed for four years. But having spent their hard earned money to train their beloved son in the university, Eromon’s parent’s joy new no bound when their son broke the news to them.
Surprisingly, six years after Eromon left the shores of the country, his family members are yet to hear from him. According to his father, Eromon George, their son has disappeared into the thin air. “If we had known, we would have discouraged him from travelling out of country. After six years, we have not heard from him; he disappeared just like that. I still believe he is alive and would communicate us as soon as possible”, he noted.
The pains, trauma and difficulties that many Nigerians experience in their bid to seek greener pastures abroad are better imagined than felt. The successful ones seldom have the courage to narrate their predicaments and bitter experiences to the people back at home and like Eromon, many never returned to even tell the story.
The experiences each of them undergo in the various countries, be it destination or transit countries, are never pleasing to the ears or befitting for someone who hitherto boasted so much about travelling abroad.
Migration experts have said that their sad experiences, when critically examined, are based on grounds that they are illegal migrants, possessing no proper travelling documents, but are desperate to cross to the west, irrespective of the means, while others who are actually legal migrants are said to be suffering genuinely in the hands of law enforcement agents over established cases of crime.
Interestingly, some of these youths did not migrate willingly. They were lured by promises of better life outside the country. Others are being forced into child labour and sexual slavery. LEADERSHIP Weekend investigation revealed that even the young men- skilled and semi-skilled- who are known to be under-employed engage in all manner of menial jobs abroad because of false promises of untold wealth outside the shores. Unfortunately, it is an indisputable fact that several other irregular migrants had no basis for traveling out and, as such, could not secure proper traveling documents.
Investigation further revealed that, while several of these illegal migrants are being held for simple immigration offences, others are languishing in jail over drugs related offences. Over 10,000 Nigerian illegal migrants, in their bid to cross to Europe, had reportedly died on the high seas.
Undermining and ignoring the numerous risks, some still travelled as illegal migrants and are presently having it very rough in various transit countries, while waiting for the opportunities to cross to Europe. Many of these illegal migrants are presently in foreign prisons, some of them on death row, others executed, while those who are not in prisons are always on the run from security agents.
Moved by the spate of illegal migration in the country, a migration expert Henry Gabriel advised that Nigerians should stay back and develop their country. “It is expedient for Nigerian youths to have a rethink and stay back to make their contributions to develop the country. When Nigerians illegally migrate to other countries rather than staying in the country to put in their own contributions, they are going out as parasites and would certainly be treated as one.
“Life is not worst here than those places where they think are greener pastures. The activities of illegal migrants and those who go out there to commit crimes, have, over the years, caused a lot of damage to the nation’s international image such that even those with valid documents and genuine motives suffer embarrassment at various International Airports,” Gabriel added.
Revealing the ordeal of these youngsters further, he said, “On arrival at the airports, if you are a man, no matter how handsome and corporately dressed you look, you are seen as a drug courier. For the women, no matter how beautiful, well dressed and corporate you appear, you are seen as a prostitute. Surprisingly, even after the sniffer dogs have absolved you of carrying drugs, the foreign security agents at these airports would hardly believe the report. The misconception is that the Nigerian in his or her ingenuity might have made the dog to perceive nothing, even when there was nothing to perceive.”
There is no doubt that Illegal migration has proven itself to be bad in every ramification. But stakeholders express concern as to why some Nigerian youths still take the risk of travelling through illegal channels despite the efforts of the government to stop this so far.
In an effort to curb the menace, another migration expert, Mr. Amuche Elumelu said that it is important that all stakeholders get actively involved in the task of curbing illegal migration. According to him, failure on the path of those in the right position to tackle the problem today will result in the loss of more young men and women who will ignorantly embark on the futile journey. “This is the time we must all rise to this challenge and think creatively. If we don’t start to think creatively, our people, our children will embark on the destructive journey”, Elumelu warned.
Enumerating the dangers and vulnerability of illegal travellers to include being robbed or killed, chances of being conscripted into rebel armies, women being sold into sex slavery, among others, Elumelu said that with such practical steps like information sharing among security agencies, integrated boarder management and continuous creation of awareness that empowers Nigerians with informed decision making, the ugly trend can be curbed.
On his own part, the Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, said the elimination of poverty, unemployment and a conflict-free society will drastically reduce illegal immigration from Africa to Europe.
“It is time for the international community, and particularly African leaders, to take a good look at the factors responsible for the death and destruction by illegal migration of youths from Africa and address the causes in an honest, responsible, humane and holistic manner rather than the current futile attempt to half-heartedly deal with the symptoms rather than the cause.
“The sure way of prevention is the elimination of conflict and abject poverty and creation of employment in the countries where migrants originate,” Obasanjo stated.
For the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, many skilled youths engage in irregular migration with its attendant danger due to lack of information.
Ngige, therefore, called on International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to do more in the area of advocacy, publicity and sensitisation through the newly established Migrant Resource Centre under the 10th European Union Development Project.
“Irregular migration is one of the worst problems because some of these migrants have skills and vocations that can actually put them on the part of regular migration, but because of the absence of information and knowledge they veer off and undertake the part of irregular migration which has caused them a lot of hazard,” the minister averred.
Ngige said that the ministry’s partnership with IOM will afford skilled Nigerians the opportunity to work abroad as regular migrants with relevant documents thereby reducing the spate of irregular migration and the danger it posed to the youths.
EmoticonEmoticon