OF MIGRATION AND DESPERATION

Government should do more by  providing opportunities at home

This year’s theme for the International Migrants Day, ‘My Great Story: Cultures and Development’, sounds as a mirage to many of our young people who risk everything for what most often turns out to be nightmares. But the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Bank of Agriculture Limited (BOA) to strengthen access to sustainable livelihoods for migrants and displaced persons across the country, is a step in the right direction. “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to advancing sustainable solutions for migrants and communities,” said Ugochi Daniels of BOA. “By linking migration management with development financing, we can create inclusive economic opportunities that empower people to rebuild their lives, contribute to local economies, and reduce aid dependency.”

Unfortunately, while there are serious discussions across the world about the growing challenge of young people on the continent who continue to embark on what has become suicide journeys, leaders in Africa are still living in denial. On a daily basis, thousands of children from the continent risk death as they flee their own countries where opportunities are shrinking by the day. Beyond the fact that the figure keeps rising, it is also a notorious fact that many of those people are merely compounding their miseries because what awaits many of them on the other shores are no longer opportunities but detention, most often under subhuman conditions. We hope that the partnership between the BOA and the IOM will yield tangible results.

As we have argued in the past, it is important to interrogate the conditions that create the desperation to leave the country for unknown destinations. Today, we live in a country where many are not only poor but cannot find jobs. Factories are closing down and selling their warehouses to promoters of religious organisations while several businesses are shut down or moving out of the country, some due to lack of electricity. In the circumstance, vibrant young men and women are leaving the country to embark on journeys which for many of them tragically end at sea.

There is also a criminal dimension to the problem with some unscrupulous Nigerians now recruiting from their villages and towns young girls with the promise of securing for them good jobs abroad only to turn them to prostitutes. There are chilling statistics which suggest that human trafficking has become one of the biggest money-making businesses after drug trafficking. Today, our country is regarded not only as a transit route for this illegal trade but also a source as well as a destination with children and young adults, especially of the womenfolk, now becoming merchandise for what has become a cross-border crime.

While we condemn human trafficking, we are of the strong belief that a demonstration of political will to diligently prosecute offenders would serve as deterrent to those engaged in the nefarious trade, irrespective of their social status. There is also a need for a sustained sensitisation of Nigerians, especially in rural areas, on the dangers posed by ‘good Samaritans’ who offer better lives for children away from the watchful eyes of their parents and guardians.

However, the biggest challenge is a mindset issue as there are many young men and women who believe they can only make it abroad and will do anything to travel outside the shores of the country. So, apart from remaking the socio-economic structures of the country, that is also an issue the authorities must deal with. But the first task is to provide opportunities at home for our teeming population of young people. On a day such as this, that should be the resolve of all stakeholders if our migrants are to ever come up with any ‘great stories.’