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NIGERIANS AND IRREGULAR MIGRATIONS
There is need for public education on dangers of irregular migrations
Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed last week that more than 5000 Nigerians are currently stranded in Iraq, in the middle East. The women were sent to the war-ravaged country as caregivers, but what they saw on ground was quite different. An unfortunate one among them, sent by her husband, reportedly died mysteriously. These are the latest migrants stranded in search for greener pastures, sometime in the most awkward locations. In the last few years thousands of stranded Nigerians, many of them without skills, have been repatriated from many countries across the world.
Care workers are the latest among job seekers seeking better opportunities abroad. Largely jobless and poorly incentivised, they are increasingly leaving the country in droves like medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and medical laboratory technologists. A report by the British government revealed that more than 18,000 care workers and home carers left Nigeria to seek employment in the United Kingdom in 2023. Often rushed through crash training to prepare them for the tasks, many end up still ill-prepared, and shocked while on ground.
Data from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and Nigerians in Diaspora Commission reveal the magnitude of the problem. In 2023, for instance, no fewer than 5,219 stranded Nigerians were evacuated from Sudan, Libya, Niger Republic, and Saudi Arabia. In 2024, around 1,620 others were also evacuated from Ghana, Chad, Sudan, United Arab Emirate, and Libya where Nigerian migrants reportedly make up six per cent of overall migrants. Indeed, between 2017 and 2022, more than 19,500 Nigerians were assisted to voluntarily return home.
Despite these scary statistics, many young men and women are still tempted to “Japa” or flee abroad via irregular migration. This is often facilitated by smugglers and human traffickers who manipulate, coerce and deceive them of a life more abundant overseas, and playing down the consequences. This raises the question about the causal factors driving such extremely dangerous voyage. The answer is out there in the streets. Africa’s most populous country is down and out, plagued by poverty, joblessness and insecurity. Millions can hardly afford a good meal a day, a situation worsened by mass unemployment. Left with little or no hope, many people are tempted to escape, even if they have to auction all their possessions to make the dangerous trip.
Thousands of Nigerians move out to work as cleaners, labourers, hairdressers, among others, and in the process putting their lives in harm’s way, occasioned by perilous journey across the Sahara Desert or by attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe aboard overloaded dinghies. But many soon discover, too late, of the futility of the voyage. Thousands have perished in the process, while other migrants are often stranded for reasons ranging from restrictions on travel, loss of jobs and income, lack of employment, loss of residence permits and lack of resources to return home.
Ironically, the ‘Japa’ syndrome is not about to flag. A recent survey from the Nigeria Social Cohesion Survey revealed that seven out of 10 Nigerians are willing to relocate to other countries. The sheer magnitude of the problem is such that for any meaningful breakthrough to be achieved in the efforts to arrest the trend, collaborative attempts must be made by governments, non-governmental organisations, corporate bodies and well-placed individuals.
We challenge government, at all levels, to address the prevalent poverty ravaging the land and offer meaningful hope of livelihood to frustrated young Nigerian men and women. We also task the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to live up to its responsibilities by engaging in massive enlightenment campaigns against human trafficking and irregular migrations. It is not always greener abroad.