But why do some Nigerians still taking the risk of leaving the country by all means? Despite the daily reports of gory incidents involving those taking the war-torn Libya route to Europe on the high seas, available reports suggest that many Nigerians are, in fact, already lining up for their own dangerous expedition to Europe in their desperation to escape what they usually termed the country’s worsening economic climate.
Paul, (not real name) is one of the illegal immigrants. Relating his experience to Sunday Tribune, he disclosed that he was a successful auto engineer in Ibadan. From his auto garage somewhere at Odo Ona, Apata area, his clientele included the Canadian University Service Organisation (CUSO), a Canadian organisation, prominent individuals and corporate organisations. On a weekly basis, he fixed not fewer than 20 cars, especially exotic ones. From his garage, he made money, enough to send two of his younger brothers to universities in his home town, Benin City, and also in Lagos. He also bought two houses.
A friend was said to have suggested to him to migrate to the United States for greener pastures. In his desperate bid to leave, he sold his cars and started processing his departure from Nigeria. Unfortunately, he fell into the hand of swindlers. At the John F Kennedy airport, he was deported for presenting a fake visa. When he got back to his garage, many of his clients had left, but he struggled to get back on his feet.
Not done with searching for greener pasture, he decided to enter into the US from Malta, which, according to his advisers, could offer him visa-free entry to America. He felt that since others were doing it he could too. So, without telling anyone this time, he embarked on his tortuous journey by road to Algeria.
After almost three months with other non Nigerians who also wanted to flee their countries, driving from Togo-Ghana and further down the coastal regions, they eventually ran into a gang of Bedouins in Algeria who robbed and killed some of them.
“I was afraid I would be killed because I had few dollars on me too. But because I was a bit far from where the search began, I quickly dug into the desert and hid all the dollars and British pounds on me. I kept the naira on me.
“Thirteen people were killed and their corpses left to rot in the desert. As they came, so they left. We didn’t move for three days. It was there that another guy suggested that since Spain was just a ship away, we should abort our plans of travelling to America. I just wanted to get back to Nigeria then. They could have killed us in that desert and nobody would have known anything,” Paul recalled.
He eventually made it back to Nigeria by ship after 12 days on the sea. It was a tanned Paul that arrived in Ibadan by which time his younger brother had graduated from the university and sold his garage to fund his flight to the United States.
Desperation
Several reasons have been adduced to the rise in cases of illegal migration, especially from very poor and developing nations to the more prosperous parts of the world, especially Europe and America. Mr Mike Olawale, the CEO of Online dynamic, a travel agency, who described the situation as “serious” said the key reason is that of survival. Survival instinct, he declared, “is mostly at play”.
“Poverty has become an issue, especially in Africa and some Asian countries. One must adapt to be able to meet even the basic needs of life. Unlike before, Nigerians had no reason to leave the country in large numbers for survival. Things were okay then. But with so much poverty ravaging the country now, that is why our young ones are taking risks just to get out of the country. A majority of Nigerians now live below $1 per day,” Olawale explained.
The desperation to escape the drudgery of having to live from hand to mouth, severe unemployment, he stated further is the fuelling rod for these numerous individuals, mostly youths and middle-aged men and women to seek their fortune in foreign countries, even if they have to get to their preferred destinations through illegal routes.
According to Olawale, nothing is too difficult for many of these desperate Nigerians.
“To survive, [these] desperate Nigerians are ready to travel to Egypt, Libya Algeria by road because they have discovered that it is easier to cross into Europe from any of the North African countries. They even travel as far as Kuwait, UAE, Dubai, Oman, etc. The most shocking thing is that these people pay huge amounts of money, and also take risks travelling by road and ships. But one has to feel for these young boys and girls because they face a lot of issues just to survive,” Olawale explained.
Dr Richard Adeoya, a Lagos-based psychologist, corroborated the travel agent’s position. He told Sunday Tribune that most young Nigerians they are disillusioned with the country as all attempts to find employment have become futile.
“Before things turned this bad, we used to see young men working for politicians as touts. Now, it is becoming an acceptable thing as long as the young boy is able to bring food home. It is all about survival,” he said, explaining that: “That is why they are willing to risk travelling on foot, by sea and road to places kilometres away from their homes.”
To Mr Olawale, there is nothing really wrong with migration because the United Nations charter allows it, so far it is done legally, as no country can totally shut its borders against visitors, though a country may or may not allow entry. But to check the incidence that has taken so many lives, he said the Nigerian government must act fast in fixing the economy and restoring confidence of the people in the system, disclosing further that most European countries that these illegal migrants are planning to enter have put in place measures to checkmate illegal imigrants.
“Our government must begin to attend to the immediate needs of many of our young ones in the areas of creating atmosphere for job creation and employment. The Nigerian government, from local government to state and federal must begin to provide for its citizens. It is not all Nigerians or individuals who can take care of themselves. Government takes care of those in needs over there. Just providing the necessary infrastructure is enough to set other necessary things in place. That is where those over there [in Europe and the United States] are far better than us.
“However, many Nigerians don’t like doing things legitimately, because they can’t wait for the duration of the process. We are always in a hurry. Because of that, many people go about it illegally, such that it has become a major issue globally. The movement is not regular, so it is creating problems for the countries that desperate people are travelling to.
“Take the World Cup in Russia for example. The Russian government and the soccer organisers already knew the intention of some Africans that many of those who claimed to be football fans would stay back in their country, so they prepared for them. In the accreditation cards given to them were hidden chips. It was used to trace the movement of every visitor, including non Nigerians. That was why Nigerians were easy picks for their security officials.
“There are legal ways to migrate, but I am not a lawyer. I am an immigrant agent. We don’t ask people to pay us when they get there. That’s trafficking. If you don’t have money when you get there, you are left on your own. I see lots of graduates with no jobs, yet they still manage to raise millions of naira to travel illegally. That’s not good. In Nigeria, we know that unscrupulous individuals take advantage of desperate people. This is what is common among unregistered agents in this country,” Olawale told Sunday Tribune.
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