Nigeria has become synonymous with irregular migration. What can be done to stem the tide? ROBERT EGBE sought experts’ views.
On June 9, the over 1,420 mi-grants rescued from the Mediterranean Sea and turned away by Italy and Malta, arrived in Spain’s port of Valencia aboard four vessels. One of them was The Aquarius, which rescued 630 migrants.
According to The BBC, the migrants aboard The Aquarius alone were from 26 countries and the largest groups (about 150 ) including 11 children and seven pregnant women, were from Sudan and Nigeria.
Last November 29, Federal Commissioner, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) ranked Nigerians as the fifth largest number of migrants irregularly crossing to Europe.
On February 26, European Union (EU) Ambassador to Nigeria, Ketil Karisen, said Nigeria accounted for 60 per cent of the 10,000 illegal migration cases recorded between last November and January.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reports that between May 28 and June 10, 2,225 illegal migrants arrived in Italy. The top three nationalities of the migrants were Tunisia, Eritrea and Nigeria.
IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, which tracks migrant deaths or disappearances in the process of migration, estimates that in the first half of this year, a minimum of 790 migrants died en route Europe by drowning, cardiac arrest and hypothermia, among others.
Even those who do make it to Europe are often classified as illegal immigrants and deported.
Irregular migrants’ expectations
So, why do migrants put themselves through such harrowing experiences? The Migrant Project, which helps migrants understand the risks related to migration, said its research showed that many of such travellers were misinformed.
Part of the migrant project’s research on the issue was published in June 2018 as an Abridged Messaging Manual titled: “Irregular Migration in Nigeria”.
Project Co-ordinator of The Migrant Project, Ms Clare Henshaw, said: “For example, in our research, 72 per cent of Nigerian potential migrants said that they expected to receive government support in finding a job in their intended destination country.
“The overwhelming majority of Nigerian potential migrants said they expected to find a job in their destination country within four months (92 per cent), while 68 per cent of respondents expected to be working within two months.
“Similarly, almost 20 per cent of Nigerians interviewed expected to become citizens of their destination country, an extreme rarity for West African migrants and asylum seekers.
“Migrants often assume they will achieve success in Europe and believe that they will quickly find a job and make money easily, but this is not true. The small percentages that do stay have great difficulties finding a job, and their precarious legal situation makes them vulnerable to exploitation.”
The realities for irregular migrants
Men, women and children – no one is spared the reality check of ill-advised migration.
Twenty-six-year-old Mercy Osabouhiem’s story exemplified the experience of many irregular migrants. She told IRIN, a Switzerland-based news agency focusing on humanitarian stories, how she was taken captive and repeatedly sexually assaulted in Libya after crossing the Sahara Desert last May.
Osabouhiem said: “Every night, shooting guns up and down… No food. No water. And the water they have there is salty. It’s not good for the stomach.
“Sometimes the man would come. The man has many boys, a lot of boys that work with him, so beating us every day, every night… Even raping, almost every night, rape every night. He said we should pay money. If we don’t pay we don’t go anywhere.”
How expensive is irregular migration?
The Migrant Project research found that smugglers usually lie about the costs and ask for more money while on the journey. Migrants also often have to pay large bribes to officials.
It said: “The Migrant Project spoke to many potential Nigerian migrants who said they thought the journey would only cost around $1,000 (N360,500). Others estimated it to cost around $4,000 (N1,442,000) to $6,000 (N2,163,000).
“However, the journey costs a lot more than this. In fact some Nigerian migrants have reported paying up to $24,000 (N8,652,000). The journey across the sea from Libya to Europe costs around $3,000 (1,081,500) alone.”
Also, irregular migrants can also become a financial burden on their families and have to ask for more money to support themselves, especially if they are kidnapped and their families must pay a ransom for their freedom.
Cost of living in Europe
For irregular migrants, who eventually make it to Europe, their problems do not end there. They are also faced with the challenges of survival in a country where they are, more often than not, unwanted.
“The daily costs in Europe, such as accommodation, transport and food, are very high. In many European countries, the average family will spend around $700 (N252,350) per week to live. Migrants, who are in Europe illegally, have a hard time finding a job and governments do not offer any support. Without a job it is impossible to access housing, buy enough food or save money. Many migrants end up homeless.
“European immigration laws are becoming stricter. There are hardly jobs for irregular migrants. There is also the problem of language barrier,” the report added.
Who are Nigeria’s irregular migrants?
Nigerians of all ethnic, religious, sexual and other demographics have been found to engage in irregular migration.
The Migrant Project said its research in Libya showed that Nigerian migrants are almost equally divided between men and women aged between 16 and 34, including a sizable number of youth. They are often unemployed and most speak Edo, Yoruba or Hausa, with an intermediate level of English.
Alternatives to irregular migration
What can be done to stem the tide of irregular migration?
The Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa, in a paper titled: “Analysing current issues in global immigrations”, advised Nigerians to “stay and tap from many business opportunities” in the country rather than going to suffer unnecessarily in strange lands.
She noted that it was unfortunate that while some Nigerians are leaving in search of greener pastures because of the economic situation, other who migrated illegally are brought back in shame.
Atsenuwa said: “I am not saying our people should not travel, they should follow due process, go through an immigration personnel and lawyers for proper counselling and guidance. There are so many opportunities in Nigeria.
“At this point, the Immigration Lawyers have to rise to this task of addressing the issues of human smuggling, trafficking in persons, strategies for eradicating illegal migration, labour exploitation, generating jurisprudence, developing programme/reports on immigration as well to provide knowledge and information to prospective migrants etc, and above all, create demand for quality service as Immigration Lawyers.”
On the increasing cases of illegal migration repatriation and deportation of Nigerians, the Don said it was unfortunate that while some Nigerians are leaving in search of greener pastures because of the economic situation, others, who migrated illegally, are brought back in shame.
Immigration Lawyers Forum Nigeria (ILAFN) Chairman, Silas Udoh, urged the Federal Government to address the problem of labour exploitation and abuse by foreign companies.
According to him, creating a productive and developed economy was one of the measures to reduce mass irregular migration by Nigerians.
Henshaw said her organisation addresses the problem in several ways, including providing skills acquisition, technical training, trading, further education and employment for returnees and would-be migrants.
The organisation, she added, also promotes a behavioural change campaign.
