The Nation Newspaper

Tag: MIGRANTS

  • 9,000 migrants seek employment yearly in Italy , says IOM

    Apparently in search of greener pastures, no fewer than 9,000 migrants from Nigeria arrived Italy through the Mediterranean Sea last year, an official of the United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said.

    A research officer with the organisation, Tara Brian said at a conference on National Migration Policy Thematic Areas, organised by IOM that Nigeria was the fourth top country of origin for people arriving in Italy in last year.

    She said, already, between January and April this year, no fewer than 3,000 Nigerians arrived Italy for jobs.

    In his presentation, a migration expert, Prof Adepoju Aderanti, said Nigerians abroad constitute the population of about seven African countries, adding that it is not surprising considering the country’s population.

    Aderanti however said Nigerians in Diaspora could be potential development tools for the country. He said the remittances of Nigerians abroad is about $25 billion yearly, adding that it overtook direct foreign investment and was second to oil revenue.

    “An average African who migrates ultimately wishes to return home but returning home depends on the situation at home. Some Africans in Diaspora want to come back home but the circumstances at home in many countries are not encouraging,” he said.

    Aderanti called on the Federal Government to make migration a win-win-win situation for the migrants, the origin and destination countries through policies to attract remittance flows such as tax holidays.

    He also called for policies to woo Diaspora engagements like establishing a Diaspora Commission and reviewing bilateral migration agreements with destination countries in favour of Nigeria.

    Aderanti commended Nigeria for being the first country in Africa to adopt a National Policy on Migration.

    A representative of the UN Resident Coordinator, Jean Gough, commended the Federal Government for adopting the National Policy on Migration.

    Gough said Nigeria was a major country of origin, transit and destination within West African sub-region and globally.

    She said having a legal framework for the governance of migration was an important step and a major achievement in managing the multi-faceted challenges of migration and taking hold of the opportunities.

  • Tunisia rescues 350 migrants heading to Italy

    Tunisia’s navy rescued more than 350 illegal migrants off its coast and was searching for hundreds more on Wednesday after they tried to sail from neighbouring Libya to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the local Red Cross said.

    Boat smugglers often use Tunisia’s proximity to the Italian coast to ship migrants there.

    Tunisian authorities have rescued dozens of people travelling in unsafe boats in recent months.

    “Naval forces have rescued at least 350 clandestine migrants off the coast near Ben Guerdane in an old boat that left from Libya,” local Red Cross representative Abd el Karim Rguiyi told Reuters. “Among them are Syrians and Africans. Authorities are looking to save around 300 more.”

    Ben Guerdane is a coastal town just across the border from Libya and not far from the tourist island resort of Djerba.

    The conflict in Libya between two rival governments and their armed forces has fomented a breakdown of order that smugglers have been quick to exploit to try to send thousands of illegal migrants across the Mediterranean to mainland Europe.

    European leaders are increasingly concerned that Libya will become a failed state if the rival factions fail to accept a United Nations-sponsored peace deal.

  • Five Tunisian migrants die in shipwreck

    Five Tunisian migrants die in shipwreck

    At least five Tunisian migrants died yesterday when their boat sailing to Italy capsized off the Tunisian coast, officials said.

    “A migrant boat carrying dozens capsized yesterday off the coast of Monastir … Naval forces rescued 49 Tunisian migrants and recovered five bodies of Tunisian migrants,” a naval official told Reuters.

    Boat smugglers make use of Tunisia’s proximity to the Italian island of Lampedusa to ship migrants there, with Tunisian authorities rescuing dozens of people travelling in unsafe boats in the past few weeks.

    Most boat smugglers prefer to operate out of Libya to exploit a security vacuum in the neighbouring country struggling with a power dispute between two governments.

    A month after nearly 900 migrants drowned in the worst Mediterranean shipwreck in living memory, the flow of people desperate to reach a better life in Europe has accelerated as people smugglers take advantage of calmer seas.

    Last week, the European Union agreed a naval mission to target gangs smuggling migrants from Libya.

     

  • Pregnant Nigerian, 3,600 others rescued in Italy

    Italy has rescued a pregnant Nigerian and 3,600 other African migrants, from overcrowded boats sailing across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

    The Italian government said on Friday that the migrants were rescued between Wednesday and Friday.

    Officials said in Catania, Sicily that the migrants -Somali and the Nigerian – were   picked up by the British warship HMS Bulwark.

    More than 600 migrants were brought ashore at the port of Catania in Sicily, while rescuers plucked another 2,500 from rickety boats off the coast of Libya.

    The Nigerian, identified as Sandra Dike and aged 20, claimed to have left the country because of the danger of attacks by the Boko Haram.

    “It’s not safe to go to a public place, like a church, the market. Boko Haram may bomb the place at any time,” she was quoted as saying.

    “The war in Libya is worse and that is why we decided to come to Italy,” she said.

    The coast guard official said a German ship, Italian navy vessels, a merchant ship, and Italy’s finance police and coast guard all conducted rescue operations  on Friday.

    A 40-metre Phoenix, based in Malta and run by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) and Doctors Without Borders, said they rescued 561 people.

    Among them were 136 women and 60 children, mostly from Eritrea.

     

  • Migrants’ exploits in faraway land

    Migrants’ exploits in faraway land

    200 years ago, while the thought of independence was still far away from many nations, the Yorubas predominately in the South West parts of Nigeria were already in Ghana. They were attracted to the former Gold Coast by the aroma of business opportunities and exploration. The pasture in Ghana was never greener but the migrants saw an opportunity to expand their burgeoning business ventures and acquire more territories.

    Today, there are numerous Nigerian business concerns borne out of the migrant’s exploits. From Tamale to Takoradi, to Accra and even Cape Coast as well as other interiors of Ghana, many Nigerians are expanding the business potentials of the country with visible contributions. This is despite the many obstacles placed in their ways by the local communities and authorities as well as the challenges of migrations.

    This is the thrust of this book by Joshua Olalere, a Nigerian based in Ghana for years. Olalere’s intention, from the outset, is clear: To praise the entrepreneurial spirit of the migrants and show how the conquered the daunting odds against their adventures. The author begins by expatiating on the origin of the Yoruba race. He also dwells on the important historical incidents and communal lifestyles to evoke further understanding of Yoruba people.

    There is a section on issues like political culture, economic activities, mythologies, religion, cultural beliefs and value systems. All of these certainly deepen understanding of the people in question. The inclusion of relevant pictures lends more credence to his explanations. Then, he delves into the reasons for the migration of Yorubas to Ghanaian communities.

    This, he writes, is driven “by the aroma of business opportunities that were accessible in Ghana at that time.” The exploration that started in the 20th century was fraught with many challenges. Movement of goods was a factor. So was the disdain with which the local indigenes treated them. There was also the challenge of accommodation and language barriers.

    Despite all these odds, the migrant traders soldiered on. They transported their goods by walking for weeks, sometimes months from Ogbomoso where many of them hailed from. Others were to follow from Ilorin, Oyo, Saki, Igboho and other northern parts of Yoruba lands. They traded mostly in clothes, provisions, hard wares, motor cycle parts and small manufactured goods, completely dominating those industries.

    They courted the locals, learnt their languages and assimilated their cultures in no time. Their daring strategies and business sense turned them to the largest traders in places like Tamale where they rented a third of the 700 stalls from the council and even built additional 200 to cater for their growing business ventures.

    As they prospered, they built schools and houses in their communities. They even established mosques in places like Secondi, Suhum, Tarkwa, Kumasiand Koforidua, among others. Churches were also established in several parts, especially the Baptist congregations. They also founded and sponsored football clubs as well as participated in local politics, sometimes even winning elections.

    Such was the pervading influence of the Yorubas in Ghana that they soon became targets of envy. Despite these initial challenges however, the Yorubas had conquered Ghana for other Nigerians to explore. To show the abundant tourist attractions in Nigeria, Olalere concludes the book with a section on each of the South West states. This section, complete with pictures, shows what Yorubas have for the world to look.

    The book dedicated to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a brilliant attempt to capture the migration of traders from the race and their contributions to the socio-economic well being of Ghana. It certainly will deepen relations between Nigeria and Ghana. The author writes in simple to read English. He offers translations of Yoruba proverbs and names used in the book.

    It is highly recommended to historians, researchers, diplomats, traders, students, business men and women as well as everyone who has anything to do with Ghana. It will show how to blend into the country and expand business opportunities. But there are a few typographical errors almost on each page of the book. The author will do well to do more thorough editorial clean-up for subsequent editions. Aside from this, readers will find the book engaging and exhilarating with much to learn and assimilate.