African irregular migration and the paradox of underdevelopment

They travel from the poverty stricken purgatory village life of Africa to hell of high sea between Africa and Europe. Most times they die unnoticed and undocumented.  The real tragedy of most African migrants is that they are kidnapped, carnally assaulted and sometimes out-rightly killed by smugglers.The phenomenon of people migrating in search for safer […]

They travel from the poverty stricken purgatory village life of Africa to hell of high sea between Africa and Europe. Most times they die unnoticed and undocumented.  The real tragedy of most African migrants is that they are kidnapped, carnally assaulted and sometimes out-rightly killed by smugglers.
The phenomenon of people migrating in search for safer and a more prosperous living conditions is as old as man and the right of any person to leave any country is enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But the right of people to move freely is thwarted by migration and border controls of receiving countries especially Europe with its strict immigrations laws hence most young Africans resort to illegal means.
In recent years clandestine movements of people from Africa to Europe is essentially through trafficking and smuggling. Most illegal migrants borrow money from friends and family to pay smugglers prior to their departure. Those who survive to reach their destinations hardly get jobs with a human face, so repaying these debts becomes difficult.
The question is why do most young people decide to leave?There are  issues and concrete solutions to reverse the trend of innocent people dying yearly in an attempt to cross the sea of no return to Canary Islands, Spain, Italy and other European countries to seek asylum.
Of course, we should understand why they put their lives at risk in such a manner. Most migrants, lured by the prospect of a better future, go to Europe to work to help families back home. Most of the times they do menial jobs that Europeans refuse to do. Despite the assurances of good governance, the jobs never really materialise in various countries in Africa. I think as Africans we carry a share of responsibility in the sorry state of affairs, including the toothless Africa Union (AU), the World Bank and its so called development partners, who pressed upon us successive structural adjustment programmes and plans that have practically brought the African continent to its knees.
One of the major challenges of international migration is the selective migration policy of picking and choosing the best and the brightest, particularly those who have knowledge and expertise which Africa needs. When this happens the development of Africa will continue to suffer. This unwholesome practice over the years has simply affected those that do not have requisite skills and cannot simply get visas they then embark on small boats’ journeys and storming the waves at great risk. Even those that have genuine desires to travel through regular means are also denied visas thereby encouraging smuggling and clandestine movements!
As earlier highlighted, people should travel wherever and whenever they wish. But sadly, African leaders and politicians have open-door labour migration from the West and Asia, particularly Nigeria, to all kinds of charlatans in the name of foreign direct investment (FDI) exploiting us without corresponding development  indices and jobs for Africa’s teeming population. The AU through its leadership encourages Europe and Asia to open their borders to allow Africans to emigrate to work in their countries to balance the development equation in the age of globalisation. The door of regular and labour migration even if it is to sweep the street and clear refuse, must be opened wide!
 From human rights perspectives, migration and indeed clandestine movements are inherently risky ventures, because the benefits of a better future are driven by individual desire to seek a better life without looking at the danger and threat to the human person and loved ones. There is no doubt that governments throughout the world now view human trafficking and smuggling as organised crime. Therefore, efforts must be made to sanction perpetrators of such horrendous crimes and governments at national and community levels shouldfocus on the organised networks to forestall recruitment of African youths for the journey of no-return. It is also important that as a people, we should understand the intersections between poverty, illiteracy and vulnerability to irregular movements. The disadvantaged groups are also always prone to criminality.
The AU should pay deeper attention to the root causes of irregular migration, which include violent conflicts, lack of livelihoods in the midst of plenty, loss of land tenure, violation of land rights, barriers to education, poverty, unemployment, human rights abuses particularly socio–economic rights, and the encouragement of an open border regime across the continent to improve trade and investment relations that will drive growth and development.Above all, adequate resources should be allocated to education rather than political opportunism that has characterised the union in the last 50 years. Youth and adult education and vocational training need to be integrated into migration norms and protocols for safe migration within Africa and beyond.
In addition, African leaders should also take a second look at globalisation and its negative impact on African women and girls,most especially with the feminisation of poverty that encourage international illicit sex work and the exploitation of African women in the globalised world. It remains to be seen how many sweeping changes in policy that will influence irregular movements to Lampedusa, the sea of no return!
Orovwuje wrote in from Lagos.