In light of the escalating rate of Nigerians, particularly the youth, leaving the country, driven by severe economic challenges and a high poverty rate, the Denny Social Welfare Hub (DSWHUB) launched the Information Empowerment against Irregular Migration and Human Trafficking (I-EMPATHY) campaign. South West Editor, JOHN SILAS reports.
Denny Social Welfare Hub (DSWHUB) has launched the Information Empowerment against Irregular Migration and Human Trafficking (I-EMPATHY) campaign.
At the launch which took place at the Oniroko’s Palace, Abule-Iroko, Ogun State, on Saturday, November 18, 2023, it was made clear that the initiative was a pivotal component of The Migrant Project, dedicated to providing crucial information, raising awareness, and addressing underlying factors contributing to irregular migration and human trafficking, particularly affecting vulnerable women.
The campaign was aimed at amplifying women’s voices in migration decision-making, promoting safer choices, and fostering informed decision-making among potential migrants.
Notable attendees at the empowerment program included His Royal Majesty Oba (ARO) Olusegun Ayinde Feyijimi Iroko Oniroko of Iroko land from Ogun State and the Assistant Controller of Immigration (ACI) Boniface Edet, representing A.A. Adesokan of Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja.
Oba Olusegun, in his address, highlighted the economic and security challenges driving the “Japa Syndrome” and emphasized the need for the government to prioritize improving the country’s security and economy to discourage irregular migration. “People are traveling because the economy is bad, the security is bad and so people want a better place, that’s why people are traveling and people are looking for easy way to move out of the country, the process of getting visa is long and they want it fast, fast.
“What the government should do first, is that our country should be made good, if the country is good, nobody will want to travel. The government should try and make the country a better place for all of us by working on our security and then the economy of the country,” Oba Ayinde stated”.
Addressing the multitude of factors contributing to irregular migration, Boniface Edet, representing A.A. Adesokan of Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, emphasized the dangers of deceptive practices, fake documents, and unauthorized route
s. He stressed the importance of sensitizing parents about the risks involved, advocating for legal and documented travel.
Edet outlined the need for proper documentation, including passports, employment letters, parental consent, and information about the destination, ensuring the safety and legitimacy of the migration process. “We realized that our children are taken away for one thing or the other, promising them in oversea that are not in existence. We realized equally that parents are deceived in giving out their children to people that they don’t understand and when they don’t know where they are going to and what they are going to do. We realized that they have fake documents, some passed through unauthorized route to desert from Nigeria to outside world and God knows what is awaiting them. We are at the gateway of Nigeria; we are the first and the last. Immigration is the first seeing people coming into the country and the last seeing off the country. We realized that we received so many Nigerian coming back, some from Libya, many from Egypt and we realized that they are traumatized in one way or the other. Some cannot even talk, our girls, some of them come back with pregnancies, some die at the desert; we receive information here,” he stated.
Edet maintained that no one said is hindered from travelling, but they should do so legitimately. “We are not saying you should not travel but traveled the right way. You have your passport, the right document, we expect that if you’re going to work in abroad, and what do we do, we need to have your value rightful documents before you go to the airport and when we have the documents, we see the employment letter that is written, we need to have parental consent that you as the parents authorized them to go even when they deceived you we know how to get it, we need to have the company of the address you’re going to work, we will check the embassy aboard and high commission,” Mr. Edet stated”.
Furthermore, the Executive Director, Denny Social Welfare Hub, Abosede Mary-Otukpe, highlighted the active role families play in migration decisions, particularly concerning Nigerian female migrants. She said the empowerment program was aimed at informing women about the right way to migrate and the dangers associated with alternative methods. Mary-Otukpe urged Nigerians to pursue legal and documented migration, emphasizing the significance of learning the language of the destination country.
As part of the effort to curb illegal migration facilitated by Denny Social Welfare Hub led by the Executive Director Mrs Mary Abosede Otukpe and her management team engaged Abule Iroko residents and parents under Ado-Odo Ota local government area of Ogun state on an exclusive interactive conference centered on barriers and challenges facing illegal migrant and Human Trafficking with the hashtag I-EMPATHY for Safe Migration, Amplifying women’s Voice and End-human-trafficking.
The initiative emphasizes the importance of Nigerians making informed decisions, choosing legal and documented paths for migration. The Assistant Controller of Immigration reiterated the crucial role migration officers play in safeguarding lives, urging all Nigerians leaving the country to adhere to the correct procedures and channels.
