By Rotimi Bello
Recently, I watched a recorded video of Human Right Radio programme on “Youtube” in which a young man and a lady narrated how they advertently joined the bandwagon of migrants to Libya in search of a greener pasture. I was touched by their candid narration of how eight of them died of thirsty out of sixteen people in the desert when the pick-up van that conveyed them suddenly broke down. They painted a frightening scenario of how the remnants survive by drinking their urine to survive the harsh weather when their water finished just half-way to the journey in the Sahara. The most horrifying aspect of the story was how the narrator and three other people survived the rubber boat loaded with almost three hundred people capsized on the Mediterranean Sea.
It is amazing that out of desperation to better their lot in life, many youths have ignorantly mortgaged their lives by embarking on dangerous adventures of crossing the desert (a barren area of land or desolate terrain) by road. Sahara Desert is the most dangerous and hottest place in the world. It has little or no water or vegetation. The humidity is relatively low compared to other places in the world. The journey across the desert is like journey to hell. Many young men and women perished due to extremely harsh weather occasioned by long sunshine duration. Those who narrowly managed to reach Libya have ended up of being enslaved by the Libyans human predators; trafficker cartels who kidnapped and caged many illegal imigrants in exchange for ransom from their families or being sold into slavery to mostly Arabs farmers from North Africa who then engaged and utilised the women among them as sex toys and men as prison bitches and farm niggers to be used and disposed willy-nilly.
I am perturbed and furious that in our very continent, Africans have been enslaved by the Africans. What an irony of history! History is abounding with chronicle of slavery and slave activities in Africa. Out of greed to make money, to get imported dry gin, mirror, Dane gun, ornaments and other materials that the slavers, imperialists and colonialists dangled to arrest the attention of our progenitors. The ignorant people/leader consciously sold and traded the able-bodied men and women into slavery for petty pecuniary gains, not minding that human values are incomparable to all these ancillary material exchanges, for these, millions of black Africans were coerced and ferried away in their prime. Till now, the spectre of slavery is still haunting Africa more than two hundred years after the abolition of slavery.
As far back as 14th and 15th centuries, prior to the voyage of Christopher Columbus which opened the flood gate of opportunities to the Europeans, the world was said to have developed at equal level. The great voyage and the aftermath discovery hereafter served as catalyst that permanently disoriented Africans pride and prejudice. In the early part of the 16th century, most black African rulers ignorantly sold their citizens into slavery for infinitesimal pot of porridge and crumbs from white traders. The African-Americans are the historical errors of our progenitor which could not be obliterated. The traumatic experience, overt contemptuous attitude and the permanent irredeemable identity of been tagged as the progeny of slaves and the attendant ill treatment, insult and debasement which has not abated since could be better imagined. Most African-American deliberately found solace in relocating from the U.S to few secured African countries like Ghana and Senegal which offer them the needed freedom, haven and contentment more than the U.S where irredentist white supremacist reigned.
It is quite disheartening to have observed that in this century the youths, who are the custodians of the future are downright involved in suicidal migration to Europe en route Libya. A number of these migrants are Nigerians per the fact and figures made available by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Many of these migrants ignorantly end up in the unfathomable sea depth instead of Europe, their ultimate destination. Those who narrowly escaped death by whisker on the Mediterranean Sea understood the import of life more than the enslaved because they were at the point of losing their precious lives in a jiffy and everything they aspire to acquire. Those Africans who were rescued on the high sea to Europe were viewed with supreme contempt by the Europeans and most of them end up in a refuge island or prison camp.
At this juncture, Africa rulers need to wake up from their slumber to face the reality of an imminent catastrophe which is self-inflicted, owing to leadership policy inconsistency, flagrant displayed of ill-gotten wealth, primitive accumulation of peoples commonwealth and lack of vision for empowerment and development. It is noted that out of desperation to live a better live, millions of African youths will not hesitate to be taken to Europe and North America voluntarily as slaves or second-class citizens in as much as basic sustenance of life are ably guaranteed. Life is too cheap in Africa. In this century, people are dying of malaria related diseases because of poverty and lack of affordable healthcare facilities. Many youths took to crime because of joblessness and lack of social support from the government. The strong aspiration and determination to survive and improve their quality of life blindfolded many youths to embark on this dangerous journey that has claimed more lives than any voyage embarked on in the human history.
Metaphorically, the quick response, intervention and prompt rescue effort of this administration in evacuating the stranded teeming youths from Libya to Nigeria was commendable and universally appraised. However, much still need to be done to ameliorate the condition of these returnee migrants to dissuade them and other intending citizens from such itinerancy. Sustainable jingles and advert should be put in place in different Nigerian languages to discourage our teeming youth and women from joining the bandwagon of adventurous migration that is inimical to their existence and survival. Skills acquisition development programme should be instituted by the Local, States and Federal governments to empower and engage the youths to bring out the ingenuity in them, knowing that poverty is the mother of crime and vices. Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) should be domesticated and adequately funded in all nooks and crannies of the country to stimulate internal economic growth and discourage undesirable migratory habits and lifestyle fads vastly gaining momentum because of poverty. Finally, an enlightened campaign should be put in place to sensitise the citizens about the great risk associated with such voyage and discourage them from baiting this degrading and atavistic option of crossing the Mediterranean Sea with boat.
Part of the risk involves according to IOM is economic risks which make migrants to be at risk of destitution once their travel money dries up and they do not find a job in places of transit. Another is social risks which are relatedly connected with lack of money to access basic services like accommodation and healthcare needs. Lack of permits or visas to legally stay in the transit or destination countries make many migrants risk arrest and detention with poor or no access to justice. The list of risks is endless. The Africans, nay, Nigeria youths need to be positively enlightened and educated to jettison the idea of migrating to Europe through the unsafe route of crossing the wide and dangerous Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea with an inflatable boat.
Rotimi S. Bello writes from Abuja via rotimibello[email protected]