Nigerians wishing to relocate abroad have been urged to take the regular route to achieve their dreams.
The call was made by the Acting Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Adepoju Wuraola.
She gave this advice while declaring open the “2023 Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Nationwide Sensitization and Enlightenment Campaign” at the Service headquarters in Abuja on Thursday in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the NIS.
According to her, educating Nigerians about the ills of irregular migration was pertinent, adding that Nigeria was losing too many youths on the illegal routes.
She said:
“The government of Nigeria is against smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons, and we know that education and sensitisation is an effective way of prevention.
“We do not want to continue to lose youths to the dangerous trans-Sahara route and the treacherous Mediterranean Sea in their attempt to seek greener pasture.
“We know that many people want to go abroad seeking greener pastures. It is not bad, but these journeys must be safe, must be orderly, and must be regular.
“We enjoin the public to join hands with us to do everything it takes to create awareness among our youths that there is hope in this country. There is no limit to what you can achieve if you are ready to work hard in this country.”
Also speaking is the Acting Deputy Comptroller General in charge of the Directorate of Migration, Kemi Nandap.
She lamented that many Nigerian youths were losing their lives while trying to seek greener pastures abroad through irregular routes.
Going further, she revealed that data from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) shows that at least 1200 Nigerians have died while trying to migrate through the Sahara desert and Meddeterrarian sea in the year 2023 alone.
She said: “We have a big problem in this country, and that is the issue of ‘Japa syndrome’. We have so many of our youths who are dying in the Sahara, dying in the Mediterranean Sea. They are dying for no cause.”
She consequently urged Nigerians who wish to ‘Japa’ to contact the migration desk in all the NIS state commands for necessary information.
