Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, disclosed yesterday that the Federal Government will adopt the carrot-stick approach to curb illegal migration and human trafficking in the country.
He stated this at the Senate Roundtable on Migration and Human Trafficking held in Benin City, capital of Edo State, yesterday.
“I must stress, however, that this is not a blame game. The idea is to collaborate in a responsible manner, to make certain that agencies in Africa, Europe and the wider world are not failing in their duty on this issue.
“Let me make it abundantly clear that Nigeria is willing to collaborate with all countries of the world on irregular migration. With our international partners, we should be able to work out a carrot-and-stick approach that gives our people the incentive to stay on the continent and strive.
“Every human being deserves his or her own place in the sun-and, for many, that place in the sun is here, in Africa–but they have to stay in order to find it,” he said.
Saraki lamented that Nigeria is ranked 23 on the Global Slavery Index of 167 countries and that there is need to put a stop to it.
He commended the federal government for taking the bold step in repatriating Nigerians stranded in Libya
“As you might imagine, the media images have shocked the leadership of this country and, indeed, the whole of Africa; and, it would be irresponsible and a betrayal of the people’s trust if no action is taken to reverse the trend.
“As we have seen, the immediate response of the Nigerian government has been to commence the repatriation of our citizens stranded in countries such as Libya, and many are now back on Nigerian soil. We must commend the initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari, who moved swiftly to come to the aid of citizens marooned in foreign lands, and prioritised their return.
He noted that the roundtable meeting is intended to draw attention to the situation, to give confidence to Nigerians and to let them know that they are troubled and are losing sleep over irregular migration and human trafficking; and are determined, as representatives of the people, to do something about it.
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, said his government has been proactive in dealing with the issues of irregular migration and human trafficking.
He added that the decision to host the delegation was because of the alarming scourge of human trafficking and irregular migration currently experienced in the state.
Obaseki said Edo government considered it as modern day slavery, which is strange to the culture of the people of the state.
The governor expressed optimism that the outcome of the roundtable meeting would be able to stem the ugly tide in the state and in the country at large.
Also, Minister of Defence, Abdulrahman Dambazau, said Edo is not the only state battling with the problem of irregular migration and human trafficking but that Kano State suffers the same fate.
He said migration in itself is not bad as money running into several billions have been remitted to the country by Nigerian migrants, but noted that one major concern is the trans-border criminals who exploit and subject the migrants to horrible experiences.
The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Ketil Karlsen, said in 2017, about 187,000 illegal migrants were registered while Nigeria had 16 percent of those who travelled to Libya.