From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
RARDUJA International, a non governmental organization, has called on Nigerians to reconsider traveling abroad through illegal routes.
RARDUJA International said irregular migration ought not to be, adding that it was wrong for people to travel out of the country using illegal routes.
RARDUJA International made the call during its sensitization programme which held simultaneously yesterday in Churches in Abuja and Owerri.
Speaking at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Overcomers Parish, Gwarimpa, Abuja, the North Central Regional Director of RARDUJA International, Victor Ukwu, said RARDUJA was re-educating Africans on the risks and dangers of unplanned journeys abroad.
According to Ukwu, “It is a mental pandemic that affects many Africans. Many Africans believe that except they travel abroad, they cannot succeed.
“We are here to change that narrative. You must not travel abroad to succeed. There are many Nigerians and many Africans who are here and are succeeding and doing very well.
“Once you begin to have this mindset that unless you leave Nigeria, you will not succeed, that forms the foundation of your failure. And this mindset has driven a lot of our young people into unnecessary adventures, risky adventures on the Mediterranean Sea, in the deserts, trying to cross over to Europe.
“You will agree with me that many of our young people drown in the sea. In 2016 alone, over 600,000 Nigerians crossed the sea to Europe and over 12,000 of them died. And many of them are graduates, young graduates whom if they could deploy what they know and begin to create jobs for themselves, they will live well and be happy in the country. So, that is our mission, to say no, don’t travel irregularly.”
Ukwu further said RARDUJA International was not discouraging people from traveling abroad, but was only saying it should be done in the right way.
He added that with RARDUJA’s little capacity by funding itself and with support from individuals, especially the President and Founder of RARDUJA International, Hon Eddy Duru, his father, Prince Ethelbert Eluchie Duru and support from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, RARDUJA International has done what it could do based on its passion.
“We visited several secondary schools, universities, churches like we are doing today, town hall meetings, we are on radios, we are on televisions sometimes and we have been advancing this course,” Ukwu added.
Ukwu however said in achieving its success, RARDUJA still had a long way to go, even as he said the body was having its dream coming to pass in a short measurement.
“For instance, when we began this work many years ago, each time we visited any school, be it secondary school or university and ask a simple question, how many of you here would love to travel abroad, all hands would just go up at once, nobody ever asked to where, what for, where are we traveling. But after our seminar and we took a second survey, everybody’s hands went down because they have seen reasons why they should not just jump into any journey without having a mission,” Ukwu stated.