A few days ago, I saw online the photo of a young man who wanted to escape to another country illegally through the wing of an airplane.
In English terms, such is called a stowaway. I read the story on social media and the familiar comments that followed with deep thoughts.
Such a journey is risky and the chances of survival are too low for one to even think about it.
The big question many people seem to run away from isn’t about the act of the stowaway, but the reason why we keep seeing people running away from the continent (Africa) to other parts of the world by all means.
A few years ago, I almost made that risky journey by road from Nigeria to Agadez to Libya, through the harsh Sahara Desert to the Mediterranean sea to Europe.
It was one journey I had prepared myself for until I gave up at the last minute. I knew the risk involved, and I was ready to pay the price because, in the end, we will all die.
The choice to die in Nigeria or any other place is left in your hands. My friend and I had saved some amount of money to begin our journey until I called it off in the die-minute.
He is in Italy now enjoying himself with his family, but I gave it all to grace. I had done a lot of researches about the journey online, and read stories to prepare myself for the worst.
Many Nigerians don’t leave their country for fun or tourism sake, but for survival. The zeal to survive is too strong.
I think we should tackle the primary reason while we keep getting a lot of stowaways in Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan countries, home isn’t good. Many have lost hope in their country.
No job, no basic need to survive, low hope of survival. The option left is any available greenlight, but not all lights are really green.
Illegal movement of citizens fighting their ways to Europe through the Sahara Desert, stowaways by airplane, ships, etc aren’t going to end unless we make home a better place.
No level of sensitisation is going to stop it unless home becomes a place of hope and solace. How many times do you hear of stowaways from America, Europe, Asia, coming to Africa? Things aren’t perfect over there, but they’ve created a system of hope and decency within their territory, but here in Africa the case is different.
For every story of stowaways, illegal migration to Europe through the land, human trafficking, etc, the leaders of such countries should see it as a slap on their faces. It bones of it all are failed leadership and loss of hope in one’s country.
I hope things will be better in the future for Nigerians and Africans.
