CURBING IRREGULARMIGRATION THROUGH GOOD GOVERNANCE: AN INTROSPECTION OF NIGERIANS IRREGULAR MIGRATION TO EUROPE

Benjamin W. Yio, PhD

Email-  benjaminyio2012@gmail.com; benjamin.yio@fulokoja.edu.ng

Department of History and International Studies,

Federal University Lokoja,

Kogi State, Nigeria

&

Godwin N.Koko, PhD

Department of Educational Foundations and General Studies,

Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi

Benue State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Since the inception of the Nigerian State in 1914, Nigerian governments past and present have made serious efforts towards implementing policies that will enhance good governance and rapid socio-economic and political development. Despite all these, Nigeria, one of the most promising countries in Africa going by her history has continued to be threatened by challenges such as high level of unemployment, limited access to education and health facilities by many Nigerians, militancy and insurgency of all kinds including Boko Haram in the North Eastern Nigeria, irregular (illegal) migration through the Mediterranean to Europe, herdsmen/farmers conflict among many others. All these are consequences of bad governance.In this paper however, the concern is to see how good governance can be used to stem the tide of massive migration particularly of young Nigerians to Europe through the Mediterranean. At present, many Nigerians are being evacuated back home from Libya through a presidential initiative following recent reports that many Nigerian migrants who are stranded in Libya are being enslaved. As commendable as this might seem, it does not provide a lasting solution to this ugly menace. The contention of this paper is that, good governance is the only way by which the Nigerian state and many other African states can eliminate irregular migration of Africans to Europe. Using the historical method of enquiry where secondary data from relevant books, journals, newspapers and internet sources were critically analysed, the paper submits that it is good governance that can creates jobs, educational and health care facilities, provide peace and stability and hope to the less privileged Nigerians.Thus until and unless good governance becomes the norm in Nigeria, the country will continue to search for solutions to massive irregular migrations of her citizens to Europe and other countries to no avail.

Key words: Migration, Irregular Migration, Good Governance,

Introduction

Migration is a global phenomenon that has been in existence from time immemorial. Both man and animals move from one region or place to another for reasons that are diverse and complex. But generally, it is believed that migrations from one place to another is a function of push and pull factors that abound in the sending or the receiving destinations respectively. In this paper however, we are concerned with massive migration of Nigerians especially in the last one decade to Europe through illegal (irregular) migration channels across North Africa through the Mediterranean. The scope of this paper however terminates in 2019, stopping at the end of President Buhari’s first tenure. This can be seen in most of the data used in the paper particularly on the issue of irregular migrants. When people migrate through regular means by following the legal processes, it does not cause much panic and concern because the process can be easily controlled and properly checked. On the other hand when people choose to move away from their country of origin to other countries of the world through a process that is not open and as well fall short of the legal expectations of the society, it shows that something is fundamentally wrong somewhere. If one listens to testimonies and the ordeals of returnee migrants who have been victims of human traffickers who constitute the illegal social networks of facilitating the movement of migrant from Africa (Nigeria) to Europe illegally, one will realize that something is fundamentally wrong with our governance in Nigeria. If Nigeria and the entire sub-Saharan Africa have got their governance architecture right over the years, the gory stories of thousands of Nigerians and other Africans suffering, and dying in the desert just in an attempt to cross to Europe would not have been as much.

It is against this background that the paper submits that there is every need for Nigeria to examine her governance structure and see how it can be improved upon to change this ugly narrative. Our governance structure across board should be able to give the citizens hope for a better future. Government should be able to deliver good governance to the people in other to raise their hope for a better future. The recent upsurge in the number of Nigerians struggling to leave the shores of this country through irregular means (illegal) is a direct indictment on the part of government for failing to turn things around through sound social –economic reforms. Democracy comes with much freedom but when democratic governance has failed to improve on the lives of the majority of the citizenry, the people can choose to do whatever they want to with their freedom just like many Nigerians have chosen to migrate to Europe to look for a better life irrespective of the consequences involved.

Considering the spate of social crises and the state of disharmony in Nigeria today, there is every need for the government and people of Nigeria to wake up to the greatest challenges threatening the country which is bad governance. Nigerians or rather government can only pretend that things are going on well in the country. Things are very bad such that there is a high level of poverty, unemployment, hunger, diseases, kidnappings, herdsmen-farmers crises, armed banditry, insurgency and many others. The paper therefore point a direction on how governance can be deployed to tackle some of the horrifying social problems bedeviling nigeria . Europe which is the major destination of these migrants has enjoyed good governance across board for several decades and that is why other regions of the world are running there for safety.

Conceptual Clarifications

It is important to clarify some concepts at this point so as to ease there applicability in the discourse as the paper progresses. Three concepts are considered here: Migration, Irregular Migration, and Good Governance.

Migration

Scholars have adopted different approaches in defining migration. However there is a consensus that the term migration refers to the movement of animals, human beings including goods and services within a national political territory and across national political boundaries either by land, air or water. Human migration which is our concern here occurs when people move from one place to another with the intentions of settling permanently or temporary at a new location. The movement is often over long distances and from one country to another. However, internal migration also occurs and it is the dominant form of migration globally. People may migrate as individuals, in family units or in large groups.¹ Migrants could be refugees, displaced persons, uprooted persons or economic migrants who are looking for greener pastures in other regions of the world.

Similarly, Shina B.R.K refers to migration as ubiquitous process of movement of individual or a group of people from one spatial unit or place of residence (known as original place) to another (called destination) defined by any kind of commonly agreed geographical or political or administrative boundary in space and time. The movement between defined origin and destination place is referred to as special or territorial movement. Thus the basic elements involved in migration therefore include: residential change, distance covered, place of origin, types of boundaries crossed, intention of movement and period of stay.²

There are several theories that have attempted to explain why people move from one place to another, but that is not the primary concern of this paper. That notwithstanding, it is an incontrovertible fact that the commonest factors that make people to migrate are classified into the push and pull factors. While the push factors are the unfavorable conditions that push people to leave a particular place, the pull factors are the favorable conditions in the new destination that attract migrants to go there.

Irregular Migration

There are different types of migrations based on some peculiarities. In this paper our interest is however on irregular migration and what is responsible for the alarming rate of irregular migrations from Nigeria to Europe in the last one decade.Irregular migration can be understood as the movement of humans that takes place outside the regulatory norms of the sending, transit and receiving countries. There is no clear or universally accepted definition of irregular migration. From the perspective of destination countries, it is entry, stay or work in a country without the necessary authorization or documents required under immigration regulations. From the perspective of the sending country, the irregularity is for example seen in cases in which a person crosses an international boundary without a valid passport or travel document or does not fulfill the administrative requirements for leaving the country. There is, however, a tendency to restrict the use of the term “illegal migration” to cases of smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons.³

According to the Migration Observatory, irregular migration usually refers to:

The cross-border flow of people who enter a country without that country’s legal permission to do so, in contrast, the term irregular migrants typically refers to the stock of migrants in a country who are not entitled to reside there, either because they have never had a legal residence permit or because they have overstayed their time limited permit^.4

The use of the terms ‘irregular’ migrant and ‘irregular’ migration, is deliberate avoiding the more commonly used ‘illegal’. The most powerful criticism of the term ‘illegal’ is that defining people as ‘illegal’ denies their humanity: a human being cannot be illegal. It can easily be forgotten that migrants are people and they have rights whatever their legal status.⁵ Irregular migration is a very risky venture because it does not always conform to the established legal and regulatory frame work. In many cases, irregular migrants stand the chance of being arrested, detained harassed or even dying in the process of travelling on water or even on land as the case may be. We have heard many stories of boat mishap involving irregular migrants leading to high casualty figures and several other unfortunate incidences of that nature.

Despite all the dangers associated with irregular migration, evidence of large number of Nigerians being evacuated back home from Libya and other transit countries from North  Africa clearly shows that more Nigerians are still willing to leave the shores of this country through irregular means to Europe in search of better life. This is a clear revelation that there is something fundamentally wrong with our country that is why many citizens are risking their lives every day to migrate to Europe through illegal means. This paper has identify bad governance or lack of good governance in Nigeria right from independence to date as being responsible for all the current ills that have befallen the country leading to all sort of social-economic challenges including massive migration through illegal means like human trafficking and other illegal means.

Good Governance

Recently the terms “governance” and “good governance” are being increasingly used in development literature. Bad governance is being increasingly regarded as one of the root causes of all evil within our societies. Major donors and international financial institutions are increasingly basing their aid and loans on the condition that reforms that ensure “good governance” are undertaken⁶. To understand good governance, it is appropriate to know what governance is all about. The concept of “governance” is not new. It is as old as human civilization. Simply put “governance” means: the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). Governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance. Since governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented, an analysis of governance focuses on the formal and informal actors involved in decision-making and implementing the decisions made and the formal and informal structures that have been set in place to arrive at and implement the decisions. Government is one of the actors in governance. Other actors involved in governance vary depending on the level of government that is under discussion⁷

Good governance deals with how those who have the authority of the state make efforts to achieve the goals or the ends of the state – the maintenance of law and order, the provision of welfare for its citizens and the pursuit of national interest in the global arena. Governments therefore exist to achieve these ends. It refers to the process and quality of governance and the role of the civil society and the private sector. Western democracy insists that good governance entails the existence of democratic institution and values. Good governance however depicts an ideal. To work towards this ideal: individuals, groups, corporate entities and government must be guided by certain values, norms or principles in their dealings⁸. Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society⁹. A good governance system is defined by its relationship with the major characteristics or prerequisites of good governance as mentioned above. The extent to which a government aspires to provide good governance is measured by the way it has worked towards meeting up with the prerequisites of good governance.

An Assessment of Political leadership and Governance in Nigeria, 1960-1999

National leadership involves a core elites group which must develop the vision and authority to call the shots, fully cognizant of the risk in taking initiatives. Thus, leadership is a skill- that is the ability that comes from knowledge, practice, and aptitude.¹⁰ According to M. M. Ogbeidi, political leadership refers not only to the government or to the leadership of an organised state, but embraces the totality of the political class that has the capacity to exert influence on the machineries of government even from behind the scene.¹¹ The political elite seek and acquire political power and used it in administering the state. How they used power in governing the state clearly shows whether there is good governance or not. The present socio-economic and political challenges that Nigeria is passing through today clearly confirm the failure of the political leadership in Nigeria to deliver good governance to the people. Many Nigerians believe that from 1960 to date, the greatest problem which has impeded socio economic development in the country is corruption which both the civilian and military leadership in the country have perpetrated against the masses with impunity.

Corroborating this line of argument, Ogbeidi (2012) maintains that:

It is an incontrovertible fact that corruption has been the bane of Nigeria’s development. Thus, without mincing words the phenomenon has ravaged the country and destroyed most of what is held as cherished national values. Unfortunately, the political class saddled with the responsibility of directing the affairs of the country have been the major culprit in perpetrating this act. Regrettably, since independence a notable surviving legacy of the successive political leadership both civilian and military that have managed the affairs of the country at different times has been the institutionalization of corruption in all agencies of the public service, which, like a deadly virus, has subsequently spread to the private sector of the country.¹²

Indeed, it is a paradox that Nigeria, the world’s eighth largest exporter of crude oil, a country endowed with many resources, still has more than 60 percent of its population living below the poverty line as a result of corruption and economic mismanagement. Pathetically, the logic of the Nigerian political leadership class has been that of self-service as some of the leaders are mired in the pursuit of selfish and personal goals at the expense of broader national interests. Consequently, emphasis has been on personal aggrandisement and self-glorification with the result that corruption has become a euphemism for explaining political leadership in Nigeria in relation to the management of national wealth.

Similarly, Okonjo-Iweala, observes that the greatest challenges confronting Nigeria’s development are: managing oil price volatility and fighting corruption. She argues that the inability of many Nigerian leaders to make wise investment choices during increased oil revenue times has actually slowed down the rate of development in the country. For instance, Nigeria received $300,000 billion from oil between 1970 and 2001. In spite of that, her per capita income actually fell from $264 to $256 US dollars over 1970-2001. Infrastructure deteriorated within the same period because of a cutback in public investment forced by unsustainable levels of public indebtedness. In 2001, per capita electric power consumption in Nigeria was only 82 kilowatts (Kw) compared to the low-income country (LIC) average of 317 kw and a huge 3,800 kw in South Africa. In 2003, the infant mortality rate was 101 per 1,000 live births compared to 79 in LICs and 54 in South Africa. Nigerian citizens have actually suffered notwithstanding the oil bonanza. The above experiences of 1970-2001 led Okonjo-Iweala to reason that Nigeria might have been better off without oil. At the very least, the country would have boasted a more diversified economy, less corruption and conflict to the extent these are tied to oil and more jobs because labour- intensive sectors like agriculture and light manufacturing would have stood a better chance of flourishing.¹³

The fact however remains that we cannot wave a magic hand and get rid of the oil and we do not necessary want to. What is important now is for Nigerian leaders and the led to ensure the judicious management of our oil wealth so as to build a diversified economy with jobs for our bourgeoning youth and thereby take our rightful place in the comity of nations. Nigeria cannot continue to live on oil alone. The oil wealth can be used to finance the creation of a diversified economy through suitable public investments in human capital and infrastructure.¹⁴

Whatever one can say about the socio-economic development of Nigeria from 1960 to date, across both military and civilian regimes, the common denominator is that, bad governance has been the bane of Nigeria’s development. The poor governance has been largely due to corruption, political ineptitude and naivety. Beginning with the First Republic in 1960 under the leadership of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister, and Nnamdi Azikiwe, the President, it is evident that though the Prime Minister himself and the President may not have been seen to be corrupt, their lieutenants were very corrupt. Some also accused Balewa of political ineptitude which gave room to the looting of public fund by some of his appointees without appropriate sanctions¹⁵.All these and many more led to the collapse of the First Republic in January 1966.

Following the collapse of the first Republic, the military took over the governance of the country under the leadership of General Aguiyi Ironsi, the first Nigeria Military Head of State. Unfortunately, before Ironsi could settle down to work, his government was toppled in a bloody coup that took his life and he was succeeded by General Yakubu Gowon. However, reports from some commissions of inquiry instituted by Ironsi to look into the affairs of the First Republic had revealed widespread corruption in some government Parastatals like Nigeria Railway Corporation, Nigeria Ports Authority, Electricity Corporation of Nigeria among others in different ministries. It is noted that the zeal to punish the wrong doers of the first Republic died with the July coup of 1966 that brought Gowon into power because all politicians who were detained by Ironsi over corrupt charges were released by Gowon.¹⁶

General Yakubu Gowon ruled the country at a time Nigeria experienced an unprecedented wealth from the oil boom of the 1970s. Unfortunately, Gowon was not able to use this golden opportunity of massive windfall from the oil money to build a solid foundation for the future industrialization of the country. Although he successfully executed the civil war and the post war peace building programmes, his government was later accused of massive corruption by his appointees and political ineptitude on the part of Gowon himself leading to the overthrow of his regime in 1975 by General Murtala Muhammed. The 1975 coup among other things was an attempt to check corruption in the public service. Many military officers and civilians who were found guilty of corruption were punished by the Murtala administration.¹⁷General Murtala’s administration was however short lived as he was assassinated after only six months in office. He was succeeded by his Chief of Staff, General Olusegun Obasanjo, who was not as radical as his predecessor in moving Nigeria forward as well as fighting corruption. Obasanjo however ensured that the reins of government were transferred to civilians in October, 1979.

The Second Republic under President Shehu Shagari was ushered in on 1^st October, 1979. The administration did its best in advancing the frontiers of Nigeria’s development. However, it became very glaring to many Nigerians before the 1983 general elections that president Shehu Shagari’s calm political posture in power had given many of his appointees the leverage to appropriate government resources for personal use causing wide spread corruption in his administration. Although Shagari himself was not found to be corrupt he was accused of being too weak in the administration of the country and his government was guilty of corruption and failure to deliver on most of their electoral promises.¹⁸ These and several other factors led to the collapse of the second Republic in 1983 by a military coup which brought General Muhammadu Buhari to power in 1984.  

The 31^st December 1983 coup which brought Muhammadu Buhari into Power was aimed at rescuing the Nigeria economy from the grip of corrupt politicians of the Second Republic who were taking advantage of the President Shagari calm posture on power to milk Nigeria dry. With the emergence of Buhari as head of state, many Second Republic politicians were tried by tribunals and those found guilty were jailed. The regime was so determined in fighting corruption and restoring discipline into the citizen’s public and private lives such that it scarcely showed respect for human rights. This regime was however toppled by the General Ibrahim Babangida led bloodless military coup on 27^th August, 1985.

The General Babangida regime which stayed long in power from 1985 to 1993 had the best opportunities to reposition Nigeria on the path of socio-economic development but unfortunately, it was not able to do so after being in power for about 8 years. The administration established many agencies to help in the implementation of some of its policies while it was in power. The Babangida administration however, failed to manage the nation’s economy very well as seen in his poor handling of the IMF loan, lack of transparency in accounting for the proceeds of the sale of extra crude oil during the 1990/1991 Gulf war, low investment in infrastructural development like power despite available resources among others. The regime was characterized by massive corruption and deceit which came to the climax by the annulment of the June 12 general election presumed to have been won by the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola.¹⁹

In the face of intense opposition to his rule, General Babangida reluctantly handed over power to an Interim National Government led by Chief Earnest Shonekan on 26 August, 1993 which was later ousted from power by the military led by General Sani Abacha on 17^th November, 1993. The Abacha regime continued to face a lot of opposition from both Nigerians and international community compelling the government to resort to intimidation and harassment of dissenting voices leading to unusual tension in the country. The regime was known for excessive corruption that almost brought the Nigeria economy down. The Abacha regime abruptly came to an end following his death in June, 1998. He was succeeded by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, who subsequently handed over power to a democratically elected government on May, 1999.²⁰

It can therefore be argued that from 1960 to 1999, Nigeria was governed by almost ten different leaders both civilian and military. However, the brief analysis of those leaders as presented above has shown that majority of those leaders that came on board were not sagacious, radical, prudent and transformational and selfless enough to bring about massive positive changes that will turn the developmental fortunes of the country around. On the other hand it may look as if the Nigerian corrupt system had also fought against those leaders that came with the determination and the zeal to change the country for better at all cost. Two examples come to mind here: the fall of the Murtala Mahammed and Muhammadu Buhari regimes, the two who were bent on stamping out corruption and instilling discipline among Nigerians. Thus the complex socio-political and economic milieu of the Nigerian state has to a large extent also contributed to the challenges of good governance in the country.

Governance in Nigeria since 1999 to 2019 and the unprecedented increase in the number of Irregular Migrants from Nigeria to Europe

As earlier stated above, bad governance is being increasingly regarded as one of the root causes of all evil within our societies. Major donors and international financial institutions are increasingly basing their aid and loans on the condition that reforms that ensure “good governance” are undertaken. Therefore if there is a consistent increment in the number of Nigerians migrating to Europe on daily bases despite the risks associated with this adventure, it clearly shows that our governance system is fundamentally defective and needs very serious interrogations. Before we continue with the analysis of governance in Nigeria since 1999, it is imperative to identify the key drivers of the current irregular migration of Nigerians to Europe.

A research survey conducted by the Netherlands government in conjunction with the International Organisation for Migration (IMO) published in 2018 has identified key drivers influencing the migration of many Nigerians to Europe. The report reveals that:

In the six months prior to departure, Nigerians mostly faced economic challenges (e.g. lack of sufficient income and livelihood opportunities, unemployment, financial problems and debts) at the personal, household, and community levels. Security problems are also reported, though to a lesser extent.²¹

The report also identified some specific events that trigger Nigerians to migrate to Europe which include a combination of economic triggers (e.g. lack or loss of employment, job offer in Europe) and influence from their social circles (e.g. hearing from a family or friend that life in Europe is good, friends asking to join in their migration family wanting them to migrate) and to lesser extent security.²²

Similarly, in recent years, the irregular migration from Africa to Europe has been seen by scholars like Marie-Laurence Flahaux and Hein De Haas as an exodus of desperate Africans fleeing poverty at home in search of the European ‘El Dorado’. Millions of Africans (including Nigerians) are believed to be waiting to cross to Europe at the first opportunity. The three assumptions underlying such argument are that African migration is: high and increasing; mainly directed towards Europe; and driven by poverty and violence²³.The above scenarios have given us the insights that certainly, the failure of African government (in this case Nigerian government) to deliver good governance to their citizen is responsible for the recent upsurge in African- European irregular migration. The case of Nigeria is quite pathetic especially considering our population size as well as the magnitude of the failure of our government to deliver on their policy objectives largely due to endemic corruption which has caused the country avoidable stagnations despite her enormous human and material resources.

Having established the major drivers of the current migration trends of Nigerians to Europe through illegal channels, it is proper to briefly look at the performance of the democratic governance in Nigeria from 1999 to 2019 to enable us determine the relationship in terms of cause and effect between the two. The failure of the political class to deliver good governance to Nigerians over the decades especially since the return of democratic governance in 1999 has made many citizens disenchanted with the Nigerian state. As noted by Ezekwesili:

It is imperative to understand good governance not only as a means to enhance existing approaches to development and poverty reduction in Nigeria but also as a vision of development itself. Thus there is a lot of growing theoretical and empirical work focusing on how the quality of governance contributes to improving development effectiveness in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction, strengthening state legitimacy and managing state fragility and   instability.²⁴

Considering the huge population that Nigeria has,  it is very clear  that good governance, if embraced by our leaders will go a long way in leading to the rapid growth of our economy whereby more jobs will be created through industrial development which in turn will reduce poverty and enable more people to have access to western education. This will reduce unemployment, ignorant, illiteracy and poverty in the country. Unfortunately, since the return to democratic rule in Nigeria in 1999, it appears the country is yet to witness good and selfless governance, the type that has taken many other countries in the world to a height that Nigeria is still struggling to attain

To some radical Nigerians like Eze Onyekpere, what we have experienced in Nigeria since 1999 is not democracy but autocratic civil rule. It has been nothing other than the rule by godfathers, mobsters and former unrepentant dictators. He maintains that Nigeria is not in a democracy because democracy is about human rights and development. Though there is little improvement in the area of human rights now compared to the military era, we are not yet there as we have moved a step forward and then a step backward. In the area of development, the ranking of Nigeria in almost all key human development indexes is very low despite two decades into democratic governance. These clearly show that Nigerians are yet to start harvesting the real benefits of democratic governance as it is obtainable elsewhere.²⁵

Since the return of democratic governance in Nigeria in 1999, the Peoples Democratic Party had its chances for 16 years to set Nigeria firmly on the path of progress and development. However, what they did after eight years of Obasanjo in power set the country on the path of transformation but events after Obasanjo’s government did not sustain this momentum for a long time. . Obasanjo was a man who had the opportunity first between 1976 and 1979 and secondly for eight years between 1999 and 2007 to change the history of Nigeria and he did his best to bring a new Nigeria into existence particularly during his civilian era. It is admitted that Obasanjo introduced some reforms, but his overall score was not good enough. He delivered so little with so many opportunities to excel and change the Nigerian landscape.²⁶. The late Umaru Yar’ Adua who succeeded President Obasanjo did not rule long for Nigerians to properly assess his style of governance.

President Goodluck Jonathan who succeeded Yar Adua came with much hope especially considering his celebrated academic qualification. His amiable personality and the fact that he comes from a minority group all made him look very promising. Unfortunately, the lethargic comportment of the PDP also enveloped him as he could not control the corruption, other excesses and the mischief from his party and they ended up crashing the goodwill of the party on the altar of the All Progressives Congress at the 2015 general elections.

The emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari as the elected President of Nigeria was welcomed by many including some prominent world leaders. This was against the fact that he was seen by many as an anti-corruption crusader and a man of high integrity especially reflecting on his policies when he first came to power between1984-85. Incidentally, we have been on the APC change agenda for more than four years but the more things change, the more they remain the same. Indeed in many sectors, there has been retrogression. Nigerians wanted change and they got it but not in the direction we wanted. The APC leadership is not coming forward with any new ideas of governance. They are simply using the old ideas of the PDP with little or no polish but implementing them at times in a very crude manner.²⁷

Following the failure of the successive democratic government in Nigeria from 1999 to date to impact positively on the lives of many Nigerians, some overzealous Nigerians have lost hope in the future of this country to ever get better. Things have actually got worst in this country from 2015 to date since the present government came to power due to their poor handling of economy which put us into a recession in 2015-2016. The lack of vision and slow style of governance introduced by the present administration has impacted directly on the people as more and more irregular migrants have continued to leave the shores of Nigeria leading to a trigger of the returnees’ process due to an overwhelming pressure on the destination countries. Thus it important to note that:

Nigeria was for two years in a row the main nationality of those who arrived in Italy by sea with 36, 352 arrivals in 2016 and 18,158 in 2017. Since April 2017, IOM, the UN Migration Agency in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria has assisted over 8,000 stranded Nigerian migrants to return home from transit and destination countries along the Mediterranean irregular migratory route. Of the total number, over 7,000 returned from Libyan detention centres and urban areas while 750 were from neighbouring countries, mainly Niger and Mali.²⁸

The unprecedented number of irregular Nigerian migrants that entered Europe in 2016 and 2017 was in direct response to the increasing level of poverty, frustration and of course insecurity that was prevailing in the country. This was what made the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa- EUTF-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant to collaborate with the Nigerian government to fast tract the process of returning these irregular migrants back home and rehabilitating them to start new lives. As at February 2019, over 40 thousand Nigerians had been successfully returned back to the country since 2015 through EUTF-IOM joint collaboration with the Nigerian government.

To further buttress the point that worsening conditions of living in Nigeria due to bad governance are directly impacting on the volume of irregular migration flows from the country, in 2018, it was revealed that Nigeria has overtaken India as the country with the largest number of people living in extreme poverty, with estimated 87 million Nigerians, or around half of the country’s population thought to be living on less than 1.90 USD a day.²⁹Also the FAO report on Nigeria titled: FAO Warning on Food Security in Nigeria 2018; Hunger is ravaging Nigeria reveals that the Nigeria’s efforts to achieve zero hunger by 2030 are being seriously undermined by climate change, farmers-herdsmen and ethno-religious conflict plaguing the country. It is not that Nigeria cannot feed its citizens, but because of poor coordination, reliance on oil income and misplacement of priorities. This is why the FAO lists Nigeria as “one of the 37 countries in the world in need of external food assistance.³⁰

Similarly, the UN on April 4, 2019 said that no fewer than 113 million people experienced high levels of food insecurity in the world’s most severe food crises in 2018. The Global Report on Food Crisis 2019 has found some of them in Nigeria and seven other countries. The Report warned that these food crises were primarily driven by conflict and climate-related disasters. The Report further adds that the worst food crises in 2018 in order of severity were: Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Sudan, South Sudan, and Northern Nigeria.³¹

Furthermore, it is not an exaggeration to argue that current high wave of insecurity going on in Nigeria today is seriously compounding the problem of irregular migrations from Nigeria to Europe every day. For instance, while a presidential task force in conjunction with the EUTH-IOM are bringing several Nigerian irregular migrants back home in large numbers, the high level of insecurity in the country occasioned by farmers- herdsmen conflict, Boko Haram, armed banditry, kidnapping among others is putting more fears in the minds of many Nigerians and causing some of them to leave the country through illegal means. This is a very serious issue and we challenge the Nigerian government to rise to the occasion of arresting all these menace if the battle to stamp out irregular migrations of Nigerians to Europe is to be worn.All the scenarios narrated above here constitute the major push factors that make the Nigerian youths to leave the shores of this country thinking that the country is bad beyond redemption.

The way forward

It has already been established in this paper that the main cause of massive migration of Nigerians to Europe across the Mediterranean through illegal means over the years is lack of sustainable good governance in the country since independence. The major factors responsible for this are widespread corruption and mediocrity in our governance system. Therefore, to arrest the current wave of irregular migrations from Nigeria to other countries of the world, the country must embrace good governance and also improve on our leadership recruitment process by making conscious efforts to put the right people into the right positions.

Fortunate enough, Nigeria is under democratic governance and in a democracy; the people have more choices to make towards contributing to how they are governed. Irrespective of the shortcomings of our democratic process, many people have won and lost elections in this country based on the assessment of the electorates on their performances and strength of character. It is true that sometimes the politicians manipulate the internal structures of the various political platforms to present to us a fait accompli of  unpopular candidates, it is also the duty of men of good conscience in this country to also aspire to be part of the decision making process of some political platforms to try and sanitise the process.

It is very imperative for Nigerians to note that good governance is not earned on a platter of gold. It is something that the citizens consciously demand for and it is given to them under a democratic government. Most of the Western countries that Nigerians are migrating to for greener pastures today have fought for good governance before they have earned it several decades ago. It is the duty of all concerned Nigerians to get involved in the current democatisation process in the country by moblilising and voting out incompetent leaders during elections or by demanding for changes in bad government policies through mass public protest even before elections as it is done in other climes.

Nigerian youth that are bent on leaving the shores of this country for greener pastures elsewhere should realize that they owe the younger generation a duty to stay back home and unite towards making Nigeria as good as those foreign countries where they are illegally migrating to. It is better for us to stand firm and confront our problems now to surmount them at this moment. The earlier we do this the better it shall be for our future. The Nigerian youth are therefore challenged by this paper to wake up and get involved massively in the governance process across all the country. This must be done with a good sense of character and direction in order to bring about the desired result but not get carried away by the politics of money, violence and ethnicity among others.

Most importantly, the government of the day owes Nigerians a duty to govern properly having elected it into power by majority of Nigerians. It is unfortunate that the present administration in the country seems not to be aware that many Nigerians are looking up to it for solutions to the numerous problems affecting the nation. For instance, how can you explain the protracted herdsmen/farmers crises in the country which has metamorphosed into arm banditry and kidnapping without any serious efforts by government toward nipping it in the bud? Or how can one comprehend the composition of a federal executive council where by the appointment of technocrats to man key government ministries and agencies is sacrificed on the altar of political expediency by appointing only political heavyweights as if it is a campaign committee?  The slow pace of decision making process of government at times is such that will make one wonder if they have all the time in the world to govern this country. All these and many more are negatively affecting the capacity of government to deliver in the measure that will fast tract development in the country. It is therefore incumbent on government to act faster and proffer solutions to the numerous socio-political and economic challenges bedeviling this country before things will get out of control.

Conclusion

Good governance deals with how those who have the authority of the state make efforts to achieve the goals or the ends of the state – the maintenance of law and order, the provision of welfare for its citizens and the pursuit of national interest in the global arena. When governance is delivered selflessly, transparently and in accountable manner, it impacts positively on the progress and development of the society. This is what has happened in Europe and many other developed countries of the world over the decades that has given the comfort and happiness they are enjoying today. Therefore there is no better alternative to good governance in tackling the numerous problems holding us back in Nigeria. The main issue discussed in the paper which is how to arrest or stop irregular migrations of Nigerians to Europe can only be solved through sustainable good governance in the country. To achieve this both the government and the governed must be more sincere and patriotic in eschewing corruption and mediocrity in our governance structure across board. While the government is expected to act better and faster in proffering solutions to the complex problems affecting the country, the masses are also expected not to be docile in ensuring that the government is delivering on its promises in a measure that is commensurate with the resources at their disposal. Nigerians must however be reminded that good governance does not come from heaven but it is demanded for and earned by the citizens, therefore Nigerians should be ready to demand for good governance from their leaders.

Endnotes

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