The UN has said there are millions of migrants across the world. File picture: Ben Stansall/AFP
By Edmund Terem Ugar
During a recent lunchtime lecture series organised by the South Africa-United Kingdom bilateral chair at the University of the Witwatersrand Humanities Graduate Centre in August, Professor Benard Matolino, an expert in African Philosophy, in his talk entitled "Mis-governance in Africa: A crime against humanity," strongly asserted that the prevailing pattern of current African migration amounts to a crime against Africans. Matolino posits that the extensive movement of Africans within the continent and towards more prosperous regions like the Global North and certain developed nations in the Global South is a direct consequence of Africa’s profound socio-economic and political failures.
Matolino contends that the incapability of many African states has reduced the aspirations of ordinary Africans to mere survival, pushing them to seek alternatives elsewhere. Matolino provocatively argues that this frantic search for survival outside of the continent’s dire circumstances should be categorised as a crime perpetuated by African leaders against ordinary citizens. He draws parallels between the present situation and past historical atrocities, such as slavery, apartheid, and genocide, which dehumanised individuals and stripped them of their dignity. In this case, Matolino implicates the African political elite for institutionalising poverty, suffering, and adversity, ultimately compelling ordinary Africans to seek survival beyond their homelands. This article resonates with Matolino’s assertion, underscoring its validity through an analysis of the substantial wave of migrants originating from Nigeria. To better contextualise my position, I first present a concise overview of migration.
To provide a clear definition of migration, it is a prerequisite that I clearly state here that migration is multifaceted in the sense that people migrate for various reasons. However, in this particular article, I am concerned with the current tumultuous wave of migration from Nigeria, which is a result of the daunting socio-economic situation in the country, characterised by poverty and high cost of living. In short, I am concerned with force migration, but not the force migration that is propelled by wars and conflicts but by poverty and starvation.
The UN delineates migration as the relocation of individuals from one place to another in pursuit of an environment conducive to living and working. People migrate due to a spectrum of factors encompassing economic, political, social, and cultural motivations. According to UN data, the number of migrants stood at 244 million in 2015 and rose to 281 million by 2020. While international migration has become a global phenomenon, historical trends depict migrations as a dominant trend of Europeans between 1,600 and 2,000, particularly Europeans moving within their colonial territories driven by political and economic rationales.
Economic migration has recently gained significant scholarly attention due to the substantial number of individuals migrating for economic reasons. These economic migrants traverse borders, carrying their skills and expertise to pursue employment opportunities in foreign nations. For instance, in 2019, the UN registered a total of 169 million migrant workers distributed across various continents. Nonetheless, the surge of African migrants towards the Global North has triggered alarm due to the perilous journeys many undertake, risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.
According to the World Migration Report, migration has long been ingrained in the African narrative, as the continent has historically witnessed a mobile population. However, over the last two decades, Africans have been deliberately leaving their homelands in search of survival due to the deteriorating conditions prevalent in their respective countries. For instance, the attempted voyage of 1.8 million Africans between 2014 to 2018 to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea resulted in an estimated 17,000 fatalities.
It’s crucial to clarify that African migrants constitute a minority within the global migrant population, accounting for only 14% of the global migration population, followed by Europe with 24% and Asia, the highest with 41%. However, my focus remains on comprehending the underlying motivations driving African migration, especially from Nigeria and Zimbabwe, in the current social milieu, which often assumes an undignified and desperate form. Moreover, it’s evident that African migration is laden with pain, suffering, and despair. Some of the African migrants seek refuge outside their continent, often disregarding the potential consequences awaiting them in their chosen destinations. At the moment, intuitively, one can argue that some migrants, especially from Nigeria and Zimbabwe, are more concerned with escaping the hardships of their home countries than the challenges they might encounter abroad.
Consequently, some are willing to risk illegal entry into foreign countries, particularly those who remain within the African continent.
In a report dated August 10, CNN disclosed the discovery of four Nigerians found hidden beneath a cargo vessel travelling from Nigeria. They were unaware of its destination, believing it was headed for Europe when, in reality, it was travelling to Brazil. These men endured 14 days in appalling conditions in the Atlantic Ocean, driven by their desperate bid to escape the poverty, suffering, and adversity prevailing in Nigeria. This narrative, though distressing, mirrors the aspirations of numerous Nigerians today.
The term "Japa," signifying escape or flight, has gained traction in Nigerian migration discourse and is frequently used, particularly among the youth, to express their desire to flee the country.
Foreign embassies in Nigeria, especially Canadian, the UK, the US, and Australia, continuously witness an inundation of visa applications from Nigerians seeking to escape their homeland.
In 2022, Nigerians constituted the largest immigrant group in the UK and represented a significant portion of the growing stream of African migrants. The impetus behind this massive migration from Nigeria is the widespread suffering, hardship, and economic distress plaguing the nation. Nigeria, despite being an oil-producing nation, contends with an unbearable cost of living that strains the resources of its citizens. With petrol prices hovering around N600–700 (almost a dollar) per litre, this reality is exacerbated by a minimum wage of N30,000 per month. Basic necessities like groceries have experienced massive price hikes in the span of three months. The Nigerian currency’s alarming depreciation equates to $1/N784.50, which renders the monthly earnings of many households at $39 per month.
The present suffering and hardship experienced by Nigerians, which have fueled the exodus, cannot be immediately attributed to a crime committed by their political leaders. This is because the newly elected government could assert that they are attempting to rebuild the economy after inheriting a legacy of misguided policies, such as fuel subsidies. The administration could argue that their initial months in power involved tough economic decisions aimed at propelling the nation towards growth. One such decision was the elimination of fuel subsidies. However, on closer examination, the ongoing plight of Nigerians can indeed be regarded as a severe and hellish crime against Nigerian citizens. This is because those bearing the brunt of these hardships are everyday citizens.
For example, during a televised session of the Nigerian Senate, the Senate President was observed discussing financial arrangements to ensure the holiday enjoyment of the legislatures.
Furthermore, this same legislative body triviliases the suffering of ordinary Nigerians during their deliberations while also seeking an exorbitant N70 billion for furniture allowances in a nation where the average citizen struggles to secure a proper meal. This disregard for the hardships faced by ordinary Nigerians epitomises a systematic injustice against those living on the margins of their homeland.
Regrettably, this scenario isn’t unique to Nigeria alone; it extends across numerous African countries. While everyday citizens of nations like Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Cameroon, and others endure economic hardships, political elites and their families revel in opulence. This pattern can be perceived as a systematic form of oppression that propels citizens from many African nations to seek refuge elsewhere.
Finally, according to reports from The Economist and Statista, Africa’s population is projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, making it the fastest-growing young population globally. However, this demographic distinction prompts an inquiry into the significance of this youthfulness amidst the paucity of fundamental social amenities such as education, infrastructure, clean water, electricity, and healthcare.
The benefits of being a youthful population are overshadowed by the reality of pervasive unemployment, extensive numbers of out-of-school children, compromised healthcare systems, and an ensuing cycle of migration. This unfortunate outcome is a direct result of the leadership's incompetence across Africa, which has instigated the present indignity of migrants leaving the continent. I unequivocally state that African leaders must be held accountable for this grievous crime against their own.
* Edmund Terem Ugar is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Philosophy and Research Assistant at the Centre for African-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL