By John Oba Abuja
In order to curb the increasing youth irregular migration to Europe, the European Union and the Pan African Institute for Global Aff airs and Strategies (PAIGAS) are partnering with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to sensitise Nigerian youth against irregular migration. Leading a delegation to the NYSC headquarters yesterday, EU representative to Nigeria, Ambassador Michel Arrion, said beyond lecturing the corps members on the danger of illegal migration during the orientation, the “EU is working to see how to skilled and empower them corps members to start micro businesses.” According to him, these are ways of discouraging the youth from taking the dangerous risk of crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
“We want to engage with the government and it agencies dealing with youth directly to work out ways of reducing this irregular fl ow,” he said. PAIGAS President and former permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Aff airs, Ambassador Martins Uhomiblu, lamented that over 1, 7000 Nigerian youth had crossed into Italy “this year alone,” adding that the organisation was ready to help “stop this fl ow by working with the EU to empower the skilled corps members.” “We want to go beyond talking to them by putting on the table means of empowerment that will discourage them from illegally leaving Nigeria,” he said. Commending the delegates, the NYSC Director-General, Brig.- Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, called for provision of seed capital for the skilled corps members to settle down. He said: “Th is is where we want you to consider. NYSC is not just providing the platform to reach the young Nigerians but we have more areas that EU and PAIGAS can invest by giving them incentives to start up after learning the skill.
