Emir of Kano, Muhammed Sanusi II, has blamed the
increasing rate of migration on the misplaced priorities, mismanagement of the
economy and lack of understanding of the importance of development by the
federal government, adding that Europe and America cannot be blamed for Nigeria’s
inadequacies.
The former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the public presentation of ‘From
Frying Pan to Fire’, written by the Chairman of THISDAY Editorial Board, Mr.
Segun Adeniyi.
He said there was no way a discussion on migration
could be held without having a take on global inequality and globalisation of
the economic system that had been established.
According to him, “Migration is a big and a complex
issue. The discussion on migration is the same for extremism. How much of it is
a result of circumstances on economy, poverty, climate change as well as a matter
of people having the wrong ideas?”
The Kano monarch noted that in the last 30 to 40
years, nothing has been done to bring down barriers to the movement of capital
across borders, barriers to the movement of goods across borders and manufactured
goods produce in large and high efficiency economies to African economies
without duty and protection.
The emir lamented that the intensification of
poverty at the time when the country has intensified expropriation is amazing,
stressing that the richest man in Africa is from Nigeria and Nigeria is the
poverty capital of the world, “that is contradiction and typical of the world
we have created.”
He stated: “Now, to come back home, we have to grow
up; we can't blame Europe and America for our problems, we have mismanaged our
economy, we have misplaced our priorities, and we have not understood the
importance of development. We think this roads and bridges are development not
human beings.
“If we have opened up our capital market and our
goods markets and if the result of that is that there is so much poverty, it is
time to start asking what we can do to redress some of these challenges.
“I don’t want to sound like a broken record. How
much are we spending to give ourselves cheap fuel, $3 billion $4 billion a
year? Imagine putting that money into education, power or industry, that would
solve migration and create jobs for the people.
“And why can't we have electricity? We have tariffs
that are simply not sustainable. Why is it possible for people in Côte d'Voire and
Niger Republic to pay the right tariff and get power, while people can’t pay
the tariff in Nigeria?
“So, we have got to look at our own policies. I
think that for me, when we discussed migration, extremism or ethnic conflict in
Africa, we cannot divorce those things from the conditions that have been
created by the kind of economic choices made locally and globally, and it is
time to understand that whatever the benefit of those programmes, there have
been consequences which may or may not have been intended, but we still praise
those consequences.”
While presenting the book, the Edo State Governor,
Godwin Obaseki, said the book, which partly describes the unfortunate and
perilous journeys faced by most trafficked or irregular migrants from Africa,
could not have come at a better time, “because it could be the required advocacy
to deal with the scourge.”
He said the Edo State Government has acknowledged
and accepted that almost 65 percent of irregular migrants and trafficked
persons come from the state, therefore, the state government has taken steps to
tackle it.
On his part, the author, Adeniyi, said the
book has always been there, but he never
thought of it until about three years ago when he delivered a lecture at the
Platform titled: ‘If We Stay Here We Die’.
Adeniyi
revealed that his younger brother was
practically lost for six years due to illegal migration between1993 and
1998.
He blamed the increase in migration and trafficking
in person on financial poverty and poverty of the mind, adding that if most
people know what awaits them, they won’t venture on such futile journey.
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