Back-way journey, a word coined to depict illegal movement of African youths to countries outside the continent in search of greener pasture for better livelihood.
In recent times, many reasons have been adduced for the upward movement of the continent’s youths, who are supposed to stay behind and ensure socio-economic development champion with right ideologies. Poverty, unemployment, corruption in the polity, greedy in African society, pressure on the youths and pathological urge for material wealth remain contributing factors. The poverty rate in Africa, especially among the jobless youths is enormous. Those living at urban areas have lower poverty level compare to those at rural areas.
In its latest data, International Labour Organisation (ILO) stated that unemployment among young people aged 15-24 reached 74.5 million in 2013 out of 202 million unemployed people in the world. The world labour organisation hinted that the figure indicates 13.1 per cent, which is almost three times as high as the adult unemployment rate.
“The youth-to-adult unemployment ratio has reached a historical peak. It is particu¬larly high in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean and Southern Europe.” The international labour body said “informal employment among young people remains pervasive and transitions to decent work are slow and difficult.”
Hence, the perilous journey is being seeing as alternative.
It should be noted that the rise in the youth’s unemployment is not only in the northern part of Africa, it’s all over the continent. In Nigeria, 23.9% of 170 million are roaming the streets without jobs, while in Ethiopia and South Africa, 17.5% of the country’s population (96.6million) and 24.9% of 48.3 million respectively are unemployed.
Despite stricken poverty ravaging them, many parents and relatives of those who want to embark on the perilous trip still struggling raising money to meet human traffickers’ financial demands; hoping that their children would come back with substantial materials for better livelihood. The youths are desperate to live the shores of their respective nations; when they are supposed to tap into different opportunities created in private and public sectors of the economy.
High level of corruption at public institutions in the continent has affected governments’ programmes and agenda targeting youths’ advancement.
Funds invested in employment generation activities are being diverted into what they are not meant for. Most programmes are designed and executed with the intention of creating avenue for some policy makers and politicians in siphoning public fund and denying a number of youths better living.
In what Nigerian government described as palliative measure to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal in 2012, Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) was established with the aim of providing jobs for the youths through money that would be accrued from the subsidy removal.
A lot of irregularities have characterized this programme. Some have benefited while majority are not. Favouritism and party affiliation have been cited as factors that helped the beneficiaries.
Greedy among the rich also remains a factor. This has created a wide gap between the rich and the poor. Many rich people in the continent prefer to help their immediate relatives and people of their calibers rather than assisting less privilege in terms of finance and employment.
Those who are ready to create employment would rather locate their businesses outside the continent’s shores for reasons better know to them. Since youths have responsibilities to themselves and their dependants there is societal pressure on them to fulfill the responsibilities. In many African households, youths aged between 20 and 30 are expected to foot bills of certain expenses having been seen as adults.
In most cases, the task rests on men. That is why men are mostly embarked on the trip. Beyond these factors, today’s youths also cherished materialism. They want to acquire every material that comes to their way. When it is difficult to acquire the material, leaving their countries remain best alternative to nations believe to have enabling environment capable of helping them in realizing the aim.
Recently, thousands of migrants stormed and attempted to scale a 20-foot-high border fence between Morocco and the Spanish territory of Melilla before dawn, with about 400 estimated to have successfully hopped from Africa into Europe.
Many reactions have trailed the incident, a public analyst reacted this way: “Youth migration is as old as the world and no nation should claim innocence of this act but history will not be fair on West African youths who have decided to embark on perilous trek across Sahara desert with the intention of sneaking into Europe. The dignity of human life should not be compromise for any struggle.”
In Nigeria and Ghana, prominent nationalists such as Obafemi Awolowo, Namdi Azikiwe, Kwame Nkrumah left the shores of their countries to Europe in search of knowledge not materialism. They are being celebrated today because their knowledge and zeal to liberate Africans from western hegemony paid off.
African youths need to realise that nations they considered as better places to actualize their hopes and aspirations are developed by youths too.
Youths’ readiness to take up opportunities in informal sector of economy has tendency of moving a nation from less-developed to developed one. Corruption, greedy and inept leadership in the continent cannot be solved without youths’ inputs. On the governments and policy makers’ side, there is need for improvement on various programmes and activities designed for the youths.
Likely problems capable of undermining attainment of specific goals of such programmes should be addressed at the initial stage of implementation. When these issues are holistically addressed, the ‘back-way journey’ among the youths in the continent would be tamed. It requires collective and concerted efforts!
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