December 13, 2017

The Cross River Commissioner for Climate Change, Dr Alice Eko has cautioned youths in the state against illegal migration to Europe in search of greener pastures.

Eko said this on Wednesday in Calabar at a one-day seminar on `Migration’, organised by the State Ministry of Information and Orientation for “Media Practitioners and Public Relations Officers’’.

“My advice to the youth of Cross River is let us not migrate when there is no reason for doing so. Let us sit down here together and find solutions to our problems.

“Migrating to Europe or elsewhere is not the answer to our problems as a state or nation,’’ she said.

The commissioner, however, condemned the recent alleged reports of maltreatment of illegal migrants and the use of African migrants as slaves, expressing concern that the issue had taken a global dimension.

Eko attributed the present rush by Africans to migrate to Europe or other countries to issues of population explosion, hunger and starvation, as well as environmental factors, among others.

The commissioner said these were not enough reasons for youths to lose hope on the country and advised them to stay and build the country.

Also speaking, Mr Patrick Ugbe, the Chief Executive Officer of Hit FM, Calabar attributed the development to bad leadership by African Leaders.

“The present day slavery is caused by migration, especially from Africa to Europe, which is becoming a major crisis in the world.

“To me, I think this is largely as a result of bad governance. These migrants have lost faith in the leadership of their countries. They have lost hope.

“So, they feel that the only way out is to go in search of a better place. African leaders should provide good governance to curb this menace,’’ he said.

He commended Gov. Ben Ayade for making `Migration’ the theme of this year’s Calabar Carnival celebrations, saying that it would not have come at a better time than now.

In her remarks, the Commissioner for Information, Mrs Rosemary Archibong, said that the seminar was intended to mobilise the media in the state to sensitise the people about the modern day slavery going on in some part of the world.

“These unfolding trends must be elucidated daily through the media and our various platforms so as to expose the ugly development.’’