27th April, 2018
Ms Efosa Uyigue, the Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Gender, on Friday said only intensive awareness would check illegal migration among ladies in the state.
Uyigue disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja. She described the rate of illegal migration among females from the state as high level.
“It is true the number of migrants from Edo state is high but a lot of them embarked on the journey due to lack of adequate information.
“We discovered that most of them pay as much as N2 million, some N700,000 and others N500,000 to whoever their sponsors were and they end up being dumped in Libya.
“Someone who can raise this high amount of money to travel is not suffering; if they channelled that amount to business they will be making profits but no, they want quick riches,” she said.
Uyigue said the state government was rehabilitating the returnees to give them meaningful lives as some were psychologically damaged.
She said some programmes on skills acquisition had been put in place for them, adding that the government was doing its best to get the 2,000 returnees back on their feet.
“You can’t just bring money and share to them, that`s the major reason they are being trained, so after learning a skill they can start something on their own.
“Women are special and they need every encouragement and empowerment because they contribute a lot to nation building,” she said.
Uyigue said parents and wards should ensure they monitored their children and warn them on dangers associated with illegal migration.
“When we went for a sensitisation outreach to the villages and local government areas in the state on the dangers of migration and the need for them to be creative and some parents were not interested.
“Some of them felt they were being told the bad stories when there are so many good stories about going to abroad,” she said.
Uyigue advised that youths should engage in meaningful ventures to support themselves and family to enable them contribute to their quota.