From Jimoh Ahmed
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A retired diplomat, Ambassador Ibukun Olatidoye has advised the 2018 Batch ‘C’ (Stream 11) corps members to desist from taking illegal route abroud.
Olatidoye, a Director with Pan African Institute made the statement during an enlightenment talk to the corps members at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State.
According to him, it was pathetic that out of 9000 Africa illegal migrants in 2016, sixty eight percent were graduates from Nigeria.
He enumerated unfavourable economic climate in the home country, search for greener pastures and lack of right information for youths as part of reasons for this such adventure.
He however asserted that migration is good and desirable if one goes through the right channels and processes.
He urged the corps members to shun any decision to migrate illegally. He charged them to join in the fight to bring an everlasting end to this abnormality by sensitising their host communities on the perils of illegal migration
The former Nigerian Ambassador encouraged the corps members to enrol for a skill under the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme of the NYSC to be self reliant and to contribute their quota to nation building.
Speaking on Global Affairs And Strategy (PAIGAS), Olatidoye said the Institute was established in 2016 by five diplomats with a retired Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs as its Director General.
The Institute, according him was established for training, research, consultancy, advocacy and promotion of a positive, affirmative pan African affairs from a Nigerian perspective.
He disclosed that the central focus of PAIGAS is to give adequate information on dangers inherent in illegal migration to Europe and other Western countries.
“This worrisome trend encouraged the coming together of these likely minds to wage war against this avoidable challenge. We approached the Director General of the NYSC for collaboration because our target audience which is youth is under the tutelage of the NYSC Scheme”.
In her remarks, the Coordinator of NYSC in Ondo State, Mrs. Grace Akpabio told the corps members to consider themselves lucky to have a senior citizen who is very passionate about their future in their midst.
Akpabio advised them to make use of the knowledge they have gained from the talk.
