Irregular Migration Among Youths; Concerned Body Raises Alarm
The Chartered Institute of Social Work Practitioners of Nigeria (CISWPN) has called for urgent action toward addressing the growing challenge of irregular migration and human trafficking among Nigerian youths.
This dominated discussion at the Institute’s 16th international conference was attended by social workers, scholars, and advocates which held in Enugu State, South East Nigeria.
Speaking, CISWPN’s National President Prof. Oluwayemisi Obashoro-John, said the conference placed particular emphasis on irregular migration, noting that many Nigerians often framed migration as an economic escape.
Obashoro-John is also the Chairman, Council of the Institute.
“Irregular migration is not primarily an economic matter.
“It is a social work issue that dwells on dignity, justice, and the need to ensure that people are not criminalised for seeking a better life,” she said.
She stressed the need to use the term irregular migration, rather than illegal migration, noting that the act itself was often undocumented or unstructured, but not inherently criminal.
She identified the influence of social media, lack of job opportunities, and weak social support systems as key contributors to pushing Nigerian youths abroad.
The CISWPN boss said that many young people were trapped in what she described as, a “syndrome of waithood”.
According to her, it is a prolonged delay in accessing education, employment, housing, and financial independence.
“Our young people are waiting endlessly for their turn.
“That syndrome of waithood is what they are suffering, and it pushes them to look outside.
“The grass is not greener on the other side. It is a perception.
“The problem is a collective failure, which requires collective success to fix it,” she noted.
Obashoro-John said that solutions must begin within Nigeria and called for stronger social systems.
NAN also reported that she called for better local infrastructure, investment in youth development, and a national shift in mind-set.
