In the first 4.5 months of 2021, more than 550 people have died or gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, majority of whom are immigrants coming from Sub Saharan Africa according to research conducted by Medicins Sans Frontiers. In 2015 alone over one million people crossed the Mediterranean to Europe in search for safety and better life. Thousands died along the way.
We are talking about young educated African graduates trying to escape the poverty, war and political persecution at home by forcing their way into Europe in a desperate search for jobs and comfort, only to get drained into the ruthless waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The horrific part is that, the cycle continues every single year. The IOM reports that the Mediterranean has claimed the lives of 19,164 Immigrants since 2014 who always travel in small boats or containers organised by Smugglers.
Our human resources are crossing and dying across the sea , yet it takes us alot of resources and time to educate them. No one seems to care. Not even the governments of the countries they come from. 60 percent of Africa’s graduates cannot find jobs in the formal sector. This, inspite of the Continent’s vast natural resource base and favourable tropical climate. Blame this on our Educational system that is largely theoretical. Agriculture is one sector that can employ millions of young people across the continent if only we could put efforts into developing the sector. Why do we have to fight wars in this Century? Why do we have to persecute political rivals, kidnap and torture them? Why cant we tolerate divergent views? We have to put our house in order on many fronts. We need to plan for our young population. We need to prioritise the Agricultural Sector more to enable it create jobs for young people. Money should be spent in buying tractors than fighter jets. Invest in irrigation systems to enable constant production. We can also give incentives to young entrepreneurs to enable them kick start own businesses . Such incentives can also include providing favourable tax regimes to Small scale businesses. In all aspects, we need to entrust young people by availing them opportunities to lead, to get engaged into important sectors of our economies.
About the Author:
Kiwalabye Ronald is an Environmentalist and Executive Director of the Schools Tree Project.