`Provide jobs for youth I must travel out syndrome must stop"

The coordinator, Mr Alexander Orji, in Lagos on Tuesday said that Nigerian youths were increasingly embarking on tragic but avoidable trips overseas.

The Coordinator of the Centre for the Protection of Nigerians in the Diaspora has pleaded with Nigerian leaders to provide jobs to discourage young people from embarking on risky trips overseas.

Orji spoke on the development, while commenting on the International Youth Day, commemorated on Aug. 12 every year.

“Our leaders must do everything possible to dissuade our youths from the `I must travel’ syndrome because most of the foreign countries they aspire to go to are dead ends.

According to him, African and Nigerian youths want to travel abroad nowadays, forgetting that wealth and riches are not picked on the streets of other countries. 

“The typical African youth of today want to make it big after seeing what their fellow African brothers are `enjoying’ overseas.

“They do not care about the huge risks involved, forgetting that all that glitter is not gold. 

The coordinator said that it was so worrisome that every African youth wanted to head overseas, in spite of all the deaths and destructions taking place in overseas countries.

“There have been a number of times when Nigerians in the diaspora have made videos and sent home, just to keep the people who are still in Nigeria from making the mistakes they had.

“Our youths won’t listen because they want to leave the country and do not care about what price they pay, which is why many of our youths are being killed or enslaved overseas.

Orji advised Nigerian and African youths to look inwards to take advantage of the huge opportunities in their home countries. 

“There are lots of skills to be learnt, which you can make money from. Tap from the natural resources in your country and make wealth to become your own boss.

“We have large numbers of Nigerian youths who are doing well from their entrepreneurial skills. They made their money here and travel only for holidays abroad. 

“Government can put certain things in place by working closely with people who can dissuade these youths from resorting to meaningless overseas trips,’’ Orji said.