Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, has reiterated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s resolve to end youth migration to other countries, otherwise known as ‘Japa’ syndrome.
Dr Edu, who gave the assurance during a meeting with the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Nigeria, Wouter Plomp, expressed grave concern over the deaths of Nigerians who died on the Mediterranean Sea in the bid to search for greener pastures.
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While expressing the present administration’s readiness to reverse the trend, the Minister assured the Netherlands delegation of employment generation for teeming Nigerian youths.
She said: “His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said that part of his agenda is to ensure that he eradicates poverty, puts young people on the front burner of his administration, empowers them, creates jobs for them, and creates a more conducive environment where their minds can go all the way and achieve whatever it is they set out to achieve.
“Unfortunately, we have Nigerians, young people, who should be contributing to the development of the nation, go to lose their lives in the Mediterranean Sea and go to very awkward conditions outside the country where this energy, these young minds with great innovation and ability to expand the economic frontiers of the country, should be contributing here to all of this.
“I believe very strongly that the Rabat Process Meeting was an avenue to bring all of this to the forefront. The meeting, which will be co-hosted with the Netherlands, would also be another opportunity to look into youth and their developmental capacity.
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“We will look forward to this meeting in person and to working with the team to see how we can successfully offer solutions for Nigerians and, of course, how we can collaborate with Europe and the Netherlands to improve the lives of our young people and the opportunities to be accessed.
“We would use this opportunity to also inform you about one of the innovations that will get on board to address humanitarian issues, poverty alleviation, which also includes jobs for these young people and opportunities for them, which is the Presidential Humanitarian Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund, and we’ll be needing your assistance technically and your contributions as a nation to that fund to help address the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria as well as these issues that we will be discussing at this event.
“So, we are counting on your continuous support,” the Minister urged.
In his remarks, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands to Nigeria His Excellency Wouter Plomp pledged support for Nigeria in tackling the issues associated with migration.
Mr Plomp, who was accompanied by Ambassador Catherine Udidah, said: “I am very happy that we are doing this together. Netherlands and Nigeria because, actually, in this organisation, we have both the New Kids on the Block.
“So, that’s natural that we do something; Nigeria and the Netherlands effectively present the different perspectives on migration while sharing a common goal, which includes also giving perspective to the use of Nigeria and during the one year that I’ve been in Nigeria.
“I have come to appreciate enormously the creativity, innovation, drive, and commitment of Nigerian young women and young men doing what they’re best at, which is often enterprise in the private sector in producing things, innovation.
“And actually, we had the privilege of visiting Benin City, where we saw some of the projects that the Netherlands is financing through the International Organisation of Migration, where young women and men get to be trained in IT, tailoring, sewing, and leather work, so all kinds of skills to affect the future in Nigeria and contribute to the development of Nigeria.
“At the same time, we are also interested in exploring with you those legal pathways and opportunities; circular migration is another interesting pathway.
“At the same time, we find it extremely important to work together with Nigeria to try to end the tremendous hardship of young people. Indeed, in the desert or the Mediterranean
“We share a common goal in addressing that situation and working together to overcome that.
“We would be really happy for you to be in the Netherlands, and we are also working on some kind of site programmes for you, Madam Minister, to see what kinds of meetings we can organise with other stakeholders in the Netherlands to make your visit to the Netherlands as effective and productive as possible because we see it also in the framework of our partnership,” he assured.
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