Envoy decries illegal migration to Holland
From Laolu Akande (New York) and Abiodun Fagbemi (Ilorin)
POUNDED at home and desperate to keep hope alive, Nigerians are among the top nationalities fleeing their own country and seeking asylum in industrialized nations, according to the United Nations (UN).
Meanwhile, the Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Nigeria to The Netherlands, Dr. Nimota Akanbi, has deplored illegal movement of many Nigerians into The Netherlands.
Although Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia were three most affected countries, Nigeria was still grouped among the other "main countries of origin of asylum seekers" in mostly western nations as at the second quarter of this year, 2009.
A report released last week by the Geneva-based UN agency, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), disclosed that 13,200 asylum claims came from Iraqis, making it the top country of origin for the fourth successive year, and 12,000 came from Afghans.
From Africa, Somalia came third with 11,000 Somalians seeking asylum.
Specifically regarding Nigeria, which came seventh on the list, about 7,700 Nigerians had already sought asylum by the end of June this year or the end of the second quarter of the year, according to the UNHCR report.
Besides, based on comparison with the same time last year, 2008, Nigeria is also among countries where the percentage of asylum seekers has significantly increased.
In fact, so far this year, the highest percentage increase among the major source countries of asylum seekers is Nigeria with a 47 per cent increase in the number of asylum claims when compared with last year's.
For instance, by the end of the first quarter of 2008, 2,471 Nigerians had been registered as seeking asylum in industrialised nations, while for the same period this year, that number is now 3,793.
In the second quarter of last year, 2,761 Nigerians had been registered by the UN agency as making asylum claims, compared to 3,890 at the end of the same period this year.
A table released by the UNHCR showed that there has been a steady rise in the number of Nigerians fleeing and seeking asylum in industrialised nations between 2007 and 2008. In the fourth quarters of 2007, 1,633 Nigerians were listed; in the first quarter, 1,464 in the second, 1,685; and in the third; and 1,893.
By 2008, the figures jumped to 2,471 in the first quarter, 2,761 in the second, 4,014 in the third quarter and a record 4,442 at the end of the last quarter. While the rise between last year and this year is 47 per cent, the rise between 2007 and 2008 was higher at 69 per cent
The UNHCR report said the problem for this asylum claims remains the fact that "security conditions continued to deteriorate in large parts of those countries," from where the asylum seekers hail.
After listing the top three countries, the UN report said: "The other main countries of origin were China, Serbia (including Kosovo), Russia, Nigeria, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, with Europe receiving 75 per cent of all asylum applications and the United States (U.S.) the country that received the highest number, 23,700, or 13 per cent of all applications.
"These statistics show that ongoing violence and instability in some parts of the world force increasing numbers of people to flee and seek protection in safe countries," said High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, the head of that UN agency.
Some 185,000 asylum-seekers filed applications in the opening six months of 2009 across 38 European countries, the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea (ROK), representing a 10-per cent increase on the same period last year.
"There is an acute need for countries to keep their asylum doors wide open to those who are in genuine need of international protection," Guterres added.
France ranks as the second recipient nation with 10 per cent of all claims (19,400), followed by Canada (18,700), the United Kingdom (UK) (17,700) and Germany, ranked fifth (12,000).
The UNHCR report noted that the majority of claims by Iraqis were submitted in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as in neighbouring Turkey, while Afghan claims were mostly filed in the UK or Norway, and Somalis mainly applied for asylum in Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.
The report's authors said that second half of the year may witness a further increase in the number of claims, based on seasonal patterns over the past 10 years.
In a chat with reporters in Ilorin at the weekend, Akanbi described the illegal movements as the greatest challenge she had to combat during her early days in office noting that till date, she usually received distress calls to pick corpses of Nigerians in the country.
She praised the Dutch government for its cordial bilateral relationship with Nigeria as she urged Nigerians to see their country as the best place to live rather than looking for illegal means of traveling abroad.
According to her, "the greatest challenge for us is the calls we normally receive to come and pick the corpses of Nigerians inside the plane. These are drug peddlers who have swallowed illicit drugs with the aim of throwing them up after arriving at their destination.
"But maybe due to delay in take off, the drugs in question would constitute sudden health problems to them. Some of them die in the process. But I use to tell them that East or West, home is the best."
For the ambassador, about 10,000 Nigerians living in The Netherlands are formally registered to live in the country while a similar population, according to her findings, live in the country illegally.
Although she would continually advise them on the danger inherent in living in a foreign country without necessary papers, Akanbi put the present population of Nigerian deportees on monthly basis at eight against the initial 25.
She added: "Nigeria and the Netherlands have over the years had cordial bilateral relations. It is my determination to strengthen the relation in all areas. I am proud to say that in June 2009, Nigeria/Netherlands relations got a boost through the staging of a Business and Investment Forum for Governors held in The Hague.
"Four governors of Nigeria, one deputy governor and several top officials of eight states of the federation, including chieftains and entrepreneurs of over 300 companies, participated in the forum. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Joint Venture Agreement were negotiated and signed between the participants.
"The aftermath of the forum has witnessed an avalanche of request for visas to visit Nigeria by dozens of business organisations at the Embassy," she added.
