Irregular Migration: An Anathema To Human Capacity Development -By Ifeanyi John Nwokeabia

Nature has been loved and cherished by everyone in my early days as a boy growing up in my little village. Despite the fact that majority of the villagers were not opportune to receive formal education, they still know the importance of trees to man. My father’s compound which was not an exception was ornamentally decorated with flowers and trees of different heights and sizes. No one cares to erect fences to shield the eyes of passers-by from feeding on the misery or luxury of any home.

As child, two trees in my compound filled my eyes with mystery. I do ask, “how possible could this be?” one day, I had the courage to question my Dad on the possibility of such ‘miracle.’ Then he told me, “I was surprised to see it too, but God is the ultimate in everything.” I was unsettled the more by his reply, so, like every child who is ever inquisitive to discover about life and life issues, I pressed on.

Biology classes were never interesting to me, not because the teacher was not good, but because I had sworn with all the gods known that I would never know it. However, that particular Monday class was so different from the other classes. “today’s topic is phototropism,” the teacher said. She went on to explain it as the orientation of a plant or other organism in response to light, either towards the source of light (positive phototropism) or away from it (negative phototropism).

Her explanation truly opened my eyes to the root cause of the struggles between the two trees (guava and mango trees) in the front of my compound. It happened that the trees were growing together, but at a point, the mango tree became taller than the guava tree. For want of sunlight, to keep living, the guava curved its stem to move away from the shadows of the mango tree.

Humans are like the guava tree, they cannot sit back, fold their arms and do nothing in the face of hunger and other challenging needs. This makes the struggles for survival to become tougher. It wouldn’t be out of place to say that It has become instinctively humans to want some lights shone on them. As a result of seeking for life’s succour, humans move from one country to another. “it is good to watch a masquerade standing at a spot” has become a popular proverb for those who wander.

Migration by Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary as the movement of large numbers of people, birds, or animals from one place to another. Can it now be said that it is forbidden from one to change its position? To answer this question, it will be nice to look out for the meaning of irregular according to the dictionary. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defined irregular as not normal; not according to the usual rules. Now, it won’t be out of place to say that irregular migration is an unlawful movement of large numbers of people from one place to another.

In addition, irregular migration is when a person fails to observe the formal processes of leaving a country and entering country, such as; buying of visa etc. some of these persons are taking through different deserts and wildernesses just to cross over to their destination. Lives are lost in the process. In trying to use boat to cross a big ocean or sea terminate the lives of some of these migrants. Some ended up being trafficked by so-called helpers.

These illegal migrants pass through terrible ordeals. Some Africans in times past had these experience trying to find greener pastures in European countries. Even in the present and future, there will always be irregular migrants because human wants are insatiable according to the economists. In as much as, some persons believe that their success in life can be attained in their land of birth, some believe that migration is that they needed to actualise their dreams. So, the desire to move is instinctively humans.

But understanding Charles Darwin’s survival theory will enable everyone to know that the world is not for the weaklings. Most persons are forced to abandon their nationality by an unseen hand of hunger. The human spirit is dampened when hunger comes like locust to infest on the empty stomach, and leaves the head with no other option than to invite the legs for a long walk, which might take the fullness of pockets to think home again or forever forget about coming home.
Unstable economy has been a serious mammoth that has flogged humans mercilessly, to the extent of chasing one out to look elsewhere for more viable or more lucrative opportunities. Same economy will remind you that you don’t have the financial capacity to follow the official procedure for travelling, thereby pushing one to the illegal means. Sitting down to ponder over what becomes of a country when her workforce decamps her, going elsewhere, where the chances of arriving safely is unknown, leaves the eyes with more teardrops than it met it. The big question now is; When the able workers are gone, who builds the nation?

Taking into consideration that there is never a smoke without fire, it’s clear that people are made to leave their homes to another land in an effort to get what they couldn’t have in their homes. As such, government of every country should work towards stabilising her economy for her teeming citizens. If opportunities are made available, and condition of living standardised, irregular migration might become a story of the past.

Nwokeabia, Ifeanyi John is a poet and teacher. He has Nigeria Certificate in Education and Bachelor of Arts in Education, both in English Language. He has authored a collection of poems titled Immortal Words(2021). He was shortlisted for the ENDSARS poetry competition organised by the Society of Young Nigerian Writers in collaboration with International Human Rights Art Festival (IHRAF) USA, 2020. His poem also appeared in the anthology ‘The Best of 2020 Poet of the World’, a publication by Inner Child Press, USA. His other works are published in different online platforms like Poemhunter , voicesnet , The Shadow Tales Review , AceWorld , calseriesblog , qwenu , opinion Nigeria, SYNWBlog etc