Foundation, ECOCARE partner on illegal migration

The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Blacks Ancestral Native Communities Foundation, Dr Chibuzor Onyema, has revealed that the organisation is partnering with the ECO Centre for Africa, Canada, to counter the concerning trend of African youths migrating illegally.

Onyema stated this at a news conference entitled “Defusing a Ticking Time-Bomb”, which was held recently in Lagos.

“Irregular migration threatens to undermine Africa’s development, destabilise the polity of nations and erode the very fabric of our otherwise beautiful societies.

“It is against the forgoing background that we, Blacks Ancestral Native Communities Foundation and Blacks in All Nations Community, USA, in collaboration with ECO Center for Africa, Canada, have convened the Anti-Irregular Migration Summit,” he said.

BLANC CEO announced that at the upcoming summit, Prof. Patrick Lumumba would be the keynote speaker, adding that actionable strategies to secure a brighter future for Nigeria, its people, and Africa would be discussed.

According to Onyema, irregular migration, if allowed to continue unchecked, poses significant risks to our development. It drains our human capital, leaving critical sectors like healthcare, education, and industry, starved of talent and innovation.

He also mentioned that the remittances sent back home, though significant, could never fully compensate for the loss of skilled labour and intellectual capacity that the continent desperately needed to drive economic growth and social progress.

“We are here, therefore, to announce to the African youth that all hope is not lost! Blacks Ancestral Native Communities Foundation is engaging state and regional governments for opportunities to train young people in strategic skills, getting them ready for opportunities to work.”

Onyema urged African leaders to partner with the foundation in providing non-classroom, skill education for their youth.

He also emphasised the need to create an environment where African youth could thrive within the country’s borders, and where they could see a future filled with opportunity and hope.

“Let us remember that the cost of inaction is too high. Irregular migration is a threat that we cannot afford to ignore. By working together, we can defuse this time bomb and pave the way for a stable, prosperous, and vibrant Nigeria and Africa as a whole,” Onyema added.

About 7–8 million illegal African migrants live in the European Union, according to the Migration Policy Institute.