German Ambassador Calls for New Approach in Tackling Irregular Migration

Alex Enumah

The German Ambassador to Nigeria, Bernhard Schlagheck, has called for a new approach in tackling the worsening issue of irregular migration, particularly among African countries.

He said his government was particularly, concerned about the plight of young men who end up in slavery in places like Libya in an attempt to migrate to Europe.

He was speaking in Abuja, during a reception hosted by the German Embassy for the Humboldt Alumni in Nigeria.

“We want migration to be strengthened because irregular migration is horrendous, with most of the migrants ending up in Libya, in unbearable slavery. We want to contribute to the mind change of the people,” he said.

The envoy disclosed that he was in Edo State and held discussions with the governor on how to tackle the malaise.

He said the problem of irregular migration poses great problem both to Nigeria and Germany, adding that the Humboldt foundation is one of the various projects Germany is engaging to bringing societies, peoples and individuals close together.

“We are trying to work together with not only the federal government but also with the state governments of those states prone to irregular migration, particularly Edo and Delta States. We also try to engage vocational training centres in a number of states not just in the southern states, although the problem of irregular migration stems particularly from the south, which is remarkable because the southern part of Nigeria does not hold the poorest states, but it has the bulk of people who try to irregularly migrate.

“We are trying to fine-tune our approach with the Federal government, state government and the European Union, UN agencies and others, so it will be a common approach,” he said.

While stating that Nigeria tops the number of Humboldt Alumni from Africa, the ambassador noted that collaborations between the two countries in the area of science would facilitate economic prosperity of the two countries.

The Head of African Department at Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation, Daniela Kneissi, disclosed that the Federal External Office of Germany makes available funding for the Humboldt Kolleg Programme which allows Alumni to organize conferences in their home countries.

“I and my colleague just spent two most inspiring days at a Humboldt Kolleg in Ibadan and I can confirm that this money was very well invested.

“At the moment, four Research Group Linkages are going on in Nigeria and I am convinced that there are plenty ideas for further promoting cooperative research projects within our Alumni network in Nigeria,” she said.