Catholic archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has lamented the helplessness of the church in stemming the flow of migrants, especially the youths, from Nigeria to Europe to escape poverty.
Onaiyekan, in an the interview with Catholic journal, Crux, at an ongoing conference of the church’s leaders from Africa, at the University of Notre Dame, Rome, said there was nothing one could say to young Nigerians to dissuade them from leaving the country for Europe.
“No matter how unwelcome they are they come to stay!” Onaiyekan said. “No matter what you say (to them) they answer: Sorry Your Eminence, if I just get there! There is no way that it is not better than what we are living through.”
Speaking on the problems migrants face abroad, Onaiyekan stated: “Many Africans coming to Europe or America feel like strangers in their own home. That is because they think that since they are Christians they should be welcome. But if you are ignored it is worse than being attacked.
“There must be an institutionalised master plan to welcome immigrants, especially African immigrants. The church in Africa will have her own part to play, first of all to stop all these young men who are just running to Europe thinking that it is a little paradise.”
Earlier in his speech, titled: ‘African Christian Theology: Memories and Mission for the 21st century.’ at the conference, Onaiyekan said only one of every ten migrants that try to get Europe by sea survive the tortuous journey.
“For every one who makes it to Lampedusa (the small Italian island closest to the African continent which serves as a primary destination for those who brave the sea voyage) there are ten who drowned in the Mediterranean,” Onaiyekan remarked.
Also speaking on the likelihood of a shift in American policy towards Nigeria, the cleric noted: “Some Nigerians were hoping that there may be some changes, some shifts, in American policy, since Trump had promised he would do things differently. Whether those shifts will be good for Nigeria, we still don’t know.
“Some would be looking to the United States to help us deal with our problems with Muslim terrorists, and they would hope that Trump would be less cautious than Obama in reaching out to helping our government to deal with this menace. But so far, not much has happened. We’re waiting,”
Reports by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) show that in just the first few months of 2017, nearly 30,000 migrants have reached Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea, and those numbers show no signs of slowing down as the warm weather approaches.
Cardinal Onaiyekan (right) discussing with another delegate at the conference
Photo: University of Notre Dame 