Talking About Regular and Irregular Migrants with Adewale Sobowale
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2024/01/30
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What are the major issues states, such as irregular migrants, need to consider when those migrants come to their borders?
Adewale Sobowale: Are you talking of regular migrants or irregular migrants?
Jacobsen: I am talking of irregular migrants, the ones coming from war circumstances, for instance.
Sobowale: I would say, as I told you earlier, irregular migrants do not have any other clothes apart from the ones on their backs. They might not have eaten for two or three days. The females might not even have all their toiletries and so on. So, I think the receiving countries can accept them out of pity. Like, somebody who is being hunted for his political views and he runs out of the country just before being killed; where does he go to? Alternatively, somebody who gets lucky to escape during the war in his country. Many of them tend to have all these psychological problems. Maybe they have lost someone or some people, they have lost their houses, they have lost their jobs, and so on. I will still repeat it like I said the other time: the countries which have decided to accept the irregular migrants should be praised because I know it is not easy anywhere with the current inflation or the security, but at the same time, we should look at the human right aspect.
If some countries believe that you are a stranger and you have the right to leave, then you give them Kudos.
Jacobsen: Is political persecution a prominent circumstance for individuals who are leaving/fleeing countries as irregular migrants?
Sobowale: Sure, political persecution is one; intimidation, harassment and even social issues might be okay. In some African countries, the woman is left out of inheriting the husband’s property when the husband dies. Can you believe that? So, there are some cases where the wife is married or should be married to the late husband’s brother, and if she does not want to marry him, she is disinherited or rejected. There are land issues, too. There are some places where women cannot inherit their parents’ land.
Jacobsen: What happens to these women who are disinherited?
Sobowale: If she is disinherited and she has a job, then fine, but the fact remains that she might be a victim of harassment. The family of the latter one might say, if she refuses, that she is not worthy to live.
Jacobsen: If they leave even that little community, how do these women form a new life, not even in another country but within the country if they are sort of an internal to the country migrant, in the way of speaking?
Sobowale: Migrants leave the country, but then they might be destabilized. A woman has been used to a certain style of living, a certain class of living; maybe the husband was educated, and the wife is a housewife, depending on the husband. If the husband dies and is disinherited, she may have three or four children. If she moves to another part of the country, she might not be well catered for.
Jacobsen: What about the level of corruption in institutions you’ve mentioned before, which exacerbates the need for people to flee an environment?
Sobowale: No country is free of corruption; only the levels differ. For instance, I talked about some African countries, such as Nigeria. For instance, there might not be light because someone has done something, and there might not be water. In the case of water, the government is supposed to provide water. Since there is no water, people go and still must pay the government. The routes need to be better; if the routes were okay, Nigeria should be able to supply jewel of Africa if all this security stopped because many of the goods get spoiled on the farm because of lack of preservation and good resources. The spoiled goods are far more than the ones that get into the market.
Jacobsen: One of the major issues behind this is simply raising the standards for African States. Reduction in corruption would be one help, but intracontinental trade would be a big boon, because of many of the issues many Africans face. It is a post-colonial hangover from Christian European colonialism, Arab-Muslim colonialism, and so on. However, a renewal of the economies of many African States would help many populations from having to endure much harder circumstances than many others must face around the world. You would see a reduction in migratory crises at that time.
Sobowale: When we look at African States, Nigeria, for instance, has an educated population, but then, as I said, when they went to school, this school passes through them because if you get educated and you now stick your hands into the commonwealth to steal money, it is like you are thinking is shallow. The way I see the world is that we are only here for a moment, but it is what you do that people will say after you: if you have done good to the world, fine and if you have done that to the world… For instance, a local government chairperson who is given all the facilities to develop his local government starts allocating everything to himself; at the end of the day, the people will suffer and hardly will be spoken of after his transition, but then some local government chairmen will even use their facilities for the benefit of society.
Jacobsen: The larger point there, too, is also existential; we do not matter that much to future generations. How much do we think about our grandparents or great-grandparents’ generation? We do not think about them, let alone know the types of names they have. That is certainly true in Canada. Founding Prime Ministers, if people can name them, from various countries, but in general, most people for most of human history and the end of the future will be completely and utterly forgotten without a trace.
Sobowale: Let me ask you a question. You just said, “ Grandfather, “ how many days in a week do you think of your grandfather?
Jacobsen: On one side, rarely, and on the other, maybe once, not much.
Sobowale: I am more concerned about those of us living. Let us make life better for everyone instead of gathering money for your children and grandchildren.
Jacobsen: That is true. It is like the adage: If you do not raise the boys to become men, they will burn down the village to feel the heat.
Sobowale: So, one thing is that if we take this petrol or gas or whatever, I think many nations would be, particularly Nigeria will be better; lights, routes, and of course education.
Jacobsen: Last question; what will be your word of hope for migrants stuck in difficult circumstances, whether they’re just having to leave their country of origin or arriving at a country that may be less than friendly to them, whether irregular migrants in extreme circumstances or regular migrants having to go through culture shock as you noted?
Sobowale: As I said earlier, the thing is that a man means getting bundled out of his country with just the clothes on his back, having nowhere to hope for the next meal, and having nowhere to sleep; it is a psychological issue. As I said earlier, we should give kudos to countries that are aware of their duties to the common world. When I say the common world, I mean the whole world. I mean, these are people; let us welcome them, and to those countries doing otherwise, I implore them to change.
Jacobsen: All right, thank you.
Sobowale: You’re welcome.
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