Our Youths, The Mediterranean Sea and The Cemetery.

2014 has probably ended as a happy year for someone but to many others it was a year of sadness, a year of death, a year the human family refused to do something about the deaths of our young people.

On Nov 25, 2014, Pope Francis while addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg made a very passionate appeal saying “We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery”.

Indeed the Mediterranean has become a burial place for the young people of Africa, the bright and young minds of the African Continent whose only crime was being born in a Continent where her leaders cared less.

According to International Organization for Migration (IOM), about 3,072 people have perished so far trying to migrate to Europe through the Mediterranean Sea in 2014 alone. (www.iom.int).

A large number of these deaths were  young people of Africa. International Organization for Migration also stated that "1 in 8 international migrants is a young migrant" (Twitter@IOM_news October 7th, 2014).

It is simply bad leadership that causes massive emigration of young people to western countries and many using the irregular channels which has resulted in so many deaths at sea while crossing over in search of “greener pastures”.

As the number of migrants increases so does the number of deaths.Sadly, to many African leaders and governments it is just one of those numbers international Organizations release to tarnish the image of the continent. To African leaders and governments…it is just another data!!

What we refuse to realize or intentionally ignore is the fact that among the dead could be that future President, that future entrepreneur, that future scientist, that future educationist who probably might have saved Africa from its leadership challenges in the future.

See the cycle: Bad leadership--Creates economic hardship--Economic hardship--Increases poverty--Poverty forces people to seek alternative means of survival--the search triggers the survival instinct--the survival instinct encourages Migration--Migration under such survival instinct guarantees Irregular Migration; this is Migration by any available means...this leads to deaths of millions of our Youths while crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

Here is a solution: Youth Involvement in Governance----Demands Government accountability ---Encourages participatory democracy---Increases involvement in policy formulation ---Creates participatory leadership and good governance---Improves leadership--- Reduces the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few---Create jobs---Empowers the youth---Reduces Irregular Migration--Prevents the deaths of millions of our Youth.

It is upto us to either see the number of deaths as another data or stand up and demand good leadership from our governments.

Anthony IKE Otikpa, Executive Director, Foundation for Youths in the Diaspora (FYID) writes from Lagos, Nigeria