President Muhammadu Buhari has asked Europe to develop Africa as a sustainable solution to the problem of illegal and irregular migration of Africans to Europe.
He stated this on Thursday in an article featured for ongoing 6th EU-AFRICA summit in Brussels, Belgium.
The article reads in parts:
“Despite burgeoning possibility, irregular northward migration from my continent drains Africa’s talent pool, while provoking political crises in the EU,” Mr Buhari said. “Despite its best efforts, Europe will not find a sustainable remedy to this problem by further reinforcing its Fortress Europe approach.”
“Instead, more opportunities must be created for Africans at home, providing alternatives to the decision to take a life-threatening boat journey in order to seek them elsewhere,” he added.
“by 2050, Africa’s population of 1.3 billion is set to double, making up a quarter of the world’s total. My country, Nigeria, is set to double its population to 400 million by then, surpassing the United States to become the third largest nation in the world,” arguing that “the relationship between the EU and Africa must be rebalanced to power job creation. Unfortunately, today’s arrangements do just the opposite.”