The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has said Mali, Libya and the United Arab Emirate (UAE) are top on the list of countries Nigerians, especially the youths, migrate to.

The Director General NAPTIP, Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi, said this at the Nasrul-Lahi-I-Fatih Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) Youth Wing 2022 Global Youth Seminar (GYS), which had as its theme: 'Japa Syndrome: The Pains and Gains'.

There was an essay competition in the event, which held in Abuja on Monday. Out of the 87 entries received, Adewale Abdullateef, a 21-year-old Chemical Engineering of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), emerged winner, while the duo of Oke Faidhat and Oshunkoya Ganiyu, came second and third respectively.

The NAPTIP boss, represented by AbdulGaniyu Abubakar, noted that migration usually happens due to a combination of push and pull factors and that from the NAPTIP data for five years, 2018-2022 show that Benin Republic, Burkina-Faso, Ivory-Coast, Ghana, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Niger-Republic, Oman, Saudi- Arabia, Sudan, Togo, UAE among other are very prominent.

The five-year data shows that Mali recorded 218; Libya 125, UAE 96, Benin Republic 76, Burkina Faso 63 and Ghana 60 among others.

Pains of the JAPA Syndrome.

While listing some gains of migration to include employment opportunities and tourism among others, she also listed some pains to include depletion of the labor force in the country of origin, high incidence of Irregular Migration not only in Nigeria but the world over; risk of human trafficking; and increase in the number refugees and asylum seekers in the destination countries among others.

Also, the National Youth Secretary of NASFAT, Alhaji Kabir Raji, said that the third edition of seminar was to address the challenges of brain drain (JAPA Syndrome), legal and illegal migration of Nigerian youth from the country and proffering possible solutions to those charged with governance and the citizens.