Federal Govt. Cautions Youth Seeking Greener Pasture Abroad,says everything is not money.

The federal government has cautioned youths seeking greener pastures abroad to be careful, so as not to end up as victims of trafficking.

Memunat Idu-Lah, director of international cultural relations in the ministry of information and culture, while speaking in an interview with NAN on Sunday advised youths to seek opportunities within the country, said different empowerment programmes of the federal government can enable youths to be productive.

“Our youths should look inward and be creative. Everybody has one creativity or the other. Everybody has something they’re born to do in this world,” she said.

“I think we should discourage the youths from going out. If they need support, there are some government agencies saddled with the responsibility of providing many empowerment programmes.

“These agencies can support youths to learn something and be productive, rather than looking at running out. We should not think of going out. We should try to look inward and believe in government’s programmes.

“The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) is there, and so many programmes that the government has put in place to help the youths — to encourage them.”

The people coming to take them will not tell them the truth. It is only when the children are out of the village and they are with their traffickers alone, that’s when sometimes, it is too late and they can’t go back,” Idu-Lah said.

“So, they have to know that everything is not about money. The children can stay back in Nigeria, even help Nigeria’s economy, because when they use their hands to do something creative, they can add to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the nation, instead of even losing our good hands in the name of trafficking and they die in the process.

“Both ways, we are trying to help the economy and we are also trying to save lives that are going to be lost. We hear cases of organ trafficking, organ sales. They kill people in the process and sell their organs —all sorts of things are going on.” she added.