Close Menu
Ikenga Online
    What's Hot

    Dangote refinery, again cuts petrol price, now sells N825 per litre

    May 12, 2025

    NPFL: Illechukwu laments poor funding as Rangers demolish Katsina United 4-0

    May 12, 2025

    How the military taught Nigerians the art of looting by Owei Lakemfa 

    May 12, 2025
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Ikenga Online
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    Donate
    • Home
      • Igboezue
      • Hall of Fame
      • Hall of Shame
    • News
      1. Other States
      2. National
      3. International
      4. Interviews
      5. Personalities
      6. View All

      Gunmen disrupt pro-Wike rally in Bayelsa

      April 26, 2025

      Abuja residents tasked on book reading as NBRP flags off Abuja Book City 2025

      April 25, 2025

      Gunmen ambush commercial buses in Benue, abduct 14 passengers 

      April 24, 2025

      Benue under herdsmen siege – Gov Alia 

      April 21, 2025

      Dangote refinery, again cuts petrol price, now sells N825 per litre

      May 12, 2025

      Piwuna emerges new ASUU president

      May 12, 2025

      Nigerians roast INEC for not acting on S’court judgement on LP, PDP

      May 9, 2025

      S’East group faults Mgbeke’s claims on Natasha, Ezekwesili 

      May 9, 2025

      American, Robert Prevost emerges new Pope Leo XIV 

      May 8, 2025

      Breaking: ‘We have a Pope,’ as white smoke seen from Sistine Chapel 

      May 8, 2025

      Activists seek advisory opinion on African states’ obligations on climate change

      May 7, 2025

      Obi calls for prayers as selection of new Pope begins

      May 7, 2025

      Slash jumbo salaries to pay minimum wage, Bishop tells Tinubu

      June 19, 2024

      Nigeria remains a country in crisis that needs to heal – Chido Onumah

      January 24, 2024

      The Ekweremadus: Obasanjo writes UK court, seeks pardon for them

      April 5, 2023

      I’m coming with loads of experience to re-set Abia – Greg Ibe

      February 1, 2023

      Anambra-born Ugochi Nwizu shines as UNN best graduating doctor with multiple distinctions

      September 29, 2023

      Bulwark for women, girls: Meet Ikengaonline September town-hall guest speaker, Prof Joy Ezeilo

      September 27, 2023

      Rufai Oseni, the most dangerous man on Nigerian TV by Okey Ndibe

      February 13, 2023

      Stanley Macebuh: Unforgettable pathfinder of modern Nigerian journalism by Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

      February 7, 2023

      Dangote refinery, again cuts petrol price, now sells N825 per litre

      May 12, 2025

      NPFL: Illechukwu laments poor funding as Rangers demolish Katsina United 4-0

      May 12, 2025

      Piwuna emerges new ASUU president

      May 12, 2025

      Enugu CP patrols communities in Uzo-Uwani LGA, visits naval base

      May 11, 2025
    • Abia

      We thought Otti wanted to chase us out of cattle market – Northern traders

      May 11, 2025

      NEITI mgt lauds Otti’s developmental strides

      May 9, 2025

      Abia new govt house uninhabitable – Commissioner

      May 9, 2025

      NEITI holds national retreat in Abia, lauds Otti’s administrative acumen

      May 7, 2025

      Purported suspension: Otti seeks Abure’s arrest over impersonation

      May 7, 2025
    • Anambra

      Anambra sanctions school for monetizing leadership positions

      May 11, 2025

      Police bust four-man kidnap gang, recover vehicles, others

      May 11, 2025

      Tinubu pledges to tackle erosion, reactivate gas plan in Anambra 

      May 9, 2025

      Tinubu lauds Anyaoku’s contributions to Nigeria’s unity, democracy

      May 8, 2025

      Tinubu commends Soludo’s projects, visionary leadership in Anambra

      May 8, 2025
    • Ebonyi

      Ebonyi lawmaker demands retraction of defamatory articles by online media outfit

      May 11, 2025

      Ebonyi creates five autonomous communities in crisis prone town

      May 8, 2025

      Ebonyi: Hoodlums attack former perm sec, set his vehicle, cash ablaze

      May 8, 2025

      Ebonyi workers lament housing challenges, demand bulk release of leave allowance

      May 1, 2025

      2027: I will continue running for Reps till I win – Ex-Ebonyi Lawmaker vows

      April 28, 2025
    • Delta
    • Enugu

      NPFL: Illechukwu laments poor funding as Rangers demolish Katsina United 4-0

      May 12, 2025

      Enugu CP patrols communities in Uzo-Uwani LGA, visits naval base

      May 11, 2025

      Mbah celebrates Jim Nwobodo at 85 

      May 11, 2025

      Enugu govt set to establish electric, CNG auto plant

      May 11, 2025

      Enugu govt commences domestication of gender policy, sets up committee on GBV

      May 9, 2025
    • Imo

      Mayhem in Imo as suspected herdsmen kill driver, abduct 18 passengers

      May 9, 2025

      Exclusive: Why S’East youths shun military enlistment

      April 28, 2025

      Police rescue, reunite kidnapped four-year-old boy with parents in Imo

      April 24, 2025

      Commissioner bans corporal punishment in Imo public schools

      April 13, 2025

      Imo Assembly calls for collaboration to tackle flooding

      April 7, 2025
    • Rivers

      IHRHL holds stakeholders dialogue on climate change

      May 7, 2025

      NBA cancels confab in Rivers, moves to Enugu

      April 14, 2025

      Rivers politics must change approach – Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo

      March 31, 2025

      Rivers: Amaechi calls for civil protest against Tinubu

      March 29, 2025

      Women cooperative strengthens members’ capacity on resource governance in Rivers 

      March 27, 2025
    • Politics

      Nigerians roast INEC for not acting on S’court judgement on LP, PDP

      May 9, 2025

      Purported suspension: Otti seeks Abure’s arrest over impersonation

      May 7, 2025

      Court sets aside Abia PDP congresses

      May 7, 2025

      Abure’s LP faction slams indefinite suspension on Gov Otti, Kingibe, others

      May 7, 2025

      Guber election: Tinubu’s planned Anambra visit unsettles APC camp

      May 3, 2025
    • Opinion & Editorial
      • Editorial
      • Columnists
        • Osmund Agbo
        • Chido Onumah
        • Uche Ugboajah
        • Hassan Gimba
        • Edwin Madunagu
        • Rudolf Okonkwo
        • Azu Ishiekwene
        • Osita Chidoka
        • Owei Lakemfa
        • Chidi Odinkalu
      • Opinion
    • Special Reports
    • Art & Entertainment
      • Nollywood
      • Music
      • Ikengaonline Literary Series (ILS)
      • Life
      • Travels
    • Sports
    Ikenga Online
    Home » Migrate to UK, go to jail in Rwanda by Owei Lakemfa
    Owei Lakemfa

    Migrate to UK, go to jail in Rwanda by Owei Lakemfa

    EditorBy EditorOctober 6, 2023No Comments6 Mins Read
    Owei Lakemfa

     By Owei Lakemfa

    The United Kingdom,UK, and Rwanda who conspired to have hapless migrants flown from London to open prison in Kigali, are trying hard to keep their unholy alliance on track.

    Ironically, the main driver of this criminal anti-immigration conspiracy, 43-year-old British Attorney General Suella Braverman, is of Indian origin whose parents, Uma and Christie Fernandes, migrated from Mauritius and Kenya.

    Her boss, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s grandparents were Indians born in Pakistan, while his parents migrated from East Africa. The amiable King Charles III is a descendant of William the Conqueror who migrated from Normandy in France and whose forebears were Scandinavian Vikings. On the other hand, the Rwandan President Paul Kagame, knows what it is to be a migrant as his parents fled the country when he was two, and he was raised in refugee camps in Uganda.

    It would have been expected that these leaders, given their backgrounds would be sympathetic to migrants, but the anti-migration conspiracies of the countries they lead, suggest otherwise. In order to carry out the inhuman act of rounding up illegal migrants, half of who are Indians and Africans, and sending them to an uncertain but difficult future in Rwanda, both countries tried to convince the world that what they are doing is compassionate work in the service of humanity. The argument presented by Braverman is that: “Many countries around the world are grappling with unprecedented numbers of illegal migrants and I sincerely believe that this world-leading partnership … is both humanitarian and compassionate and also fair and balanced.”

    On the other hand, the claim of Rwanda as presented by its Foreign Minister, Vincent Biruta is that the UK-Rwanda proposals “offer better opportunities for migrants and Rwandans alike and would help with the British government’s goal of disrupting people-trafficking networks.” Behind these claims are cold financial statistics and calculations in which the migrants are mere figures, not human beings. The British establishment is uncomfortable that the migrants, in comparison with the indigenes, have high birth rates which has implications for the country’s future, and that the country spends over two billion pounds a year to accommodate migrants. So it seeks a cheap way out: offer a $95 million contract to countries willing to take in so-called illegal immigrants and ensure they never come back to the UK.

    Rwanda, whose primary interests are financial gains, agreed in 2022 to receive thousands of illegally deported migrants for a fee of $146 million. Specifically on who is to be deported to Rwanda, under the April 14, 2022 “asylum partnership agreement” the British Interior Ministry says they would be: “Anyone who comes to the UK illegally – who cannot be returned to their home country – will be in scope to be relocated to Rwanda.”

    Despite their agreement on how to treat migrants by virtually holding them in open prison, both countries still have differences. The Rwandan High Commissioner to Britain, Johnston Busingye, in a video aired on Saturday September 30, 2023, fired a missile at his host, saying although his country has a binding agreement with the UK on the migrants, the latter should stop posing as a compassionate country that has the interests of refugees at heart. He said this is “immoral” and that Britain should address the root causes of migration rather than treat its symptoms.

    Busingye said: “They should have a long-term policy of making it a choice for people not to risk their lives coming to the UK. Because right now, many people are not coming here because of war in their country. No, they’re coming here because they are hopeless. They’re coming here because they have no future.” He added: “It is immoral for this country to still see themselves as the refugee country, the solace country, the protection country, the compassion country. They enslaved millions of people for 400 years. They destroyed India, they destroyed China, they destroyed Africa.”

    A red-faced British establishment is yet to make a coherent response. It is likely it would ask the High Commissioner to be withdrawn. Finding the chicken feed offered by UK appetising, Rwanda, five months later, turned to Denmark for a similar deal to dump unwanted asylum seekers from that country in Rwanda for a fee. Denmark, a socially conscious country may with this agreement find itself in strange company. It is a country that has a full Minister in charge of foreigners and integration. Its Integration Act is to ensure that “newly arrived foreign nationals get an opportunity to use their abilities and resources to become active citizens on equal terms with other citizens in the Danish society.”

    So, how does a country with such a model law, embark on a mission to deport migrants for a fee into an uncertain future? It is also not certain if Europeans from Poland, Ukraine, Romania and Germany who form the bulk of the migrants would be sent to the African country or it would be the comparatively small number of non-European migrants from Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and India that would be sent.

    The fate of the asylum seekers in Rwanda is not certain. But what is clear is that the 6,400-kilometre journey from UK to Rwanda is a “One way ticket”, so the victims cannot return. In Rwanda, the asylum seekers may be granted refugee status to remain in the country or seek asylum in another “safe third country”. Were they to remain in Rwanda, the possibility of eventually being expelled and forcibly returned to their countries of origin, is high.

    There is the experience of Australia in 2012 seizing asylum seekers and seconding them to Papua New Guinea and Republic of Naru. There were long delays in determining their refugee status; they were virtually abandoned with little food and virtually no medical care even when a number of them developed mental illness. In some cases, 112 of them were cramped into a single dormitory. Some times when they ventured out of the detention centre, they were attacked, raped or beaten by the locals.

    Four years later, it was discovered that at least 83 per cent of them were suffering from psychological disorder. The asylum seekers were so badly treated that some begged to be allowed to return to their home countries. Eventually, Australia was forced by international pressure to close the centres. In spite of this experience and the illegality of the UK-Rwanda agreement, most of the world is silent. This is worse in Africa whose ancestral land is to be desecrated. I am not aware of any African country that has called out Rwanda. The message out there is simple: migrate illegally to UK and go to jail in Rwanda.

    Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of Organisation of African Trade Union Unity (OATUU), is a human rights activist, journalist, and author.

    Editor
    • Website

    Related Posts

    How the military taught Nigerians the art of looting by Owei Lakemfa 

    May 12, 2025

    Nigeria: The making of a judicial selectorate, by Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

    May 11, 2025

    Dare Babarinsa: Toast to a super newsman & worthy boss @70 by Godwin Onyeacholem

    May 11, 2025
    Editors Picks

    Dangote refinery, again cuts petrol price, now sells N825 per litre

    May 12, 2025

    NPFL: Illechukwu laments poor funding as Rangers demolish Katsina United 4-0

    May 12, 2025

    How the military taught Nigerians the art of looting by Owei Lakemfa 

    May 12, 2025

    Piwuna emerges new ASUU president

    May 12, 2025
    Latest Posts
    National

    Dangote refinery, again cuts petrol price, now sells N825 per litre

    Sports

    NPFL: Illechukwu laments poor funding as Rangers demolish Katsina United 4-0

    Owei Lakemfa

    How the military taught Nigerians the art of looting by Owei Lakemfa 

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest news from Ikenga Online.

    Advertisement
    Demo

    IkengaOnline is a publication of the Ikenga Media & Cultural Awareness Initiative (IMCAI), a non-profit organisation with offices in Houston Texas and Abuja.

    We're social. Connect with us:

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn WhatsApp RSS
    • Home
      • Igboezue
      • Hall of Fame
      • Hall of Shame
    • News
      • Other States
      • National
      • International
      • Interviews
      • Personalities
    • Abia
    • Anambra
    • Ebonyi
    • Delta
    • Enugu
    • Imo
    • Rivers
    • Politics
    • Opinion & Editorial
      • Editorial
      • Columnists
        • Osmund Agbo
        • Chido Onumah
        • Uche Ugboajah
        • Hassan Gimba
        • Edwin Madunagu
        • Rudolf Okonkwo
        • Azu Ishiekwene
        • Osita Chidoka
        • Owei Lakemfa
        • Chidi Odinkalu
      • Opinion
    • Special Reports
    • Art & Entertainment
      • Nollywood
      • Music
      • Ikengaonline Literary Series (ILS)
      • Life
      • Travels
    • Sports

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest news from Ikenga Online.

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram LinkedIn WhatsApp RSS
    © 2025 Ikenga Online. Ikenga.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.