Gambia’s President Adama Barrow has said that the country’s youth need to have self confidence as they can make it in their own country just like him and many others.
President Barrow made these remarks at a press conference during the visit of the German President at the Coco Ocean Hotel, Kololi.
“We have to build self confidence that we can make, it in our country,” President Adama Barrow said.
The Gambian leader took himself as an example for the young Gambian youth who are desperate to go to Europe thinking that they cannot make it in life without traveling.
“Young people think that there are money trees in Europe that they will cut and fill their pockets,” he asserted.
He recollected his hustling days with his cousins in Germany many of whom are still struggling from hand to mouth after 36 years.
He said he traveled to Europe at the age of 23 years but it was only after his return that things began to change as he rose through the ranks.
He encouraged Gambians to build self confidence to do what it takes to live a successful life. President Barrow spoke at length about the challenges of irregular migration which he said is a global problem by calling on the stakeholders to work together to resolve the problem.
President Steinmeier also spoke emphatically on irregular migration, saying African governments need to work on plans to sustain and maintain its growing youth population who are engaged in irregular migration known as the ’back way’.
“The Gambia is our concern, we want to provide skills training to them,” he said.
According to him, there are over 35, 000 Gambian migrants in Germany out of which 1,500 are undocumented and awaiting deportation.
President Steinmeier spoke about the recent EU–Africa Summit in Abidjan which was centered around irregular migration including the enslavement of African migrants in Libya.
When asked whether they intend to deport the undocumented Gambian migrants, he said the two countries will bring technical experts to work on the problem.
Meanwhile, the German President said Europeans do not have answers to Africa’s problems and that the problems need African solutions.
