How to identify scam travel agents before you japa to get foreign jobs

Migration alias 'Japa' na one of di issues wey pipo dey tok about well well for Nigeria and West Africa.

Before, na mostly young pipo dey travel for work or studies abroad, but now tins don change sake of say even elderly pipo, entire families and grandparents too don dey japa.

Di reason for di travels na mostly for beta life sake of say di economic situation for Nigeria and oda third world kontris neva improve.

Nigeria wey be di largest economy for di African continent dey experience high level of unemployment and high cost of living.

No be today dis high cost of living start, but di petrol subsidy wey President Bola Tinubu remove for May, 2023 make evritin worse.

According to figures from authorities for June 2023, inflation rise to 22.79% from 22.41% in May.

Na rising food prices, housing, water, electricity, and petrol dey cause dis inflation.

While most pipo dey japa wit di hope to get beta and well paying jobs abroad, odas dey use travel agencies and agents to help dem get work.

Even though some of dis agencies dey genuine, tori about di ones wey dey do mago-mago plenti well well.

One victim share her tori wit BBC Pidgin.

'My agent give me fake flight ticket ' - Victim

Apart from students wey wan go study abroad, di pipo wey dey travel well well na professionals like ICT professionals, engineers and health workers.

Nigeria goment too bin don raise alarm ontop brain drain sake of di way wey health workers and oda professionals dey take comot from di kontri.

Di desperation to japa dey make pipo fall into di hands of wrong travel agents.

Tori about pipo wey lose money and properties ontop fake agent and fake job promises for abroad full evriwia.

One lady wey don be victim before share her tori wit BBC News Pidgin, according to her, di agent get visa for her but e give her fake flight ticket and e tell her lies about her salary for di domestic staff job wey e help her get.

"Dat my agent no be genuine pesin, e give me fake ticket, I bin no know say na fake ticket until I reach airport to enta flight.

"Di airline tell me say no flight wey get dat ticket number, wen I call di agent to inform am, e still lie tell me say I miss my flight.

"I get to buy anoda ticket wit my personal money to travel, wetin pain me pass be say even di job e get for me, no be di amount wey im say dem go pay me. E deceive me. She explain.

Even though she don settle down for di kontri, she tell BBC Pidgin say she no wish make anybody go through some agents wey no dey genuine sake of say dem go make life difficult for you.

On Monday, 18 December, 2023 di United Nations Migration Agency, International Organisation for Migration, (IOM) say more dan 1,000 Nigerians fall victim to scams wey involve foreign job opportunities for di United Kingdom.

IOM Chief of Mission, Laurent De Boeck, advise Nigerians to shine dia eyes, get proper information before dem travel go anywia.

Im add say some of di victims lose as much as $10,000 each sake for dia desperate attempts to get foreign jobs.

“Dem give some of dem fake employment letters, wey allow dem to get visas.

“Wen dem present di letters for dia, and di organisations tell dem say di letters no come from dem. Over one thousand pipo dey affected,” im tok.

Some of dem don hang for UK because dem no get any means to come back, while some dey shame to come back to dia families.

Di IOM dey work wit partners to bring back thousands of pipo, including Nigerians, from Tunisia wey don ban migration.

How to Identify scam travel agents

Wit all dis complain of how unsuspecting travel agents dey collect plenti money from pipo and yet dem no go give dem wetin dem agree, BBC News Pidgin follow one Migration consultant tok.

Gbarale Louis Suzor na professional migration expert and consultant wey don dey practice for 8 years and im tok say to identify dem no easy at all.

For interview wit BBC Pidgin im tok say some of dem get evritin wey go convince you but you need to shine your eyes well well to fit know di bad and good ones.

Some of di tins wey im advice pipo wey wan relocate to look out for na:

Demand for huge amounts bifor di process start: "If you meet any travel agent or migration consultant wey tell you to pay huge amount of money bifor di process start, dat na big sign say im no dey genuine".

"Di genuine ones go give you assurance, tell you evritin and wia you fit verify di information and na afta di tin don work out dem go ask for dia payment".

Verification: Make sure say all di tins wey di pipo dey tell you na wetin you fit verify or confam online by yoursef.

Try to know one or two pipo wey dem don work for bifor and wey di arrangement go well. This one dey difficult but you get to try.

"If dem tell you say you dey go do house keeping job or coffee job or work anywia, try ask di name of di company, check di official website of di company online if dem dey recruit.

"Find pesin wey dey work dia or wey don work dia bifor, or find pesin wey di agent don work wit bifor wey dey successful"

Im add say most pipo go just believe papers/documents wey dis agents go show dem but di pipo wey wan relocate no get patience or dey too lazy to do dia own investigations and verifications.

"Some of dem go tok say you go pay like One million naira for dem to help you get a school, but na lie, anybody wey fit use social media fit find out all dis tins by diasef from your house, so far as you sabi use internet".

Language barrier/Technology: Dis na one of di issues wey dis mago-mago travel agencies dey use chop pipo money, sake of say you no dey understand di language of di kontri.

As persin wey wan relocate go kontri wey no dey speak English or language wey you understand you need a trusted pesin wey understand di language wey go fit help you access dia website.

Technology don make tins dey easy and language translators plenti. So wit technology you no really need a middle man to help you.

Louis explain say one of di challenges wey dis travel and migration industry dey face na lack of regulation.

"Some pipo go just go online go do courses wey certify dem, but in di real sense dem no sabi wetin dem dey do, dem no even be affiliates to any school or work agencies.

"Some of dia links no even sabi pipo wey dey stay for dos kontris . If dis industry dey regulated for Nigeria e go make tins easy".

Im add say if di Ministry of Foreign Affairs and di Nigeria in Diaspora Commission fit collabo to create database wia all dis travel and migration agencies fit register, e go dey easy to build trust and also identify di ones wey dey chop pipo money witout doing di work wey dem pay for.

Im say e go also dey easy to arrest di mago-mago ones and prosecute dem.