TRIBUNE | Changing the Paradigm with Desimmigration

As the massive exodus of young Africans to Europe fuels fear, tragedy, and political manipulation, another path is urgently needed: that of desimmigration. Not to build walls, but to build bridges—on the continent. The point is no longer to manage migratory flows, but to address the root causes of departure. Desimmigration calls for a paradigm shift: making the right to stay a pillar of development, and African youth a driver of sovereignty.

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Objective: #DESIMMIGRATION – for an ambitious, dynamic, and respectful partnership in service of Africa’s development. This is true pragmatism.

It is time to break away from the fatalistic logic that frames exile as the destiny of millions of young Africans. Desimmigration is neither isolationism nor a denial of the right to mobility: it is a political, economic, and human project aimed at building, on the continent, the conditions for a dignified, free, and prosperous life.

It calls for a shift in paradigm: a partnership no longer based on charity, conditional aid, or fear of the other, but on the co-construction of a shared future. An ambitious partnership that invests in education, innovation, and productive sovereignty; a dynamic partnership that empowers youth, mobilizes diasporas, and embraces the circular economy; a respectful partnership that recognizes the aspirations of African peoples and their right to determine their own future.

Desimmigration is a refusal to surrender. It is also a refusal to turn a blind eye to a sacrificed youth, drifting in the suburbs and housing projects of Paris, shattered by marginalization and the grip of drugs. It is a call for political courage, strategic clarity, and shared responsibility.
It is, quite simply, pragmatism.

But this pragmatism calls for action. It requires African states to break free from rentier logics, to unleash the energy of their youth, and to build a stable and equitable framework for investment and creativity. It also requires international partners to change their perspective, to move beyond security-driven approaches, and to support an endogenous dynamic.

Desimmigration is not a slogan: it is a direction. And it is up to Africa’s vital forces to claim it, turn it into a strategy, a lever, and a fulfilled promise.

Modeste Boukadia – May 20, 2025