Bakary Jaiju was 19 when he climbed into a wooden boat in the Gambia and set out for Europe. He would be at sea for seven frightening days as his supplies of food and water gradually ran out.

“You can’t even sleep in case you fall in,” he recalled, now in Tenerife after finally reaching the Canary Islands late last year in search of a “better life”.

“I decided to go, whether I survive or I die, because I want my family to be in a good condition,” said Jaiju, explaining why he left his wife and baby behind and risked the treacherous waters of the Atlantic.

In the few months since he reached this southernmost tip of Europe, hundreds of others have died trying.

It is their plight, and the dramatic stories of those who do make it, that Pope Leo will highlight during his visit to the Spanish islands which began in Gran Canaria on Thursday.

The Pope’s focus is a clear counterpoint to talk elsewhere of a migration “crisis” and an “ideological invasion”.

Data from the UNHCR show the number of migrant arrivals by sea to Spain has fallen significantly this year, partly due to increased interceptions off the West African coast funded by the EU.

But many are still trying – and dying.

So Pope Leo will stress the need for alternative “safe and legal pathways” to Europe but also appeal for a humane approach and “respectful welcome” for those who pay smugglers and are then packed into the most basic of boats.

In Gran Canaria, he will drop flowers into the waves in memory of the migrants who never made it, including entire boatloads that disappeared without trace.

Bakary Jaiju sees himself as one of the lucky ones.

First, his boat with around 160 people on board, including women and children, managed to evade the extra naval patrols off Mauritania and Senegal. Days later, they ran out of fuel only to be spotted and rescued off the tiny Spanish island of El Hierro.

He then spent three “very cold, very difficult” months in a migrant camp in Tenerife until he joined a project helping him to learn Spanish and find a way to stay on the island legally.

The driving force behind that is Padre Pepe, a chatty parish priest in jeans and checked shirt rather than a dog collar.

He realised the number of young migrants on the island was growing, but local authorities only looked after them until they turned 18. From then on, they were on their own.

“But the streets will eat you up, young people are like carrion there,” said Padre Pepe.

The Good Samaritan Foundation now offers accommodation and all kinds of workshops to about 170 young men. “The labour market could absorb all these people, there is huge demand,” the priest insists.

“It’s hard for me to understand why the human heart is so hard,” is the priest’s take on toughening attitudes in Europe to migration. “If we do it well, integrate people well, there is nothing bad in it at all. Quite the contrary.”

Bakary Jaiju’s own route to residency has been eased by a rare opportunity.

Pedro Sánchez’s government in Madrid is currently allowing hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants to “regularise” their status, so anyone who arrived before last December can apply for residence and work permits.

Padre Pepe’s team are scrambling to help everyone submit their paperwork before the deadline.

The one-off move has been criticised by Spain’s opposition.

The conservative Popular Party has condemned an “irresponsible” move that goes against all EU immigration policies. And the far-right Vox party has called it an “invasion” that would attract more migrants to the country and cause the “collapse of the health service, housing and security”.

For the Socialist government, though, the move is a mix of the humanitarian, pragmatic and political: with an ageing, shrinking population it needs more workers – like all of Europe.

“We couldn’t find local people who wanted to work with us,” said Diana del Molino Rodriguez at the Domingo Alonso Group workshop in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Unable to recruit bodywork painters or panel beaters, the car firm hooked up with the local government to hire young migrants once they turn 18 and leave state care.

Molino Rodriguez says they faced fierce criticism initially, with social media comments about people “stealing” Spanish jobs: “It was a really hard thing to do because immigration was not something seen as positive. Nobody was looking at migrants like persons.”

Her firm now has around 30 people on its books, including 19-year-old Tiene Lama, who says he’s able to send several hundred euros each month back to his family in Ivory Coast.

Dozens of companies, including big hotel chains on the holiday islands, have now signed up to the scheme.

As the Pope pushes against the tide, trying to change the tone on migration, a new EU pact kicks in this week aimed at tightening Europe’s borders still further.

The idea is to make it easier to detain and deport those arriving by sea.

For young men like Bakary Jaiju, already prepared to risk everything, it is little deterrent; for human rights groups it brings new fears for asylum seekers and their struggle to be heard.

But it is officials on the Canary Islands, where that policy should play out, who are most damning.

“We have no-one to work in the hotels, drive our buses or work in construction; we don’t have masons or mechanics,” warns Francis Candil, deputy minister for welfare.

“What we need is a real migration policy that means people from African countries don’t have to risk their lives but can come to Europe and have options for work.”

“Instead, we have Europe trying to protect itself behind walls – and to expel people.”

From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has signed the Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and the Bayelsa Medical University Teaching Hospital (BMUTH) Bills into law.

Governor Diri assented to the bills on Wednesday during the 188th state executive council meeting in Government House, Yenagoa.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, quoted him as describing the PWDs legislation as “profound” and “the people’s law” as it guarantees dignity, equal opportunity, and fair treatment for all Bayelsans regardless of physical condition.

The governor commended the sponsor of the bill, Dr. Charles Daniel, member representing Brass Constituency I in the House of Assembly, for his persistence, describing it as one of the best legislations from the state legislature.

He also lauded the Speaker and members of the Assembly for the speedy passage of the bill, noting that the law would address the exclusion of persons with disabilities in public and private infrastructure.

His words: “I had directed the Deputy Governor when he was the Chief of Staff to initiate an Executive Bill that would take care of our brothers and sisters living with disability. I was later informed there was already a private member bill sponsored by Dr. Daniel, and so I directed the executive arm to work with him. That is the product we have today.

“For me, this is one of the best pieces of legislation that has come out of the State House of Assembly.

“I commend members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and the very hard working Speaker for giving very quick attention to this bill and passing it with the speed of light.”

The governor acknowledged that PWDs in the state recognised government’s interventions even before the law, adding that his administration’s performance would not be measured by physical projects alone.

According to him, “we often build houses and public infrastructure without considering the entrance and parking spaces for our brothers and sisters with disabilities.

“I’m happy that the chairman of the PWDs association has acknowledged most of what this government has been doing, even without this law, to ensure that we do not leave them out.”

The new law is expected to strengthen protection, access, and inclusion for PWDs in the state.

On the bill formally establishing the Bayelsa Medical University Teaching Hospital (BMUTH), Governor Diri said the law ends years of debate over the need for a second teaching hospital in the state.

“So, from today we have established a teaching hospital, an institution of its own for the medical university.

“There was a time we even debated in this chamber whether it is economically wise to have two teaching hospitals in our state, because we already had the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital.”

He contended that the decision was anchored on necessity, stating that the state cannot have a medical university without a teaching hospital.

The Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon Abraham Ingobere, said the PWDs Agency Bill had its first reading on October 15, 2024 and its third reading and passage on March 18, 2026

Ingobere said the agency would have a part-time chairman to be appointed by the governor and a Director-General that would oversee its day-to-day running and shall be a person with disability.

The Speaker stated that when established, the agency would ensure that facilities such as public transport, public parking lots and public buildings shall be accessible to persons with disabilities.

He also said that one out of 10 seats in a public bus shall be for physically challenged persons while suitable spaces shall be properly marked and reserved for such persons in public parking lots.

Speaking on behalf of the Joint National Association of Persons With Disability, Bayelsa State Chapter, the chairman, Mr. Mayor Doutiminariye, said the governor was a father and has ensured from the inception of his administration that physically challenged persons enjoy the protection and recognition of the state government.

Doutiminariye thanked the governor for performing what he described as a “miracle” for them in signing the bill into law.

At the meeting, the governor also announced the dissolution of the board of Bayelsa United Football Club as well as the sacking of the technical crew following the team’s relegation from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) to the Nigerian National League (NNL).

He said an interim management would be constituted to oversee the team’s reorganisation and facilitate its immediate return to the top flight of Nigerian football.

He directed that all affected board members, coaches and officials hand over the club’s property in their possession to the Commissioner for Sports Development without delay.

The Federal Government has declared Friday, public holiday to commemorate Nigeria’s 27 years of unbroken democratic rule.

This was contained in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Magdalene Ajani.

Ajani said that the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the declaration on behalf of the federal government.

Tunji-Ojo reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to the preservation of democratic ideals, rule of law, transparency, accountability and inclusive governance.

He assured that the ministry in collaboration with relevant security agencies would continue to take appropriate measures in maintaining and strengthening Nigeria’s internal security.

The minister noted that a secured and stable environment was essential to democracy and national development.

He urged Nigerians to see the holiday as an opportunity for civic reflection.

“As we mark this historic day, every Nigerian is encouraged to remain law-abiding, uphold the institutions that sustain our democracy, and remember that the strength of any democracy lies ultimately in the character of its citizens,” he said.

He also said that June 12 every year remained a significant day in Nigeria’s history in honour of the courage, resilience and sacrifices of Nigerians whose efforts made democratic governance possible.

“Their legacies continue to inform the values and responsibilities of the Nigerian state,”Tunji-Ojo added.