Every year, the Mediterranean Sea swallows the dreams and lives of thousands of young Africans.

These men and women leave their homes in search of a better future in Europe, but many never make it across. Their bodies are left floating, or lost forever in the deep waters. The world mourns, but the question remains: who should be held accountable?

The answer is painful but clear: Africa’s leaders.

Africa is one of the richest continents in the world. Nigeria and Angola have oil. Ghana has gold and cocoa. The Democratic Republic of Congo has cobalt, powering the phones and cars of the modern world.

Kenya produces tea enjoyed across the globe. Morocco has phosphate that feeds the world’s farmlands. Yet, in spite of these blessings, millions of Africans remain poor, jobless, and hopeless.

Reports from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) show that since 2014, more than 28,000 migrants have died in the Mediterranean Sea, the majority of them Africans.

In 2023 alone, over 3,000 died or went missing while attempting the crossing—making it one of the deadliest years on record. Behind these statistics are broken families, grieving mothers, and futures cut short.

Why do so many risk their lives? Because at home, there is no hope. Corruption robs them of opportunity. Bad governance crushes their dreams. Unemployment drives them into desperation.

Africa’s leaders have failed to build schools, create jobs, or protect the rights of their citizens. They fly private jets, educate their children abroad, and live in comfort, while the children of ordinary Africans drown in the sea.

This is more than a tragedy—it is a crime. If leaders in other parts of the world can be held accountable for war crimes, why are African leaders not held accountable for creating the conditions that kill their own people?

The Mediterranean Sea is no longer just water; it has become a graveyard, swallowing Africa’s youth—the very future of the continent. Until leaders are made to answer for this crime, the waves will continue to carry away Africa’s sons and daughters.

So again, we must ask: Who will arrest Africa’s leaders for the deaths of their youth in the Mediterranean?

A student of International Affairs and Diplomacy, University of Ghana.