Nigeria has the fifth largest number of citizens crossing
to Europe, the National Commission for Refugees,
Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons has said.
The Federal Commissioner of the Commission, Hajia
Hadiza Kangiwa, stated this at a Conference on
National Migration Policy Thematic Areas in Abuja
on Wednesday. Kangiwa said Nigerian youths
transited through the Sahara desert in search of
greener pastures.
“Information available indicates that Nigeria has the
fifth highest number of citizens who cross the
Mediterranean in the bid to search for greener
pastures. “There is anecdotal evidence, which indicates
that Nigeria has the highest number of migrants flow
within the ECOWAS sub-region”, she said.
According to her, however, Nigeria has realised the
potential benefit of migration to national development.
Kangiwa said the potential benefit of migration to
national development, therefore, spurred the need to
elaborate on a National Migration Policy to provide
coherence on migration issues. She explained that the
Federal Executive Council had, on May 13, 2015,
approved the National Migration Policy.
According to
her, the approval of the policy comes at a time when
the global community is yearning for constructive
migration policies that promote the rights of migrants.
The commissioner said the policy provided strategies
for improved management of migration to encourage
regular migration as against irregular migration. She
added that the policy would promote social integration
and national identity, re-orientate against xenophobic
tendencies and mitigate recurring incidence of migrant
boat mishaps, among others. Kangiwa thanked
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for
its expertise and consistency in the promotion of better
migration management in Nigeria.
The UN IOM Chief of Mission, Ms Enira Krdzalic,
congratulated Nigerians for adopting the National
Migration Policy and its Implementation Framework.
“With over 170 million citizens, Nigeria is important in
migration management as a country of origin, transit
and destination for migrants. “Nigeria faces challenges
such as effective Diaspora engagement and
remittances, inter-regional, rural-urban migration
flows, migration of highly skilled and unskilled labour,
and trafficking in persons, to mention a few.”
Krdzalic, however, said in spite of the approved
National Migration Policy by Nigeria, IOM believed
that policy works best when driven by research and
supported with evidence. According to her, IOM is
supporting Nigeria in this regard by bringing
researchers and policy makers together to share
evidence-based information to improve overall
migration management. According to IOM, between
1991 and 2005, the number of immigrants residing in
Nigeria rose from 477,135 to 971,450, indicating about
50 per cent increase in 14 years.
The ECOWAS protocol on free movement within the
West Africa sub-region and other cross border
movements have contributed to increasing number of
immigrants into the country. According to the 2009
Nigeria Migration Profile, about 74 per cent of all
immigrants living in Nigeria were from other
ECOWAS countries. The News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN), reports that the two-day conference drew
participants from the academics, government and
international governmental and non-governmental
organisations.
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