• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Nigeria seeks policies to address migration

Nigeria seeks policies to address migration
Concerned by the increasing rate of illegal migration from most African nations, the ‎Nigerian government at the ongoing World Border Security Congress in Casablanca, Morocco, is pushing for a policy framework that comprehensively addresses migration and its linkage with development priorities.
Junaid Abdullahi, executive secretary, Border Communities Development Agency, Nigeria, in a speech called on the various countries to identify and enable migration and development policies that support human resource development rather than simply restricting mobility.
Abdullahi further called on various African governments to tackle youth unemployment, restiveness, poor educational systems, and unjustified income disparity through under-employment, many of which were underlying factors that fuel illegal migration.
Ibrahim Kwajafa, an official with the Border Communities Development Agency, Nigeria, raised concerns on the risk exposure of the rising number of African’s migrating to the developed world.
“In Nigeria alone, it is estimated that close ‎to a million Nigerians find their way outside the country being trafficked. This population is largely made up of youths who are unskilled and uneducated, risking everything just to reach Europe and America,” he said.
Statistics from the International Organisation for Migration indicates that Nigerian migrants account for the highest number of arrivals in Italy by Sea, with about 17 000 Nigerians out of 99,197 total migrants from all countries who arrived in Italy by sea between January and August 2017.
According to both ECOWAS and IOM, evidence abounds that most of the migrants are lured into irregular movement by migration syndicates with promises of job opportunities and better pay which turn out to be false.
It would be noted that borders in the Marghreb linking Tunia, Algeria and Morocco are increasingly dangerous, as well as armed with tools designed for the pre-Arab spring environment. Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia face a complex new world of transnational actors that leverage borders for profit.
The region is also a main thoroughfare for the West African human trafficking and migration route to Southern Europe, with access to Spaniesh Soila sdnt eh European Union border in the North African enclaves of Milila and Cueta, just a short journey from mainland Europe across the Mediterranean, while smuggling of arms and illegal goods across North Africa adds pressure on the government’s and border security forces of the region.
The congress supported by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), European Association of Airport and Seaport Police, African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council is also looking at current issues in migration.
It further looks at the challenges and future policies and implementation including technology solutions, while accompanying exhibitions will demonstrate the latest technologies that contribute towards safe and secure border and migration management.