Commission set to review national migration policy
The National Commission for Refugee Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) has disclosed that it will commence the review of the 2015 National Migration Policy.
According to the 2022 World Migration Report by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), over 281 million people globally live in different countries from the one in which they were born.
The report also indicated that about 169 million people leave their country to secure a livelihood elsewhere.
To ensure proper coordination of migration-related issues, a federal commissioner of the commission, Tijani Ahmed, explained that the review would address the issues of migration through education, access to social care, and proper documentation of those going in and out of Nigeria, amongst other issues.
He added that the review would enable the commission to initiate programmes targeted at assisting the successful reintegration of migrants.
He disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday at the Technical Working Group on Migration and Development meeting.
Ahmed however lamented the inability of the commission to ascertain the exact number of migrants in and out of Nigeria due to the increasing population, economic situation, climate change, and porous borders.
Ahmed said: “All migration stakeholders are gathered to look into some of the issues and review the National Migration Policy because of changes that may have come up as a result of so many issues.
“There is a need to review the National Migration Policy which is the framework for the coordination of migration issues because the policy recognises periodic review and evaluation to enable it to keep abreast of local, subregional, and regional changes in migration.”
On the data of migrants in and out of Nigeria, he said: “Migration is continuous, so we cannot say the specific number of migrants that we have in Nigeria at the moment because it is a daily affair and we need to update our records. So, I cannot give an exact figure but a significant number of people come in and out of Nigeria daily but we hope to be able to manage the issue of migration in Nigeria and for those living in diaspora”.
The Programme Officer, IOM Nigeria Ukamaka Anyanechi said the review of the policy will aid smooth and effective execution of the role of IOM and other partners.
She said: “IOM has been working with the government of Nigeria for over 20 years in different areas to promote efficiency in the space of migration management. Based on various engagements, we feel there is a need to look at the policy and make provisions available compared to what we currently have to address irregular migration and the successful reintegration of returning migrants.
“There are also a high number of Nigerians that leave Nigeria regularly as students going to different parts of the world. In the current policy, the issue of migration through the education route is not highlighted and the Ministry of Education at different fora has pointed out the need to have specific provisions and interventions to ensure that there is adequate support to Nigerians who are migrating regularly.”
On the data of Nigerian migrants out of the country, she said: “It is difficult to get the figure because people leave through different means, so it is difficult to get the number of Nigerians that have left the country. So, data also remains a challenge within the migration space because of various reasons.”
