Nigeria will today join the rest of the world to mark the International Migrants Day. Ahead of the event, the federal government yesterday announced that 17,616 Nigerians were deported from other countries in one year.

And to curb the citizens’ crave for migration, the government said that it would evolve policies that would stop, especially young Nigerians from embarking on dangerous journeys across the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea in search of the elusive green pasture.

It, however, celebrated the return and reintegration of over 15,000 Nigerians stranded in Libya and lamented that more youths were taking the dangerous path to earn a living.

In fact, statistics obtained from the Nigeria Immigration Service Annual Report 2018, indicated that 17,616 Nigerians were deported from countries globally in 2018 while 339 others were repatriated in the same year.

While some were done through voluntary return, others were deported through bilateral arrangements and as part of prisoner exchange programmes.

It was not a one-sided affair as Nigeria during the period under review denied 22,889 foreigners entry into the country with 33 cases of stowaways recorded.

The NIS data for refugee and asylum cases revealed that within the period under review, 46,933 refugees were received into the country while 31,475 foreigners sought asylum but only 15,458 applications were granted.

The report also showed that 454 victims of human trafficking, child labour and smuggling of migrants (SOM) were intercepted, 78 human traffickers arrested, 435 victims of trafficking in persons (TIP) and (SOM) were reunited, while 127 victims of TIP were referred to NAPTIP.

The NIS said that returns to Nigeria increased greatly with the advent of new funding from the European Union (EU) and other sources for voluntary returns from EU and places on the routes towards the Mediterranean. Such voluntary returns are usually done through the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

A document obtained from IOM office further showed that as at July 14 this year, 442 Nigerians stranded in Libya were repatriated by the federal government with the assistance of IOM.

It also indicated that 2,930 returnees were received between January and July, 2019 comprising 1,648 males and 1,282 females.

The comptroller-general of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Mohammad Babandede, recently announced that over 27,046 migrants had been registered in the ongoing e-migrant registration database since its inception in July.

Babandede said that of the figure, 17,875 were irregular migrants representing 66 per cent of the total number of migrants registered, while 9,170 represents 34 per cent of regular migrants.

While commissioning the Migrant e-Registration and Passport Data Processing Centre on July 12, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari granted a six-month amnesty window to unregistered migrants in the country to avail themselves for capturing and documentation without penalty or payment.

Expresses worry over migration crave

Meanwhile, the minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, has raised alarm that global migration continues to grow in magnitude of number, prospects and challenges.

Farouq stated this on Tuesday in Abuja during the 2019 National Migration Dialogue with the theme: “Localising the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration (GCM): towards setting up national action plan for the implementation of the GCM.”

She said that in the year 2019, the number of international migrants increased by 51 million from the figure of year 2000.

According to her, migrants‘ contributions to the social and economic development of their origin, destination as well as transit countries reached a record high of $698 billion in 2018, adding that the experiences, skills, knowledge and political support migrants brought to their various home countries added to the accelerated growth seen in some of the developing nations.

Farouq said: “As a nation, we are making effort to have Nigeria on the right side of history in migration and the recent pronouncement of Mr President to grant all Africans free visa entry into our country is a vocal testimony to this progress.”

The federal commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Basheer Garba Mohammed, said that in a bid to articulating the implementation of the Global Compact on Migration (GCM), Nigeria would continue to collaborate with various sectors to strengthen economic stability and plan interventions that advocate for a renewed hope in Nigeria.

Mohammed added that the commission would spend most of year 2020 developing strategies that will address and direct citizens to the various opportunities they can take advantage of in Nigeria.

He said that the occasion presented a veritable opportunity to seek opinions on how best to manage the Nigerian migration dynamics for the benefit of all within the framework of the recently adopted GCM.

Mohammed disclosed that the commission was collaborating with the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs to reduce irregular migration and human trafficking, stressing that, “we hope to also address the protracted displacement of Bakassi returnees and migrants from the North East.”

As the coordinating agency for migration governance in Nigeria, we hope to work with others to promote more Migration to the continent for the growth of our local economy. We will continue to advocate for joint bilateral agreements with all of foreign governments for the promotion of more regular migration. „Nigeria is rich in oil, in agriculture, and most importantly, blessed with an extremely skilled workforce of young professionals. So, for us to galvanize these potentials to curb poverty and improve living standards we must first of all expose vulnerable populations to our local opportunities.“

Domesticate ILO conventions, Trade Unions urge FG

Also on Tuesday, the National Trade Union Platform on Migration called for improved management of migration governance by the federal government

The platform, which comprises migration focal persons from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) affiliate unions, urged the federal government to ratify and domesticate the relevant international instruments such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 143, Convention 181, and Convention 189 which promote fair and orderly migration.

In a statement signed by Comrade James Eustace, the NLC focal person on migration, he noted that “migration is not a crisis and can never be a crisis as it contributes to growth and development of all countries”, stressing that the lack of better management and governance was the challenge.

He said: „When better managed, migration is a blessing as it goes with enormous benefits. The global acknowledgement of the imperative of migration led to the adoption of the Global Compact on Migration (GCM). Nigeria must do everything possible to benefit from the global architecture on better migration management. To promote fair, orderly and regular migration as enshrined in the GCM, Nigeria must as a matter of urgency ratify and domesticate the relevant international instruments such as ILO Convention 143, Convention 181, along with Convention 189.“

Senate summons Minister, NIS Boss over visa-on-arrival policy

In another development, the Senate has summoned the minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, over the January 1, 2020 free visa policy for Africans willing to come to Nigeria.

Last week, President Buhari during a visit to Egypt said that from January 1, 2020, all Africans were free to come to Nigeria before they get their visas.

But the Senate, which debated on the issue yesterday, said the policy needs legislative backing and summoned Aregbesola and comptroller-general of the NIS, Muhammad Babandede, to appear before it to explain the logistic and legal implication of the directive.

Aregbesola is expected to “explain the technical, logistics, legal and constitutional issues that are available and required for compliance before the implementation of the visa-on-arrival policy.“

Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) stipulates that before entering Nigeria, such persons must have valid visas but President Buhari’s directive, the Senate noted, negates the provisions of the constitution, which must be amended before it can be implemented.

The resolution of the Senate to summon Aregbesola and Babandede followed a motion titled: „Visa-on-arrival policy for Africans,“ sponsored by Senator Olubunmi Adetunbi.

Adetunbi, who came under Orders 42 and 52, to get the approval of the senators, said that the presidential directive was premature and unconstitutional, adding that the National Assembly has not relegated its powers on the matter to the executive.

The lawmaker said that the Buhari’s fiat requires compliance with some sections of the constitution and added that with the security challenges facing the country, Babandede should be invited to explain the legal and constitutional implications of the policy.

After intense debate, the Senate resolved to invite the affected officials of the executive before taking any action.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who presided over the plenary, referred the motion to the committees on Interior, Judiciary and Legal Matters, noting that many treaties had been signed and should be brought to the National Assembly for amendment. (Leadership)

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