Malawian President, Dr Ijoma, Others Bag MALA Award In New York

The publisher of Naijo News and president of Global Migration Research Institute (GMRI) Dr Williams Azuma Ijoma, and other world leaders were among eminent Africans who emerged the ‘2022 Migration Advocacy Legendary Award’ in New York.

Others are Malawian President, Lazarus Chakwera, President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio, Sierra Leone minister of Labour and Social Security, Alpha Osman Timbo, among others joined in receiving the ‘2022 Migration Advocacy Legendary Award’.

Receiving the award at a three-day hybrid Intercontinental Migration Summit, with the theme: ‘Appraising Human Mobility: Prospects and Challenges of Labour Migration Post Pandemic Era’, Dr Ijoma, called for realistic actions geared towards tackling various migration menaces globally.

The event was organised by Medgar Evers College, MEC, City University, New York City, CUNY, in Brooklyn, United States, and had participants from across the globe.

Ijoma also charged nations to show more commitment towards eradicating poverty, inequality and create more jobs for the needy to hinder human trafficking, slavery and ensure improved labour migration relations with strategies to also address concerns on climatic challenges posing threats to humanity.

“Global warming is worth giving serious attention. The anticipated climatic reactions projected by the World Bank to affect over 216 million people globally by 2030 as an offshoot of emission and environmental hazards such as flooding and weather reactions should concern all of us.

“We must not pretend, the mass movement of migrants to be affected in the North Africa, Asia, Europe, America and others would lead to unprecedented inflation and dislocation of the world economic order if steps are not taken to forestall it.

“The developed countries that are responsible for most of the consequences of global warming should fulfill the accumulated annual $100 billion overdue Green Climatic Funds pledge to the global south nations to mitigate the effect before it is too late,” he warned.

Ijoma called for support for the 280.6 million international migrants accounting for almost four percent of the world population of 7.8 billion with more friendly policies and deliberate evidence-based journalism laced with human face given their roles as economic developers.

He commended the City University of New York for honouring him with the ‘2022 Migration Advocacy Legendary Award’ which according to him was a result of his commitment and support for the campaign regular Migration in Africa.

Similarly, the senior vice president for Strategy, Medgar Evers College, MEC, Kimberly Whitehead, and the Dean of MEC, JoAnne Rolle, admonished nations and stakeholders to formulate strategies with a clear road map to counter human trafficking and luring women and children into slavery across the world.

On his part, Prof. Byron Price from the MEC also raised concerns about millions of migrants in detention camps in America and other countries.

“An estimated 660,000 children – 150,000 last year alone – have been separated from one parent or both by our nation’s heartless detain-and-deport immigration laws.