President Bola Tinubu has reiterated his administration’s commitment to fostering a prosperous economy that would curb the migration of middle-class Nigerians.
Tinubu, who disclosed this while addressing the annual National Dialogue on Migration (NDM) in Abuja on Friday, acknowledged the challenges faced by migrants globally and within Nigeria.
He highlighted the alarming statistics, noting that over one billion individuals were classified as international and internal migrants.
Regarding Nigeria, he expressed concern about the recent upsurge in youth migration, particularly among skilled Nigerians.
Tinubu, who was represented by the minister of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Betta Edu, said: “Let me assure you all that my Government’s social and economic policies and programmes, and similar efforts by the States, are targeted at improving the general welfare of Nigerians, reducing the incidence of extreme poverty and producing jobs for our young graduates.
“I will implore our graduates to take advantage of government programmes–and there are several of them to promote small and medium enterprises, including on-going programmes in the states, focusing on this category of job-creating ventures. The ultimate outcome of these and other well-meaning policies and programmes of government is the creation of a prosperous country in which successful middle-class citizens would have no reason to migrate to other lands. I call on all Nigerians to collaborate with Government to achieve that caring and successful economy.”
The theme of the dialogue, “Leveraging on Youth Migration for National Development,” prompted Tinubu to call for discussions on harnessing the positive aspects of migration for national progress.
He urged stakeholders to provide recommendations on mainstreaming the Nigerian Diaspora, especially the youth, into the country’s development process.
The President stressed the need to utilise the remittances of the Nigerian Diaspora for development, emphasising that the contributions surpass foreign direct investments (FDIs).
Earlier, the federal commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), Alhaji Tijani Aliyu Ahmed, said since his appointment the Commission has successfully assisted in the receiving no fewer than 4,500 voluntary and forced returned migrants from various countries, including Libya, Niger Republic, Mali, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, and Morocco, amongst others.
“In fact, this week alone, the Commission coordinated the reception of 256 Nigerian migrants from Libya and Niger, with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other national and sub- national migration stakeholders.
“These migrants are currently being integrated into various reintegration programmes of the government, civil society organizations and our international partners, with over 4,000 of them, having already received some form of reintegration assistance as we speak,” he said.
Ahmed said that Nigeria was taking laudable steps to cement her rightful place as a significant country in the global migration discourse, as a country of origin, transit and destination for international migration.
To this end, he said Nigeria was recently inducted as a member of the Steering Committee of the Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development, the Rabat Process, which is a platform for national authorities of the countries of origin, transit and destination along the West and Central African migration routes to deliberate on cross-cutting migration-related issues that affect the countries.
“The Steering Committee of the Rabat Process, sets the agenda for the discussions and deliberations of the dialogue, and our presence as a member of the Committee enables us to push for policies and strategies that will be beneficial to not just Nigeria, but the African continent, at large.
“In our first outing as a member of the Steering Committee, under my leadership, we co-chaired a Thematic Meeting of the Rabat Process, alongside the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which took place at the Hague. The theme of the dialogue was, Migration, Youth and Development with the underlying objective to harness youth migration for national development. It is in a bid to domesticate some of the recommendations and outcomes of the Rabat Process dialogue, that we have adopted the theme of today’s dialogue, Leveraging Youth Migration for National Development.
“A significant outcome of our strategic positioning in the Rabat governance structure is the strengthening of collaborative efforts with international organizations, marking a paradigm shift towards global cooperation in addressing migration challenges. The power of these partnerships lies in their ability to transcend borders and unite us in our collective pursuit of sustainable solutions,” he said.
In the same vein, he said the Commission explored the dynamics of youth migration, often referred to as the ‘Japa Syndrome’, assessing its impact on the Nigerian economy, and reflected on tangible strategies aimed at harnessing youth migration for national development, through knowledge and innovation transfer, brain gain, brain circulation and circular migration.
“In June 2023, it was reported that Nigeria lost 6,221 medical professionals to the United Kingdom, and 1,197 between May and December 1st 2023; to this end, we must, as a matter of urgency identify solutions that will present a win-win scenario for Nigeria, our young migrants and the destination countries,” he added.
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