By Innocent Onoh
Nigerian youths desperate to leave the country have been urged to do so within the approved local and international laws, as that is the only way such migration could benefit the country.
This advice is contained in a communique reached by participants in the three-day Media Roundtable on Smuggling of Migrants, SOM, organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, in partnership with the European Union and the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS. The event was held at the end of last month in Kaduna, Kaduna State.
The participants observed that the advantages and opportunities of migration in Nigeria tended to be overshadowed by the criminality perpetrated by smugglers of migrants. They also observed that Smuggling of Migrants, SOM, which is on the increase in Nigeria, has constituted a grave threat to national security, the economy and the well-being of the country.
While blaming the rise of SOM on the system of improper and ineffectual information dissemination and citizen education, the participants observed that there was lack of synergy between the agencies coordinating the issue of migration in Nigeria, such as the NIS, the NAPTIP and the media.
To this end, they recommended that government at all levels and its relevant agencies must wake up to the urgent need to tackle the challenge of SOM, urging the agencies managing migration in the country to collaborate with the media for effective campaign against the menace.
The participants, who suggested the need for the NIS to develop a proactive information management system on migration as well as develop a robust social media engagement strategy to counter the narratives on SOM, emphasised the need for media organisations to establish Migration Desks for effective reportage of migration and related issues.
Earlier, while declaring the forum open, the Deputy Comptroller Immigration, Kaduna State Command, Mr. Jerry Adah, who condemned the phenomenon of the smuggling of migrants, described SOM as a topical issue. Mr. Adah urged the media to properly sensitize the people while disseminating relevant information on migrants smuggling, with a view to addressing the ills inherent in the practice.
Contributing, the National Project Officer of the UNODC, Mr. Sylvester Atere, said the Media Roundtable was designed to ensure that Nigeria maximises the potentials of migration to deter people from irregular migration.
According to Mr. Atere, migration is a timeless issue, which requires the building of the the capacity of media practitioners to have first-hand understanding of the problem, in order to find ways of managing it effectively.
