Nigeria prioritises migration governance in devt plans, inaugurates humanitarian hub

By Cecilia Ologunagba

New York, May 20, 2022

Nigeria has continued to prioritise migration governance in its development plans and programmes as well as strengthening new partnerships to mainstream migration into bilateral and multilateral agreements.

The Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Ms. Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, said this at a side event at the margins of the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) at Nigeria House in New York, United States of America (USA).

The IMRF, hosted by the president of the UN General Assembly, at UN headquarters in New York, consisted of four interactive multi-stakeholders round tables, a policy dialogue, and a plenary.

Suleiman-Ibrahim said Nigeria had recently inaugurated its Humanitarian Hub as a platform to network and share global best practices in partnerships, improving collaboration and proffering effective solutions to humanitarian challenges and social protection.

“It is in furtherance of the initiative that this event presents a platform to share best practices on deepening international cooperation to maximise the potential of Objectives 23 in implementing the GCM,” the Commissioner said.

Suleiman-Ibrahim assured the stakeholders that the best practices shared at the event would be used to evolve strategies for effective and sustainable partnerships.

According to her, Nigeria believes that many deficits remain, which leaves too many migrants vulnerable.

The Commissioner said greater efforts needed to be made by Member States to develop ambitious national responses for implementation of the Global Compact.

“We recognise that challenges and gaps in the implementation of the Global Compact exist and may be due, in part, to limited resources, national capacities and the complexity of irregular migration.

“Also, insufficient coordination within and between governments and with relevant stakeholders,” she said.

In his remarks, the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN, Prof. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, said Nigeria had placed great importance on migration.

Muhammad-Bande said Nigeria had demonstrated commitment and leadership to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) as one of the 29 Champion Countries.

He said the country over the years had benefitted so much from migration, noting that it had also been faced with handling challenges associated with it.

Similarly, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Gabriel Aduda, said Nigeria had been engaging with key partners to implement the GCM.

According to him, Nigeria is strategic to migration in Africa. “We cannot talk about migration in Africa without talking about Nigeria.

“Nigerians move a lot within African countries and outside the continent,” he stressed.

The theme of the event is, “Unlocking the Strategies for Effective and Sustainable Migration Partnerships beyond IMRF: Experiences from Multiple Actors’ Collaboration.”

The UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the panelists who spoke at the event are: Ms Ojochenemi Soso-Muhammed of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster and Social Development and Dr Mamadou Goita, Coordinator, Pan African Network in Defence of Migrants’ Rights.

Others are: Amb. Richards Adejola, Permanent Representative/Ambassador of Nigeria to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Colin Rajah, Coordinator, Civil Society Action Committee, among others.

The session was moderated by Migration Governance and Policy Expert, Emeka Obiezu.

The IMRF, which started on Tuesday, ended on Friday with a General Debate.