Irregular migration: IOM seeks partnership with NAN on sensitisation

By Anita Uzoagba

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), on Thursday sought a partnership with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) iln sensitising Nigerians on irregular migration.

Mr Francois-Xanvier Ada-Affana, the Public Information officer, IOM, presented the request when he led a delegation of IOM on a visit to the Editor-in-Chief of NAN, Mr Ephraims Sheyin, in Abuja.

Ada-Affana said that IOM’s focus was to ensure effective management of migration and to promote international cooperation on migration issues.

He said that IOM’s mandate also included the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need.

He said that relating with the media would aid the quest to share accurate information to people seeking to migrate.

“Migration is not a problem. It is a reality that we are all called to live with. Migrants bring something wherever they are, wherever they go.

“What we are called to do is to govern it better by setting up systems, create laws, infrastructures that facilitate the movement of people regularly.

“For us, the key message is regular movement with required documents that are needed, we also want people to move to a destination knowing where they are going and why they are going there.

“We need to ensure that people don’t fall into traps and that people must move with a clear purpose,’’ he said.

Ada-Affana said that people had fallen victim to traffickers and smugglers and IOM intend to draw people’s attention to it to enable them recognise when their confidence or trust was being abused.

“We work closely with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), to do a lot of advocacy and ensure that the people, who are committing the crime of trafficking, are prosecuted.”

He emphasised that effective migration management requires more than merely stopping it.

“It involves effective governance that would ensure successful implementation,” he said.

Responding, Sheyin promised to partner with IOM for adequate coverage and to ensure adequate information flow on irregular migration.

According to him, IOM is doing a good job toward ensuring that Nigerians know the risks involved in irregular migration.

“The agency will support IOM by covering all its activities.

“I want to thank you for your efforts at making people know the issues in and around migration, both locally and internationally.

“I thank you for the emphasis on key areas like accommodation, feeding and basic survival.

“There is always a need to get the right information across to people through the media.

“NAN has an existing editorial policy that focuses on issues of migration. We shall use that to support IOM mission.

“NAN has the technical expertise to handle information coming from IOM. We shall deploy that to monitor the progress made by the organisation,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Ephraims Sheyin