By Jacinta Nwachukwu
Every year on December 18 the world marks International Migrants Day, a day dedicated to recognising the important contribution of migrants to countries’ economies while highlighting their challenges.
The trend of skilled workers and university graduates leaving the country in droves in search of better education, jobs and opportunities worldwide, known locally as ‘japa’ has become a source of concern to authorities..
Nigeria has one of the highest population growth rates globally and is a country of origin, transit and destination for young migrants.
According to a World Bank report, Nigeria’s population could double between the next 25 and 30 years.
According to a National Bureau of Statistics 2020 report, approximately 52 of the migrants are males, with 53 per cent of them unmarried and 50 per cent with at least secondary school education.
Analysts observe that exploring alternative ways of protecting youth migrants and leveraging their youthful potential to foster sustainable economic development would be a step in the right direction.
They argue that their skills, talents and energy could be explored in the efforts to diversify the economy and contribute and grow a balanced and resilient growth trajectory.
Alhaji Tijani Ahmed said at the 2023 National Migration Dialogue says Nigerian youths have been making appreciable strides in technology, music, sports and entertainment at the global level.
Ahmed is the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons.
Ahmed also said that their contributions to national development cannot be overlooked.
He said it underscored the importance of seeking new ways to harness the productivity and innovation of this teeming mobile population for the benefit of host and origin countries.
According to him, Nigeria boasts a significant pool of highly skilled youth, whose migration has the potential to contribute positively to global knowledge transfer and innovation.
He says exploring migration patterns either internal or external and identifying practical solutions to harness the benefits of skilled migration can facilitate knowledge and innovation transfer.
While it is hoped that Nigerian migrants can bring pride, honour and cash flow to the country it the trend continues at its current pace, may also have implications for the nation’s economy and social development.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, therefore urges addressing the increasing emigration of Nigerian skilled professionals and university graduates seeking enhanced education, employment, and prospects globally.
Edu says exploring the nexus among migration, youth, and national development within the Nigerian context is crucial.
She says youth makeup 16 per cent of the world’s population and can play a significant role in fostering positive development if properly harnessed.
“As you may be aware, Nigeria serves as a pivotal hub for young migrants as a source, transit, and destination country.
“The prevalent use of irregular migration routes compounds vulnerabilities, thus, addressing this challenge necessitates the exploration of alternative strategies to diminish such vulnerabilities,” she said.
But with increasing unemployment rate and rising inflation with their effects the economy, the youth migration can be justified.
Therefore, Prof. Muhammed Ladan, Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies says to discourage the trend, there is need to reposition the economy to in a manner that it would favour young people.
Ladan says Nigeria has recently witnessed massive migration or brain drain of highly skilled migrant to UK, USA and Canada.
He said it is unfortunate that many Nigerian young job seekers are stranded and jobless abroad after heavily paying travel agents to process skilled worker visas for them.
“It is also a fact that most countries seen as choice destinations for Nigerian youth have been rolling out hostile migration policies,’’ Ladan said.
However, he said Nigeria’s youth migration can boost capital flows, particularly remittances which is expected to reach 25 billion dollars in 2023/2024.
This will make Nigeria the 2nd major recipient of such remittances in Africa.
He says the reality is that migration brings huge benefits, fuelling growth, innovation, and entrepreneurship in both countries of origin and destination.
On the way forward, Ladan recommends that in exploring youth migration for national development government should ensure urgent review of both the national youth policy (2019-2023) and the national migration policy (2015).
He said the review should reflect the current realities, developments in law, policy innovative interventions and management of data on migration, under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to him, stakeholders should dialogue on evidence-based and inclusive solutions to youth unemployment and strategic investment in education, health, infrastructure development and job creation.
“We can do this while leveraging on technology to deliver sustainable development at a scale that slows down outward migration and protects Nigerian youth in the Diaspora.
“In exploring Bilateral Labour Migration Agreements we must have clauses that promote human rights-based labour migration that give effect to migrant workers’ rights set out in international law and labour standards.
“Such agreements should facilitate low or no cost transfer of migrants’ savings and remittances during their stay and upon termination of their stay,’’ he said.
The Chief of Mission, International Organisation for Migration, Laurent de Boeck agrees.
According to him, to harness the potential of youth migration government’s policies must be seen to care for the diaspora and not be extractive.
“Nigeria has one of the largest diaspora worldwide, estimated at over 17 million people with an unquantifiable and invaluable quantity of knowledge and experience,’’ de Boeck said.
He says building a corridor that would allow channelling at least a part of this wealth back to the country would bring the much-needed support for national development. (NANFeatures)
