Journalists International Forum For Migration JIFORM has appealed to President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the creation of a separate ministry for diaspora and migration engagements.
The appeal is made in a goodwill message signed by JIFORM President, Dr Ajibola Abayomi, to the nation’s 16th President, and issued to newsmen in Abuja on Monday.
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Abayomi pleaded with the president to ensure a proper decent job negotiation for Nigerians across the globe, to reduce the incidences of irregular migration and human trafficking.
He emphasised the need for the creation of the ministry, saying it was long overdue, given the gains from human capital migration to the nation’s economy.
Abayomi recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria in April, acknowledged that from 2015 till date, the Nigerians in diaspora had remitted over $16 billion in the last eight years.
He reported CBN as saying that this had sustained Nigeria’s ranking as the highest earner in the entire Sub-sahara Africa.
He said, “We greet President Bola Tinubu as he ushers Nigeria into a new era.
“With his excellent track records as an achiever, there is no doubt that he would improve the well-being of the nation by tapping from the rare human resources that abound in the Diaspora.
“Mr. President, please make the creation of the Ministry of Diaspora as one of your priorities.”
Abayomi cautioned that the said ministry in request should not be seen as a duplication of the Foreign Affairs ministry, but necessary attention to boost migration and human capital development.
“We beg you not to close your eyes to the pains Nigerians are subjected to across the world in the name of labour migration.
“Kindly jettison the repeated theories or undue lamentations of the bookmakers and be bold to initiate a decent job negotiation with the employers of labour in the Middle East, Europe and others, to de-market human trafficking and irregular migration from Nigeria.
“We are proudly available to work with you whether through appointments, selections or otherwise in order to reshape the nation’s Diaspora policies,” Abayomi stated.
He pledged the loyalty of JIFORM to Tinubu’s administration, stressing that he could count on the association to tame the daunting challenges ahead of the president, expressing optimism that Nigeria shall overcome all of them.
JIFORM’s president also said that the association was available either by his service or request anytime, to earn the country an enviable status among the comity of nations on migration matters.
Abayomi disclosed that apart from initiating a series of capacity building on migration issues in West Africa and the annual African Migration Summit, the fourth JIFORM Global Migration Summit would hold in Toronto between Oct. 2 and 14.
He stated that in November 2022, JIFORM organised the intercontinental migration summit in partnership with the City University, New York City in Brooklyn and a national migration summit on Feb. 9, this year in Lagos.
He said that the association had recently facilitated a workshop supported by the Nigerian-German Centre for Job, Migration and Re-integration for Nigerian journalists on sensitisation strategies against irregular migration in Abuja between May 22-23 in Abuja.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
