Forum urges Tinubu to create ministry for Diaspora, migration engagements

Journalists International Forum For Migration (JIFORM) has appealed for the creation of a separate ministry for Diaspora, migration engagements by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

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.

Abayomi also 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 (CBN) in April, acknowledged that from 2015 till date, the Nigerians in Diaspora had remmitted 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.

“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 wellbeing of the nation by tapping from the rare human resources that abound in the Diaspora.

“Mr President please make creation of the Ministry of Diaspora as one of your priorities.

” This is not a duplication of Foreign Affairs ministry’s duties but a necessary attention to boost the migration band 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 book makers 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 Disapora policies,” Abayomi said.

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 also disclosed that apart from initiating 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 Center for Job, Migration and Re-intergration (NGC) for Nigerian journalists on sensitisation strategies against irregular migration in Abuja between May 22-23 in Abuja.