National Refugees commission raises alarm on students’ migration ------- tasks schools on anti-migration campaign

www.odogwublog.com reports that the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) and Civil Society Organizations Network on Migration and Development (CSOnetMADE) in collaboration with Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka yesterday ended a one day sensitization workshop on ‘’dangers of irregular migration’’ with a warning to students to stop the trending habit of migration among students.

The workshop participants agreed that there is need to encourage educational institutions in the country to step up sensitization campaign on the dangers of irregular migration.

The Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouo, in her speech at sensitization programme on danger of irregular migration at Nnamdi Azikwe University, Awka  said that youths who are mostly involved in irregular migration usually pass through educational institutions, adding that if they are seriously involved in the awareness campaign, youths would understand the dangers.

Her words: ``About 36, 000 Nigerians representing total of 171, 299 immigrants arrived Europe by sea in 2016, in the same year, the number of Nigeria women trafficked mostly for sex work into Europe doubled from 5, 600 in 2016 to 11, 009.

``In January 11, 2018, 200 Nigerians were drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, adding to the alarming toll of last year’’, she noted.

Describing the ugly trend as `gruesome and worrisome’, Umar-Farouo said migration has been part of the history of human civilization, advising that it must be done in a regular partner to avoid dangers associated with the irregular migration.

She hinted that the federal government has developed national policies and practice that ensure person-centred and right based approaches to migrants of kinds.

Umar-Farouo commended Nnamdi Azikwe University for joining in the campaign for checking irregular migration through establishment of migration study centres and sensitization.

In an interview, the Dean Post Graduate Studies, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Prof Ike Odimegwu the said research and studies on irregular migration would be carried out on the center already established in Nnamdi Azikiwe University , Awka , adding that with the knowledge and research to be gathered from the center commissioned , a great mileage would be achieved in reducing the meneace.

The Vice-Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikwe University, Prof. Joseph Ahanaku said his varsity established Migration Study Centre to help impact the right knowledge on youths who are the vulnerable group.

Ahaneku who was represented by Prof. Charles Esimone, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academics, Nnamdi Azikwe University, said the migration centre would carry out in-depth researches to find out why youths migrate and solutions to such reasons.

``We reasoned that this migration centre in a varsity will be a solution to the involvement of youths from Anambra and Imo states who constitutes high number of migrates from the South-East geo-political zone in migration’’, he said.

The event attended by representatives of civil society organisations, students, town union leaders and the media, witnessed goodwill messages from NAPTIT, IOM, and Federal Ministry of Justice among others.