As the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) begins to mark the 20th anniversary of its presence in Nigeria, we cannot but commend this United Nations agency that promotes the universal principle that safe, humane, and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. For the past two decades, the IOM has supported the efforts of Nigeria to strengthen governance and harness the development potential of well-regulated migration through development of National Migration Policy and Migration Labour Policies. The IOM has also provided, on regular basis, relevant information for migrants in transits, the available legal channels as well as the rights and obligations of migrants while helping to establish three Migrant Resource Centres (MRC) in Benin, Lagos, and Abuja.

The IOM commenced operations in Nigeria in August 2001, upon the signing of the cooperation agreement with the federal government which permits the agency to implement programmes related to the migration of persons. These include resettlement of internally displaced persons, rehabilitation and integration of returnees and persons returned from abroad, counter measures on human trafficking and child slavery, migration health services and activities which comprise of technical assistance on migration matters. In these and other programmes, the agency has been of tremendous assistance to the country.

In recent years, the IOM has spent huge sums of money to evacuate back home hundreds of Nigerians most of whom were trafficked to Libya enroute Europe with promises of better life. Aside the uncountable numbers who regularly lose their lives on the Mediterranean Sea while being trafficked abroad or engaged in illegal migration, there have been stories of trafficked victims compelled to undergo rituals, including eating chicken hearts, and drinking blood containing worms and powdering incisions. With opportunities to return, IOM has offered thousands a second chance with the provision of essential services for reintegration into their communities and rebuilding their lives.

Since 2017, the IOM has assisted more than 22,500 stranded migrants back to Nigeria in coordination with the federal government and majority of these returnees have received reintegration counseling or business skills training. Many have successfully been supported with income generating micro-businesses. The IOM has also embarked on public awareness campaigns, including community theatre and community dialogue on the dangers of irregular migration and human trafficking.

The individual reintegration programme of the IOM allows for a more comprehensive package tailored to the migrant’s specific needs and vulnerabilities while the collective reintegration programme enables capacity building and local ownership in which returnees from the same community come together to create a microbusiness. This business model that has helped thousands will allow for multiple returnees to start income-generating activities to sustain themselves and their families. The agency has also provided institutional support for the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS). Hundreds of their officers have been trained on Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) by the IOM that has helped to install tracking systems in 14 land borders, five airports, two seaports and four state command offices across Nigeria.

It is also noteworthy that since 2015, the IOM has been supporting the federal government response to the humanitarian crisis in the North-east because of the Boko Haram insurgency. IOM gathers extensive data with its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) through biometric registrations and population flow monitoring to inform the humanitarian community on displacement and about the needs of victims. DTM not only underpins humanitarian activities in the Northeast, it provides development partners with up-to-date information on mobility trends as well as recommend appropriate immediate and long-term responses.

As an agency on the frontline of helping to “assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people,” the IOM Nigeria Office has a lot to celebrate in 20 years of service to the most vulnerable of our society.

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