Migration Issues Top Agenda, at CISLAC Media Roundtable.
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) says the Federal Government needs to collaborate and work hand in hand with the Media to ensure effective implementation of the National Migration Policy (NMP) for nation building.
The Executive Director, CISLAC Auwal Ibrahim Musa stated this during a “One Day Media Roundtable Meeting on Implementing the National Migration Policy (NMP) in collaboration with the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) with support from the European Union (EU) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Abuja.
The Executive Director, who was represented by the Senior Programme Officer CISLAC, Mr Okeke Anya said that the Media Roundtable was aimed at equipping the media with the working knowledge required for effective implementation of the policy.
Anya added that "There are several issues of interest inherent in the NMP which are of utmost importance for advocacy, sensitization and awareness creation for the media. Such issues include: migration management, Diaspora mobilization, remittances, brain drain and brain gain, border management to mention a few".
According to Anya, “before the adoption of the National Migration Policy (NMP) by the Federal Government of Nigeria in May,2015, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in its commitment to ensure that policies and laws work for the benefit of the average Nigerian participated with other stakeholders in the Technical Working Group to develop and validate the NMP".
He further stressed that the role of the media in national development cannot be over emphasized and that this also justifies the need for practitioners to take a stake in the implementation of the NMP, saying it is therefore imperative for the media to be adequately abreast of provisions and dynamics of this aspect of society in ensuring that the normative contents of the policy are properly understood.
Also speaking, Federal commissioner for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, Hajia Hadiza S. Kangiwa represented by Mathias Esene called on the media to make space available on migration reporting, create special migration beats, arouse public interest on migration related issues.
He also underscored how the media can be used as an instrument/platform to promote and change the story of migratory behavior from fiction to facts.
"Workshop will help to draw attention to the rationale, goals and objectives of the National Migration Policy which was approved by the Federal Executive Council on 13th May, 2015" he said.
The National Project Officer, Mr Tunde Omoyene during his paper presentation titled "Promoting Better Management of Migration in Nigeria” implemented by International Organization for Migration (IOM) since 2012 said "the project facilitated the adoption of two migration policies; developed national migration data management strategy; established six job centres in the six geo-political zones (Abuja, Lagos, Asaba, Awka, Bauchi and Kaduna); developed online portal at NNVS for Diaspora mobilization; facilitated the return of a Nigeria Diaspora who has expertise in special needs education to train Nigerian teachers; awarded grants to support Diaspora investment in Nigeria".
"So far, the project has trained over 500 government officials across different MDAs on various aspect of migration management".