Sensitization, enlightenment key to ending irregular migration- Catholic Secretariat

The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria have stressed that continuous sensitisation and enlightenment is key to ending irregular migration in Nigeria.

Speaking at an event organised in conjunction with Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) to commemorate the 2023 International Migrants Day on Monday, the Secretary General of the Secretariat, Rv. Fr Zachariah Samjumi noted that although migration is important to the progress of many, people do it the wrong way.

He stressed that the church is committed to educating the public on the dangers of irregular migration.

“Today is the day for migrants. The Catholic Church is working so hard to protect the rights of migrants. As we celebrate this moment, we should do everything it takes to facilitate the wellbeing and the rights of migrants.

“Communities must accept that the more you allow people into your own area, the more development you have. It is an opportunity to be more and grow more. If states, local govt will see to this, they will create the enabling environment to harvest the knowledge that comes from these people.

“When you migrate illegally, that is where the problem comes. We are here to enlighten people so that they can migrate in the legal way”, he said.

On his part, the President and Founder, Pan-African Institute for Global Affairs and Strategy, Ambassador Martin Uhomoibhi emphasised the harsh consequences of irregular migration. He said the sufferings of irregular migrants cannot be compared to the poverty and hardship they give as reasons for the desperate relocation.

In his presentation, Ambassador Uhomoibhi said, “Human beings have to move. There is no problem with Migration, it is just that when you do it illegally, then you are bringing trouble to yourself. So avoid irregular migration. If you embark on illegal migration you automatically become a criminal and you are no longer protected by the universal human rights that you are entitled to as a human being.

“It is legal to migrate. Migration has been part of human history from time immemorial. People now move more because they feel that they are unhappy with where they are. But what we are insisting is that you should move regularly”.

He further urged the Federal government to create an enabling environment for its citizens so that irregular migration can be reduced to the barest minimum.

“Government should do the right thing and create an enabling environment so that people are not compelled due to an unsatisfactory situation at home to want to ‘japa’ or to migrate.

“Migration has the good, bad and ugly sides. Nothing justifies irregular migration. The hazards of irregular migration are not worth the troubles that you go through to migrate,” he noted.

Representative of the Director General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons NAPTIP, Malachy Ekete assured that the Agency is committed to addressing the issue of illegal migration and exploitation.

“There is a thin line between migration and trafficking in person and that thin line is exploitation. Some people left Nigeria today as an economy migrants with hope to go and make money outside Nigeria and they end up being exploited.

“From 2003 till today, NAPTIP has been fighting to make sure that people are not exploited. But traffickers in their own way, change their trend everyday”.

Also speaking, the Secretary, Migrants and Refugees Unit of the Department of Church and Society at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Rv. Fr Augustine Akhogba said the church created the unit to advocate and provide response to the phenomenon of migration in Nigeria.

He added that the Catholic Church is extending the advocacy to the grassroots.

“We are working with coordinators appointed in different dioceses in Nigeria, 60 or so of them, that will all be working together to make sure that we bring this message to the grassroots. It is the Catholic Church’s response to the issue of migration in a pastoral way”, he said.