Nigeria faces mounting pressure to turn migration policies into economic opportunities, provide sustainable livelihoods for returning migrants, and end dependence on short-term humanitarian assistance, as the federal government and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) marked 25 years of partnership.
The United Nations has warned that unemployment and exclusion among young Nigerians could fuel instability, violence, and recruitment into armed groups unless the country invests more in education, skills, and decent employment.
The warning came as IOM disclosed that it had assisted more than 2.5 million people since 2014, supported nearly half a million displaced people with shelter and helped create or restore more than 75,000 jobs.
At the anniversary event in Abuja on Wednesday, government officials and development partners called for a shift from emergency interventions towards sustainable livelihoods, economic recovery, and durable solutions for displaced communities and returning migrants.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, said the government’s responsibility could not end with bringing migrants home without providing the conditions for them to rebuild their lives.
“The government’s responsibility must extend beyond bringing migrants home to providing them with opportunities for sustainable reintegration. The critical question is not how we bring our people home. It is what happens to them after they arrive,” he said.
Doro disclosed the revised National Migration Policy and its implementation plan were approved on August 19, 2026, stressing the need for clear institutional responsibilities, measurable outcomes, and reliable migration data to improve planning and reintegration.
He said returning migrants needed opportunities for sustainable reintegration, rather than merely being brought back to Nigeria without the means to rebuild their lives.
The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed M. Malick Fall, said the country’s youthful population represented a major economic opportunity, but demographic growth alone would not guarantee prosperity.
He said Nigeria’s ability to harness its demographic dividend depended on investments in education, healthcare, relevant skills, decent jobs, and inclusive opportunities that would enable young people to contribute meaningfully to the economy.
“Where young people see no pathway to a productive future, exclusion and unemployment can become fertile ground for instability, violence, and recruitment into armed groups,” Fall said.
He argued that migration should not be viewed primarily as a crisis or security risk but as a potential driver of development when people could move safely, access employment, and contribute their skills to their home and destination countries.
“When mobility is safe, regular and well-governed, it becomes a powerful development tool,” he said.
Fall explained that well-managed migration could connect workers to employment, help economies meet labor-market needs, facilitate knowledge exchange, and stimulate innovation and investment.
He called for closer alignment between migration policies and Nigeria’s broader development priorities, including job creation, human capital development, and economic growth.
“This is not simply a migration agenda. It is a development agenda. It is a jobs agenda. It is a human capital agenda. And ultimately, it is a sustainable development agenda,” he said.
The UN official urged the government, private sector, academia, civil society, and development partners to equip young Nigerians with skills for emerging opportunities in agriculture, healthcare, digital services, manufacturing, renewable energy, and other technology-driven sectors.
He also called for recognition of professional qualifications across borders, fair recruitment practices and stronger regional economic integration to enable Nigerian workers and entrepreneurs to access opportunities.
Speaking on behalf of governors in the Northeast, Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum urged IOM to prioritise long-term solutions to displacement rather than rely predominantly on short-term humanitarian assistance.
Zulum acknowledged the organisation’s support for people affected by insurgency and terrorism since 2009 but argued that emergency relief alone could not resolve the underlying challenges of displacement.
“There is no humanitarian solution to our humanitarian crisis. Therefore, we want IOM to shift its focus largely from shorter-term, non-sustainable solutions to medium- and longer-term sustainable and durable solutions,” he said.
He called for interventions that would enable displaced families to rebuild their homes, restore their livelihoods, and regain economic independence instead of remaining dependent on humanitarian assistance.
The IOM Chief of Mission in Nigeria and the ECOWAS region, Sharon Dimanche, said the organisation had evolved from a small operation established in Lagos in 2001 with two staff members, limited resources, and a small office space into one of its largest country operations worldwide.
She said IOM now had an operational footprint across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, reflecting the expansion of its partnership with Nigeria to address changing migration and humanitarian needs.
Presenting the organisation’s achievements, Dimanche said IOM had assisted more than 2.5 million people since 2014, supported nearly half a million displaced people with shelter, built or repaired more than 33,000 shelters, and helped over 737,000 people access safe water.
The organisation had also supported more than 2,000 small businesses, contributing to the creation or restoration of over 75,000 jobs.
Beyond humanitarian assistance, IOM had supported national migration frameworks, trained more than 6,500 government officials, strengthened border systems at 33 locations, and provided data to guide emergency interventions.
Dimanche, however, said the organisation’s achievements should not be measured solely by the number of people assisted or projects completed but also by the extent to which its interventions enabled people to rebuild their lives and regain control of their futures.
“Saving lives is essential. But it is not enough,” she said, emphasising the need to help people acquire skills, earn a living, and achieve lasting economic security.
She attributed IOM’s progress to the trust established with the Nigerian government, communities, development partners, and vulnerable migrants.
“For me, the greatest and biggest achievement is the trust. The trust with the Government of Nigeria, the trust with the people of Nigeria, the communities that we serve, and the very vulnerable migrants,” she said.
However, Dimanche warned that shrinking humanitarian funding amid rising needs was threatening the ability of aid organisations to respond adequately to increasingly complex crises.
“We are operating in an environment that is increasingly challenged by limited resources. We are seeing a shrinking funding space amidst skyrocketing needs, climate shocks and climate pressures leading to more and more displacement,” she said.
She identified conflict, climate pressures, and limited economic opportunities as factors contributing to displacement and encouraging young people to seek opportunities elsewhere.
The IOM chief called for greater government and community ownership of migration programmes, identifying investments in youth skills, safe migration pathways, and stronger engagement with Nigerians in the diaspora as critical to national development.
Looking beyond the anniversary, Dimanche outlined a shared vision for migration in Nigeria through 2051, built around three priorities: mobility, opportunity, and resilience.
The vision seeks to create a country where Nigerians can migrate through safe and regular channels, access employment opportunities, transfer their skills across borders and return home to rebuild their lives with dignity.
It also envisages stronger protection against human trafficking and exploitation, better support for communities affected by conflict and climate shocks, and improved use of evidence in migration planning.
Referring to children born in Nigeria in 2026, who would be 25 years old when the country and IOM mark 50 years of partnership in 2051, Dimanche challenged stakeholders to consider the opportunities and security those young people would inherit.
She said the future should be measured not only by projects delivered or people assisted but also by lives changed, opportunities created, and communities empowered.
Representing President Bola Tinubu, Ambassador Anthony Nnamdi Alonwu said migration remained a permanent feature of human society that could contribute significantly to national development when properly managed.
He called for effective implementation of Nigeria’s National Migration Policy and the Global Compact for Migration, alongside stronger collaboration among the different levels of government.
“We must therefore acknowledge human mobility as a permanent feature in our society, which can address inequalities and provide options for individuals and their families,” he said.
Alonwu stressed the need to integrate migration into national planning, establish safer legal pathways, and protect migrants from trafficking, exploitation, and dangerous journeys.
Representatives of the European Union and other development partners also emphasised the need for stronger migration policies, expanded legal migration pathways, investment in youth skills, and improved protection of migrants’ rights.
As Nigeria and IOM enter the next phase of their partnership, the central challenge will be translating policy commitments into tangible results, including safer migration, sustainable reintegration, viable livelihoods for returning migrants, and durable solutions for displaced communities.
For a country seeking to turn its youthful population into an engine of economic growth, the measure of success will be whether migration expands opportunities, reduces vulnerability and gives more Nigerians a credible pathway to productive and dignified lives.
Credit: arise.tv
