By Ajibola Abayomi
The Journalists International Forum For Migration (JIFORM) in collaboration with other partners will host a national migration summit at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja on February 9.
Some of the organizations already invited to feature at the event include the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Nigerians in Diaspora Organization (NiDOE), embassies and others.
A statement signed and made available to the media by the President of the JIFORM, Dr Ajibola Abayomi said the summit themed: “Irregular Migration: The Missing Links and The Remedy was aimed at deepening the efforts to improve migration policies in Nigeria and improve the capacity building of the media and other stakeholders.”
“We are concerned about the need to further engage the public and the government on migration matters and make interventions where necessary for all of us to be on the same page. We cannot pretend that issues of human trafficking, irregular migration and others are not with us.
“On these challenges we must reason together on how to stop these and cater for vulnerable ones among us without playing to the gallery. There is a need for us to have the understanding about the laws and how to evolve opportunities to better the lots of our people through the positive sides of migration. JIFORM is ready to work with every concerned organization” Ajibola said.
Organizations listed as partners are Diaspora Innovation Institute (DII), Nigeria Project 4040, Home For the Needy, Edo State (HFTN) and Initiative for Youth Awareness on Migration Immigration Development and Reintegration (IYAMIDR).
The event shall have participation from the media, government agencies and non-governmental agencies, embassies, students, civil society, security agencies and others.
JIFORM is a non-profit body comprising over 300 journalists and other volunteers across the continents covering migration matters.
Since 2019, the organization has become a major force organizing a series of local and international capacity building for journalists and other stakeholders. In 2021, it initiated the annual African Migration Summit held in Ghana in partnership with Nekotech Center of Excellence, Accra, the West African Media Migration Summit in Lome Togo and held its 3rd Global Migration Summit in Toronto, Canada in October 2022.
The body in collaboration with the City University, New York City, US between November 2-4, in Brooklyn hosted the international migration summit.