Migration Profile on Nigeria - IOM Publications - International ...

inter-ministerial technical working groups to facilitate the collection of relevant
information from different entities. The technical working groups also enabled
the governments to provide input to the report at every stage of the drafting
process and to consider more broadly a coherent approach to data collection
and policy development. The completed drafts of the national <strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Profile</strong>s
were presented at national policy planning workshops, on the basis of which
governments issued recommendations on future policy development and
improved data collection. National <strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Profile</strong>s are thus the outcome of
broader government-supported processes aimed at enhancing the use of data
for policy development. They go further than simply reporting on data. Through
mechanisms such as the technical working groups and national policy planning
workshops, the reports also constitute a tool to provide better information
for, and thus advance policy planning on, international migration in the target
countries.
In order to remain an effective information tool for policymaking,
<strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Profile</strong>s must be updated regularly and used for policy development.
The sustainability of the governmental mechanisms established to prepare
<strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Profile</strong>s remains a key challenge. The baseline data from which the
reports draw and the reporting format also require improvement to allow for a
more sophisticated analysis of migration-related trends. Although the <strong>Migration</strong>
in West and Central Africa: National <strong>Profile</strong>s for Strategic Policy Development
project has started to address these challenges, further action is required to
ensure that <strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Profile</strong>s remain an information tool for policy development
which can be updated regularly.
This report would not have been possible without the contributions of
a number of people. We would like to thank the national expert, Adejumoke
Afolayan, for drafting the report; Rudolf Anich, Jobst Koehler and Timon Van
Lidth for coordinating, reviewing and editing the <strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Profile</strong>; Pierpaolo
Capalbo for research assistance in the final stages; the IOM Focal Point and IOM
Mission in Abuja for providing additional information; and last, but not least,
the government officials who provided valuable input to the report at different
stages.
Abye Makonnen Frank Laczko
Regional Representative Head of the Research and Publications Division
Mission with Regional Functions IOM Headquarters
Dakar, Senegal Geneva, Switzerland
12 <strong>Migration</strong> in Nigeria: A Country <strong>Profile</strong> 2009