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

parT e: effectiveness of migration policies in
managing the migration phenomenon
e.1 overview of the national institutional and policy
framework governing migration
e.1.1 overview of recent migration policy developments
Ongoing policy initiatives to create a migration policy framework
For a long time, the Government of Nigeria maintained a laissez-faire
attitude towards migration. This was apparent in both the 1988 and 2004
National Policy on Population, which made casual reference to migration. The
2004 National Policy on Population, for example, mentions that the Ministry of
Internal Affairs collects data on international migration and transmits them to
the National Population Commission for analysis; but this is the only reference
to migration.
However, the Government has been signatory to a number of international
conventions and protocols on migration-related matters, with the 1979 ECOWAS
Protocol relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment
being a prominent example. Also, certain factors have led the Government to
consider a comprehensive policy framework that would guide all stakeholders
in migration management. These include the perceived greater volume of
emigration, in particular of professionals, the desperate and dangerous manner
of emigration of irregular migrants and an increase in smuggling and human
trafficking rings.
In 2005, the Government of Nigeria, through the Office of the Special
Assistant to the President on <strong>Migration</strong> and Humanitarian Affairs, solicited
IOM’s support in developing a national migration policy. In February 2006, with
funds from the IOM 1035 Facility and co-funding from the Government, an interministerial
committee comprising relevant government ministries, agencies and
departments was established and began working on the policy in earnest. Their
task was to produce a home-grown policy that would address the multifaceted
issues of migration.
In April 2007, a national stakeholders’ conference was organized to
present the draft policy and gather the inputs of relevant migration practitioners
<strong>Migration</strong> in Nigeria: A Country <strong>Profile</strong> 2009
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