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

Despite the lack of an official coordination mechanism, there is growing
awareness of the cross-cutting nature of migration and greater recognition of the
need for coordination among ministries and agencies. This is apparent in some
of the ministries’ sectoral plans and activities. An example of this is the Labour
<strong>Migration</strong> Desk set up by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity. The task of the
new administrative unit is not only to facilitate and monitor the activities related
to the recruitment and employment of Nigerian workers abroad, but also to
ensure coherence between labour migration and employment policies and
other national policies (IOM, 2009a). In its 2006 draft policy document entitled
“National Human Resources for Health”, the Ministry of Health also recognizes
the implications of migration for the health sector and proposes a list of actions
to address the factors driving the emigration of health professionals and to make
the public health sector more attractive for capable and motivated doctors and
nurses (IOM, 2009a).
Both initiatives illustrate that, at the sectoral level, migration is often
recognized as an important cross-cutting issue; however, this growing awareness
has not been translated into more coherent policymaking between the different
ministries. Although both the Ministry of Labour and Productivity and the
Ministry of Health seek to address distinct issues related to labour migration,
these initiatives are not embedded in a broader policy approach to emigration.
Similarly, although different ministries refer to the cross-cutting nature and the
implications of migration for development in their policy documents, there has
not been a concerted effort to mainstream migration into development plans.
A major obstacle to the improved coordination of migration and
development plans is the lack of appropriate indicators and quality data to
measure the migration and development nexus. Although migration-related data
and information are collected, they are dispersed among different ministries
and often of poor quality. As became apparent during the collection of data
for this <strong>Migration</strong> <strong>Profile</strong>, ministries and agencies are often unaware of what
information is collected by their counterparts. Unless information and data are
shared to a greater extent, it will be difficult to gain a comprehensive picture
of the migration situation; one which could be used to develop more coherent
policies on migration.
A lead agency could facilitate greater policy coordination. There are
currently plans to assign the NCFR the mandate of being the lead agency on
migration. The responsibilities of the NCFR would, for instance, be to establish
and chair an inter-ministerial committee on migration in order to promote a
better exchange of information and experiences among relevant institutions.
The agency could also be responsible for addressing issues such as migration
80 <strong>Migration</strong> in Nigeria: A Country <strong>Profile</strong> 2009