Mr. Tunde Omoyeni, representing the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), who disclosed this during a one-day media training and capacity-building on migration issues in Nigeria in Bauchi, said the total funding of the components is 11,440,354 Euros with 10,845,456 Euros from the EU and funding contribution from IOM of 594,898 Euros to enhance the capacity of the government of Nigeria to manage migration in order to maximise its development potential.
According to him, the specific objective of the project is to improve the governance of migration through the use of evidence-based instruments to strengthen national capacity to manage organised labour migration and mobilise Diaspora for national development and strengthen national capacity to deter irregular migration.
Omoyeni said that the training of the journalists is to strengthen engagement of media on migration issues and to ensure that all aspects of migration are given consideration and reported more accurately.
“Media plays a very important role in securing government and stakeholders’ interventions in addressing migration issues, migration interventions to a large extent depend on the accurate reporting of the issues and limited knowledge of the media and under coverage of migration issues.”
Also speaking, Executive Director, Policy Management Consultancy Service, Mr. Jide Olatuyi, said that the overall objective of this workshop is to build media capacity to contribute to facilitating increased awareness and public sensitisation on migration policy and issues in Nigeria, adding that the general overview of the national migration policy focuses on selected thematic elements of the policy, understanding the basic migration concepts to filter media reports and filter migrants and migration news report for sensitisation and improved public attitude on migration.
In her remark, the Federal Commissioner for National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, Hadiza Sani Kangiwa, said the training is extremely crucial as it aims at pursuing the reversal of lack of quality migration information available to the media and the public, a trend that undermines orderly migration and puts migrates at risk of exploitation.
