Migration management in Nigeria : a case study of Edo State

Abstract

Nigerian, African, and global migration have received political and foreign policy attention in recent years, with follow-up actions by global and continental frameworks. The United Nations Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the 2015 European Union (EU) border hotspot externalisation regime and the African Union (AU) Migration Policy and Development Framework 2006 are few examples of such frameworks. However, Nigerian migrants are on the receiving end of migration policies, which restrict movement and are focused on intensive securitisation and protectionism rather than managing migration.

The study used Edo State in Nigeria, a major migration hotspot as a case study that involved in-depth interviews and multiple focus group discussions to arrive at its findings. Using a thematic analysis approach and ATLAS.ti 9 social statistical software for analysis and interpretation, five themes were developed to include a fair, orderly, predictable and explicable migration management framework for Nigerian migrants. The themes highlight international collaborations, synergy, international networks, strategic alliances and linkages; financial management and reporting; global best practices in migration management, legal frontiers of migration, robust migration policy formulation, implementation and post-implementation. The research contributes to beneficial migration science by designing a long-term composite framework which incorporates a mixture of regulating, enhancing, or controlling migration. The theoretical frameworks include the theory of social network, the theory of basic human needs, state fragility theory and the functional theory of human value and social equity. The research concludes by making policy recommendations to migration authorities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), scholars and technocrats along with potential and returnee migrants on the importance of soft communication and networking skills, policy implementation coherence and matching, information management and ethics, training and re-training, and continuous monitoring of the migration policy and implementation process.