The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Nigerian Government have reaffirmed their commitment to put measures in place to save the lives of Nigerian citizens migrating to other countries. William Swing, Director-General, IOM affirmed his organisation’s commitment to tackling the issue of migration when he made a courtesy visit to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama in Abuja on Friday.
Swing said it was important to prevent more migrant deaths adding that the focus should be on preventing people from takings risks and endangering their lives.
“We calculated, in 2016 that 5,000 lives were lost in the Mediterranean and we have already lost about 2,500 this year so we want to make sure that people are travelling safely and in an orderly manner.
“What we have done is to establish a migrant resource, sort of a way station, in Agadez in Niger; we now have support from the European Union to replicate that from Senegal across to Cameroon.
He called on the Federal Government to reach out to the IOM whenever it needed assistance to return Nigerian citizens caught in a crisis situation.
He further said that it was pertinent for leaders globally to have a more regular dialogue on how best manage to manage migration challenges.
In his response, Onyeama expressed the willingness of the Federal Government to work with the IOM to address the issue of Nigerians in Libya.
The minister said it was an urgent issue that needed to be addressed.
IOM on June 17 in Rome, said that 9,286 Nigerians, made up of men, women and children, arrived Italy by the end of May.
